Creative Artiste - butterfly shadow box

Good Morning everyone

Its the first friday of the month so time for a new challenge over at 

Creative Artiste where the theme is anything goes 

MIXED MEDIA

using at least 3 different mediums

Ive made a bijou project this month, a little 4x4" butterfly shadow box.  I had these little wooden boxes which came with little wooden shapes in them that my nieces crafted with but i kept the boxes as thought one day they would be useful.  I found both them and my pack of acetate butterflies at the same time while looking for something else and thought they fitted together perfectly. 

Kind of like the old butterfly collections but thankfully in this case no butterflies have been harmed!

Box size approx 4x4" (10x10cm)

See below for how i decorated the box with photos.  To finish the box i edged the front of all the slots with gold - which sadly the photos don't pick up but really shimmers in the light.

I then added a butterfly to some of the slots, bending them in the middle and adhering with pinflair glue gel.  I went through a large pile of aall&create chat stickers until i found some i felt suitable - these are pre-coloured, i matted onto charcoal card which i edged with the same gold used to gild the box edges.  These i added into place again with glue gel so they stand proud.

We should all RESPECT nature and help it to THRIVE for it brings us SERENTIY & FREEDOM 

You can make out the gold edges a bit better here

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and onto the box

The pack of butterflies are predominately green in colour with flashes of yellow and orange, so for the box i went with a bright green, teal, yellow, orange and splash of pink in random areas.  I did coat the box first in white gesso to stop the wood absorbing too much of the colour. 

Then i toned it down by dry brushing on off whites...here you can see what a difference it makes.  You might say its a waste, but if i just used pastel paints they look completely different, whereas using the brights and then knocking back you still get the true colour coming through rather than a muddy pastel....dry brushing on the white just softens it all into the background so that my butterflies stand out....if Id kept the colour so intense you wouldn't see the focal point.  I used a matt/chalk based white acrylic so you only need a very small amount.

For some interest I added some torn pieces of texted washi tape once the paint was dry

You might want to click on this photo to make it full screen to really see the difference.........Id decided it needed something more and as the sections are too small to get in with stencils or stamps i decided to doodled with paint pens - well i didn't much like that and thought 'what have i done' but as is usually the case with artwork - its a process and never finished until its finished.....i added a very light layer of white over the doodling which helped blend it into the background a little and made a massive difference - photo on the right is after ive lightly dry brushed on the white and its just softens the doodling.

Items Used:

4x4" wood box

Acetate butterflies

Acrylic paints

Plaid Folkart - 515 vintage white, 455 med yellow, 628 orange, 2553 lime,

99257 mystic turquoise

Andy Skinner chalk paint - Ice blue, cool mint

Marabu Crea - Fuschia Pink

Cadence Dora Paint - Rich gold

Posca Paint pens

Aall&create chat sticker

Black card

Hop over to Creative Artiste to join in with all your mixed media creations be the little or large, atc or home decor, anything goes with mixed mediums.

Id Love to enter the following:

https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2026/07/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-something-with.html - things with wings

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https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2026/08/tb-august-2026-challenge.html

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https://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com/2026/08/make-it-colourful.html

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https://tolanythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-outlawz-anything-but-card-august.html

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https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/08/summer-season-august-2026.html

 

WLS Aug #1 - Summer Blossoms

Good Morning everyone and hello August.

As a scheduled post I hope this is 8am August 2nd UK...I don't doubt blogger just the human hitting the buttons😃

Its the first sunday of the month so time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping where the theme for August is

SUMMER BLOSSOMS

My card today uses an old paperartsy mini stamp and an old set of sizzix dies

 

Approx size 5x5.25"

I made my card base from cream linen card and the largest die, then cut next size down from more cream card and embossed with a lacy floral 3d embossing folder, i cut a 'faux' mat from teal card by drawing around the die and cutting out with scissors.  Ive done the same for my topper panel, only difference being that i adhered sepia washi stickers before embossing, these are like inky blots with floral theme text.  I then adhered the topper panel to the card front towards the top.

I stamped the vase of flowers onto more cream card in teal ink and coloured with alcohol markers, cut out and adhered to the topper panel with glue gel. I added touches of diamond stickles glitter glue to the flowers for a little sparkle. Stamped sentiment in the same teal ink,  cut out and added to the bottom

Showing it side on, its stands and balances nicely.  Using the dies like this gives me a bit more interest, versatility and a larger area to work on

and a close up of the flowers, you can see the washi stickers better here too with the text on them, they blend in lovely to the background and embossed well too, i was given them for Christmas

Items Used:

Paperartsy stamps JOFY mini22 & JOFY11 

Sizzix embossing folder by Eillen Hull 'Crochet Magdala' #665915

Sizzix Framelit dies '#658204'

Alcohol markers

Versafine Clair ink 'warm breeze'

CraftUk ltd cream linen 300gsm card

Teal card

? washi stickers ?

