Butterfly Reflections, Ink

Hey there, inkers! Ashlea here, and I'm back with this super simple yet striking Honey Bee stamps card using their Chin Up Buttercup stamp set . I absolutely love the images in this set and the large sentiments are the icing on the cake. Obviously, there isn't too much to this card. I started with a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" 110lb card stock and stamped my sentiment onto the bottom portion of it with Versafine Onyx Black ink . On a separate piece of card stock, I stamped my buttercup image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink because it is a Copic safe ink, meaning that the alcohol in the Copic markers won't make the ink run.  I colored in the buttercup image using Copic markers and fussy cut that out. Before I continued with the assembly of my card front, I used black watercolor to splatter some color onto my card front. I then stamped one of the leaf images directly onto the card front and colored that in with Copic markers as well. Using foam tape, I...

Hey friends! It's Ashlea here, and I'm back with more festive fun for your crafting pleasure. Today, I'm featuring the Happy Plaid stamp set from Concord and 9th . This stamp set is especially versatile because you can add or omit steps and change up ink colors or card stock to really make each card your own and individual. I created a video to show how easy it was using my MISTI . It's one of those bulk card deals where you can just turn off your brain and go and the result is beautiful! The video is linked here: The only pattern I had planned out ahead of time was the red card stock with all black plaid. I love buffalo plaid and while this isn't exactly buffalo plaid, the colors are reminiscent and remind be of a cozy blanket. For the blue card, I decided to omit the second single patterned line stamp to create a more open and simple plaid pattern. I used Something Borrowed ink by Catherine Pooler and used silver embossing powder on the d...

Helllllo, crafty people! This week has been an especially cuddle worthy week here in the Northeast. I don't know about where you are, but we're already seeing our second snowfall tonight. It's definitely putting me in the mood for warm winter hugs and what better way to express that than with the Happy Hugs stamp set by Pinkfresh Studios ? I added to the design of this card a bit by using an inlaid die cutting/inlaid dimension technique. Check out my video here: First, I stamped the bears image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it in with Copic markers (List Below). Next, I stamped the background sky image with Suede Shoes by Catherine Pooler onto a piece of 110lb white card stock. To do the inlaid die cutting, I needed to die cut not only my image using the coordinating die , but also the card front and the craft foam so that they were in the same exact spot on both. This way it created a well of sorts where I adhered image. Copic Colors Used: ...

Hi Inkers! Ashlea here, and today I'm super excited to share a video tutorial with you featuring this ink blended glowing sky using the My Favorite Things Festive Flamingos set and Catherine Pooler inks . It's such a simple way to add a stunning backdrop to your scene cards. Check out my video here for step by steps! Catch that? Maybe you need written out step by steps? No worries, friend! I've got you covered below. 1. My secret weapon for this blending is the Catherine Pooler Premium White card stock. It's much like Bristol Smooth card stock only formulated specifically to work well with Catherine's ink. This ink/card stock duo is a GAME CHANGER. I promise. 2. Start with Juniper Mist ink on the very outer edge of the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card front. Be sure to blend a little ways into the card front as you will finish with a black color on the outer corners of this ink blend. 3. Continue blending in with Grape Crush blending right ...

Hey there! It's Ashlea, and I'm sharing my first every Hello Bluebird card. Eeeek! This is so exciting.  I'm using the Woodland Littles stamp set and if you know my style at all, you'll know that I don't always opt for cute critter cards, but, I'm only human and occasionally have to give in to the cuteness. There were a few different techniques I used in this card so lets get started! For my scene, I started by stamping what would end up being my "top" image, or the most up front image, which happens to be the acorn on top of the tree trunk. From there, I masked the acorn and stamped the squirrel, then masked that and stamped the tree trunk. I repeated this process with the acorns on the ground as well. I love using masking in my projects to add dimension and interest to a scene. I then hand drew the birch trees which is way easier than it sounds. Birch trees are literally two not straight lines parallel from each other and then smaller l...

