Ribbon/Iris Folding – Butterfly Brilliance Birthday Card

Hello, Crafters.

The problem with my website not sending emails has not been sorted out at the time I’m writing today’s blog. My IT guru is on the case but the problem appears to be with my web hosting company. In the meantime, can I ask you to log into my blog everyday from Tuesday through to Sunday – Monday is the only day I don’t post a blog. Many thanks for your patience while this is being investigated and ultimately corrected.

Today’s card is not 100% successful although I’m generally happy with it. My criticism is that I should have used a smaller butterfly or made a larger card. The edges of the top half of the wings are so close to the edge that there wasn’t sufficient room to adhere the layers together properly. I don’t know what to call this technique because it’s based on iris folding but it uses ribbon instead of strips of folded paper. This was one of my favourite techniques during my pre-Stampin’ Up! days and I have only used it two or three times since. For the Designer Series Paper (DSP) I’ve used a design from the Butterfly Bijou and teamed it with Terracotta Tile Cardstock (CS) although this isn’t one of the recommended colours, although Calypso Coral is.

I took a top layer of the DSP and a middle layer of Whisper White CS and adhered the two together. I couldn’t use the plain butterfly die from the Butterfly Wings Dies as it is one large die that cuts all six butterflies at the same time. I wasn’t sure how the detailed die would cope with cutting through two layers but it went through without any problems. My first attempt at adding the ribbon was a false start because I started at the base of the antenna and then worked to the top. Then I turned round to work down the wings and the ribbon was overlapping on the opposite side. I gently removed the ribbon and laid it out in front of me so I could re-use it when I felt it was the size I needed.

When I had covered the complete opening, I turned the layer over to see what it looked like and I was really pleased. Next, I was going to adhere it to the Terracotta Tile card base but realised it wasn’t going to be easy because the butterfly was too close to the edge. I decided to adhere another middle layer of Whisper White CS to the back because I was worried that it wouldn’t work if I adhered it to the card base and I’d waste it. I applied plenty of Tombow to the edge on the back and also to the ribbon but making sure I didn’t allow any Tombow on the ribbon that was visible from the front. If I did, the glue would look like spots of water!

I had to use some clothes pegs (pins) to hold the edges together near the edges of the wings. There were two places where the Terracotta Tile ribbon was visible at the edge of the two layers. With a careful bit of crafter’s surgery I was able to remove the pieces without leaving any scarring!!  Once I had put the whole card together I decided the butterfly looked incomplete! My first thought was a line of gems for the body but that didn’t look right. I decided to cut the body away from the wings of the die cut butterfly and adhered it in place! What a difference!

I chose the BIRTHDAY WISHES sentiment from the Fancy Phrases Stamp Set and stamped it onto a piece of Whisper White CS using Terracotta Tile Ink. To die-cut the sentiment, I used the Stitched Rectangle dies, oval no 2 and I adhered it to a Terracotta Tile CS scalloped oval that I’d die-cut using the Layering Oval Dies no 3. Using Dimensionals I adhered the sentiment in place and decided to add some bling. I chose the Artistry Blooms Sequins in Calypso Coral and added two to the sentiment and six along the butterfly body.

Inside the card I added a middle layer of Whisper White CS and adhered one of the small butterflies from the Butterfly Brilliance Stamp Set that was ready stamped and die-cut. I just needed to colour it and for this I used the Light and Dark Calypso Coral Stampin’ Blends. I really like this card, but as I said at the beginning, I wish I’d used a smaller butterfly or made a larger card. Is this a technique you have ever tried? That’s it from me today. I look forward to being back with you tomorrow with my Sunday video! In the meantime, please take care and stay safe. Happy crafting.

JanB. xx

Products used for this project: please click on any of the links to be taken to my 24/7 online Stampin’ Up! shop. The Hostess Code for MARCH 2021 is R329BMNW Thank you. xx

Terracotta Tile A4 Cardstock [150890] £8.25	Basic White A4 Cardstock [159228] £9.00	Butterfly Bijou 6″ X 6″ (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [156824] £10.75	Butterfly Brilliance Bundle [155821] £51.25	Fancy Phrases Bundle [154090] £36.75
Stitched Shapes Dies [152323] £28.00	Layering Ovals Dies [151771] £33.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Refill [133456] £4.75	Terracotta Tile Classic Stampin’ Pad [150086] £7.00
Terracotta Tile Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill [150093] £3.50	Calypso Coral Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [154881] £8.50	Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack [152479] £6.50	Artistry Blooms Sequins [152477] £6.50	Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] £112.00
Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine [150673] £56.00	Stamparatus [148187] £46.00	Simply Shammy [147042] £7.50	Paper Trimmer [152392] £23.00	Paper Snips [103579] £9.25
Bone Folder [102300] £6.50	Grid Paper [130148] £11.75	Small Grid Paper [149621] £6.00	Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] £5.50	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] £3.75
Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] £3.75	Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals [144108] £3.75

Cardstock Layer Sizes: A4

Card base 8¼” x 5¾” scored and folded at 4 1/8”

Middle layer: 2 pieces 3 7/8” x 5½”

Top layer: 2 pieces 3¾” x 5 3/8”

Cardstock Layer Sizes: Letter-size

Card base 8½” x 5½” scored and folded at 4¼”

Middle layer: 2 pieces 4” x 5¼”

Top layer: 2 pieces 3 7/8” x 5 1/8”