Ranger Stickles 'diamond'

We have this lovely prize on offer this month supplied by buddlycrafts so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in with your Summer Blossoms stamped makes

Thank you all for stopping by once again, I really do appreciate it.  I may be a bit tardy commenting as having a few issues but will get around to you all in time.  Big hugs Emmax

WLS July#2 - summertime

Good Morning everyone

Time for some mid month inspiration for We Love Stamping where the theme this month is 

SUMMERTIME

Or we also have the anything goes option as long as you use stamps

Here in England we have alot of old houses and stately homes run by the national trust or English Heritage and lots of people like to visit them for a day out in the summer as they often also have very large gardens to explore as well as enjoy the historic house, some even like to take a picnic and make a day of it.  So my card today is loosely based on this summer outing.

Ive used window/door stamp set from Katzelkraft stamped in grey and die cut into an arch to give the feel of an oldie worldie home, looking at it from the garden through the flowers.  All stamped in grey with soft watercolour colouring onto cream linen card.  I think it ended up with the vibe of the end of a long hot summer when everything feels tardy and bleached out😁

Approx size 5x7"

I stamped the window onto cream linen card in grey versafine clair ink and die cut into an arch.  I added some text stamping in grey around the panel to add texture and feel of stone walls and then softly watercoloured with distress inks.  Lightly inked the edges in grey and matted onto cardbase die cut from more cream linen.

I then stamped the flowers in grey, watercoloured with distress inks, cut out and got arranging.  To make the flowers look more natural I cut the heads of some and glued back on the stems at different angles so that they weren't all facing the same way.  Stamped the quote onto more cream linen and added among the flowers.

Just a close up of the flowers, i added shape to the heads and adhered with pinflair glue gel for dimension which also made it easier to tuck the quote inbetween them.

Version 2 using a different door stamp from the set

Items Used:

Katzelkraft stamps 'les portes'

Katzelkraft stamps 'carpe diem quotes'

aall&create stamps #851 'rise & shine'

Distress Inks - cracked pistachio, evergreen bough, shaded lilac, iced spruce, dried marigold, wild honey, ripe persimmon, 

Versafine Clair Ink 'Morning mist'

Crealies XL arch dies

CraftUk Ltd cream linen card

We have this lovely prize from Lavinia for the lucky winner so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in with your stamped makes and be in with a chance of winning

I hope you are all coping ok with the heat here in the UK, just not use to it are we, my MS hates it so Im hibernating in front of the fans.  The farms are getting desperate for some rain now, I expect when it does start raining it won't know when to stop!  Keep cool everyone and carry on crafting. Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/2026/07/july-2026-flowers-challenge.html

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https://beautifulblossomschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/07/beautiful-blossoms-challenge-anything.html

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https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2026/07/neglected-july-2026-challenge.html - haven't used all 3 sets of stamps for years

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https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/07/miucb-84-anything-goes-optional-shape.html

 

WLS July#1 - Summertime

Good Morning everyone

Its the first sunday of the month so time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping and the theme this month is very apt for June

SUMMERTIME

So anything that makes you think of summer.  For my first card this month Ive gone with some lovely juicy oranges and paired this studio light stamp with full on fruity paper from carta bella

White Card size 5.5x6.5"

I first stamped the orange branch onto white card and again onto an orange and lilac paper from the pad.  On the white version I coloured the leaves and branch with alcohol markers and then cut out the oranges and flowers from the paper and paper pieced onto the main image.  I die cut this into shape and matted onto a larger die cut from dark green pearlescent card, in between the white and green layer i added a little tab of the lilac paper die cut using the smallest die in the nesting set, cut it in half and adhered behind the white layer, just to add some interest, to this i added 3 orange glitter gems.

I matted the background paper onto the green pearl card and added to the card front - as the card is 6.5" wide and the paper is 6" it was slightly too narrow so i cut it down the middle and covered the gap with a strip of the orange paper which matches the oranges.

Just a close up of the oranges, i added a little white pen highlight to the oranges and flowers.  I know that orange blossom is usually white but the palest paper in the pad was this lilac one.  It is funny, as most of you know I hate colouring in especially when its really small and fiddly like this as i just can't stay in the lines yet i can cut out using scissors no problem and find that relaxing. 