Hey everyone! It's Ashlea, and I'm really excited to be sharing this card I created using the Bountiful Branches layering stamp set by Altenew. If you're familiar with Altenew, you know their layering sets are always swoon-worthy and this set is no exception. I absolutely love the detail on these branches. The looks as if they were drawn right on my card front by an artist. I love seeing these images come together as I'm stamping and seeing the final product. I'm always so surprised that I just created that! Let's get into some details of the card. To begin, I used Catherine Pooler's It's A Boy ink to ink blend my entire 4" x 5 1/4" card front. I love the light blue color and thought it would lend itself really well to a cheery, holiday branch Christmas card. Because the blue is so light, I was able to begins stamping right on top of the ink blend. Let me warn you now, this layering set is not for the faint of heart. For the leav...

Hello there! Ashlea here and today I've got a couple of different techniques to use with the same stamp set. Every now and again, a stamp set so simple and so genius comes along and you just have to have it. That's this Avery Elle Starry Scene stamp and die set . Let me be totally honest for a moment here, I didn't get the dies. I thought, I don't really need them, they're just simple shapes. I was wrong. They would really have made my life so much simpler. They even have the little stars so that you can cut them directly out of card stock rather than stamping them. Don't be silly like me.  My first photo with the mountain is the more traditional way I decided to use the stamps. I love when stamp sets seem to come with multiple technique ideas. I know for myself, I'm much more apt to purchase a stamp set when I can think of multiple ways to use it. For my mountain card, I decided to use a more traditional technique. Basically I just sta...

Well, hello there crafty people! It's Ashlea and today I'm sharing a simple yet beautiful card featuring the Bloom stamp set by Pinkfresh Studio . ( I didn't use them on this project but the coordinating dies are available here! ) It's rare that you find a standard size stamp set that has beautiful images plus tons of everyday sentiments and this one is a treasure, for sure! There are large, bold sentiments and smaller accompanying sentiments that can be used in addition to make a more personalized sentiment.  For my card I decided to use both floral arrangements included in the set. To begin, I used my mini MISTI to line up the larger arrangement and the smaller arrangement vertically on a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" 110lb card stock. I made sure to leave a space in the center where I could then line up one of the bold sentiments. I chose "Thank You" and decided to skip the smaller accouterment sentiments.  One of the beautiful things a...

Hello crafty friends! It's Ashlea and today I'm here showing off one of my most favorite stamp and die set as of late. The Laurel Frame stamp set is beautiful and versatile on its own, but when you add the coordinating dies ? It becomes a set that you will use over and over and over again. Sometimes I ask if I *really* need the dies when I'm making a purchase and I just knew with this one, that I did. More on that in a bit. First lets just talk about the beauty that is the stamp set. The wreath itself has two layers which creates interest and depth without being intimidating like some of the 3-4 layer sets that we love. I used Lime Rickey ink by Catherine Pooler for my base of the wreath and then Spruce also by Catherine Pooler for the second layer. The roses have three layers but, honestly, I found they look just a beautiful with just two as well. In fact, for this card I used Limoncello Ink by Catherine Pooler for the base and Tutti Frutti for both the se...

Hello everyone! It's Ashlea here, and I'm thrilled to be sharing my first project as part of the Butterfly Reflections Ink design team. For my first post I decided to try a technique I have never tried before. Makes sense, right? Great! As soon as I saw the Painted Poppies set by My Favorite Things , I knew I would finally try the amazing, beautiful, dreaded no-line watercoloring technique. Of course I've watched endless video on the subject and repeated "you can do it!" to myself but until I saw these poppies, I never really felt the *need* to try. These images have such a fun, whimsical design that lends itself so well to this technique and I'd love to tell you how I achieved the look. For starters, I knew I wanted to make the watercoloring itself a bit easier for me since, well, I'm not really great at watercoloring. "What are you doing here?" I can almost hear you saying. Let's move on. I cut a piece of watercolor card s...