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Dragonfly Ladies Dressed in Spring Pastels

April 19, 2015

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By Judi Kauffman

Thanks for inviting me back as today’s guest designer. Spring is officially here, bringing the cherry blossoms to my hometown, Washington, DC, and giving me the color combination for my projects.

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Though they grow throughout the city, including my neighborhood, the most famous cherry trees, given to the United States by the Japanese many years ago, surround a serene pool called the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial. Hence, the water-inspired blues and greens in the printed papers I chose. And there are hundreds of sunny yellow daffodils nearby, a legacy of Lady Bird Johnson, so I used yellow and yellow/orange markers along with the pastels to zip things up a bit. And what luck! I found a piece of printed ephemera with daffodils to use for one of my cards, and some ribbon with tiny pink blossoms to use for both of them.

Instructions:

1. Place Dragonfly Ladies Peel-offs (Shown: Silver) onto smooth white cardstock and color inside the lines, using alcohol-based markers in a palette of soft, pastel colors. Options: Choose Gold Peel-offs instead of Silver. Use the color-on-glitter technique if you want more sparkle.

2. Color outside the lines, all the way around the Ladies, using a coordinating pastel color. Cut around the Ladies, leaving a narrow border of the added color. This “halo” of color makes it so easy to cut around what would otherwise be very complicated shapes!

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3. Emboss Shimmer Sheetz with the Lots of Dots folder, and lightly sand the de-bossed side. (Dots will be below the surface, not a raised texture.) Cut a wavy rectangle that will cover most of the top rectangle on the card front, as shown in Light Pink Iridescent, or for only a small portion of the card front, as shown in White Iridescent.

4. Assemble each card on a 5 x 7 Kraft brown card base, folded at the left side. Use the layouts shown in the photo, or arrange the elements as you prefer. Use foam squares for dimension under the ladies and between the layers of patterned paper. Use double-sided adhesive tape to hold the flat layers. (The larger rectangle measures 4.5 x 6.75, the smaller one measures 4.25 x 6.) Optional: Lightly distress the edges of the smaller rectangle on the card front with Espresso Ink.

5. Tip: The ribbon band with flat bow acts as a ground line so the Dragonfly Ladies appear to be standing. The band wraps to the back on the smaller patterned paper rectangle (the one that is popped on foam squares).

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6. Add the small rectangular piece of paper ephemera, positioned at an angle beneath the Dragonfly Lady’s wing before popping the Lady in place. Accent the card fronts with Glitter Dots in some of the de-bossed dots. Add a trio of small Glitter Flowers (optional).

Supplies:

Elizabeth Craft Designs –
2556 Dragonfly Ladies Peel-offs 2 in Black
7018 Glitter Dots in Pink and Transparent
7048 Glitter Flowers in Transparent
SS0105 Shimmer Sheetz in Light Pink Iridescent
SS0102 Shimmer Sheetz in White Iridescent
E114 Lots of Dots Embossing Folder
802 Fine Pointed Scissors
Double Sided Adhesive Tape (any narrow width)

Other –
12 x 12 Studio Collection and 6 x 6 Watercolored Memories Collection Papers, and Watercolored Memories Ephemera Sheet – Ken Oliver Crafts
Floral pattern ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon)
ColorMates Smooth & Silky Cardstock
80# White (WorldWin Papers)
Foam squares; 5 x 7 Kraft brown cards with envelopes
ProMarkers in assorted pastel colors – Letraset
Cuttlebug or other machine compatible with embossing folders
Optional: Dye ink in Espresso and ink applicator tool or sponge dauber

 

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  • Judi Kauffman April 20, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    Thank you all for the kind words. I like adding that extra halo, sometimes even a second or third color (or one color with lighter and darker shades).

  • cherylkjohnson April 19, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    These are adorable! Clever design and I like the backgrounds bery much also.

  • LouAnn April 19, 2015 at 7:51 pm

    So pretty, love the pastels.

  • Raquel Mason April 19, 2015 at 6:45 pm

    Love the pastel colors & what a great idea to create a “Halo” around the Dragonfly Ladies for added color & ease of cutting.

  • Judi Kauffman April 19, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    Thanks, Candy! I rarely dress them in pastels and usually pick the black outlines, so this was a fun departure for me.

  • Nancy Doubler April 19, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    These are adorable! Love the references back to the seed packets!

  • Candy Spiegel April 19, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    Love the ladies!

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