Items Used:

Studio Light stamp set #427 'lemon squeezy' 

Clearly besotted 'seasonal sentiments' stamp set

Carta Bella Paper pad 'fruit stand'

Alcohol markers

Sizzix framelits die set 658204

CraftUk Ltd smooth white card

Green pearl card

Papermania Orange glitter dots

 

We have a lovely prize from Lavinia for the lucky winner so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in and be in with a chance of winning

Id love to enter the following:

https://www.simplyellibelle.com/2026/06/ellibelles-garden-party-no-16-anything.html

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https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/07/summer-season-july-2026.html

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https://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/2026/06/sos577-youre-so-sweet.html

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https://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2026/07/crafty-catz-challenge-717-anything-goes.html

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https://creativefriday.blogspot.com/2026/07/creative-friday-415-neu.html - new - my paper pad is new and first time using

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https://lovethoseprettypapers.blogspot.com/2026/07/atg-love-those-pretty-papers-july-2026.html

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Dream, create, inspire plaque

Good Morning everyone

Its the first friday of the month so time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste where the theme is always 

MIXED MEDIA

anything goes using at least 3 different mediums

Ive made a fun wall hanging for a craft room this month using Jane Davenport stamps and a piece of hardboard that came as packaging for a heavy item - so i snaffled them😀, 1 was snapped but 3 perfect as a substrate.

Size 8.5x4.5" (22x11cm)

See below for how i did the background.

I stamped all the elements onto watercolour paper and watercoloured with derwent inktense pencils, sticking to the same colours for all the elements.  Once dry i coated with mod podge front and back to seal and stiffen and then cut out, doing it this way easier than cutting out first and trying to varnish the tiny pieces like the pencils etc....

I rolled some pieces of torn handmade paper up to look like rolls of paper in different lengths to add a tactile soft element.  These I placed towards the bottom right corner where i wanted the quote.  The quote was stamped onto white, die cut and matted onto black, covered with mod podge and adhered into place.  I then got arranging all the stamped elements to create the scene - this very much looks like my desk after a good crafting session - I start off with good intentions to stay tidy but it never works once Im enjoying the process😄

I took 3 colours of cotton cord and loosely plaited for the hanging loop and added 3 beads each side which pick up on the colours used for the stamped elements. Choice here is to thread and tie so that the knot is at the front or back...I decided i wanted some beads for a bit of bling and to use up some of the thousand i had so have the hanging coming out the front...hope that makes sense!

When i coloured the paint pallets I deliberately added colour over the outside edges like you see in a well used pallet - more realistic 

The paint brushes i added behind the quote weren't long enough so i cut them in half so could have some poking out the bottom of the quote too - making sure i glued them in line with the tops.  I love the frayed edges of the handmade paper here as it adds a lovely soft element.

I used an old stamp set from Creative Craft (company sadly no more) called 'craftiness sentiments' for the quote.  It has lots of lovely craft sayings but i went with this 'dream, create, inspire' as i have to create a project in my head before i can make it, so i get the idea and then work out all in my head how to create it and mentally work through what products i have that can work so by the time i sit down to make anything i know exactly where im going - now that doesn't mean it works, as is so often the case with art it evolves in the creating but i can't start anything without that original idea and starting point.  Im not one that can just sit down with a product and play for me that doesn't work at all.  

I first gave a coat of black gesso to prime and then added texture paste through a swirl stencil which made me think of ink or paint splashes so perfect with the theme.  Once dry I then coated  that with more black gesso and then added black, navy and very dark brown acrylic and then touch of teal and pink to soft a little but i didn't want it too colourful.

I then dry brushed on black and silver cadence dora paints which really shimmer in the light, the silver nicely caught the edges of the swirls.  I edged the whole panel in silver.

I was going to leave it as was but when i placed my stamped images on top the splashes were lost so i added a little colour - keeping it more muted by just dabbing on with my finger - its just enough to see when finished but not to distract from the main elements.

I added some 'arty' lines and dots with black and white posca pens. Punched holes in the top with my crop o dile to thread some twine.

Items Used

(creative expressions) Jane Davenport stamp set CEJDCS023 'HeArt Supplies'

Creative Craft Products(company sadly no more) 'craftiness sentiments'

Derwent Inktense pencils

Cadence Dora paint - black, Silver

Folk Art Matt acrylic paints

Matt Mod podge

Golden texture paste

12x12 Swirl Stencil 

Spellbinders nesting dies 'labels 4' 

Handmade paper

Posca Paint pens - black, white

Hop over to Creative Artiste to see what the rest of the DT has created and to join in with your mixed media makes, everything welcome as long as you use at least 3 different mediums cards, atc's, journal pages, canvases, 3d makes etc....

Thank you all for stopping by.  

Id love to enter the following:

https://tolanythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-outlawz-anything-but-card-july.html

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https://cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.com/2026/07/july-2026-crafts-galore-encore.html

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https://daranddiane.blogspot.com/2026/07/double-d-potpourri-challenge-2026.html - potpourri - rainbow mix of things

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https://paper-rocks-scissors.blogspot.com/2026/07/july-18-challenge.html