Make It Mine Monday: Long & Skinny Card

Today I thought I’d try something a little out of my comfort zone.  I decided to try a new size card.  Have you seen these long, skinny cards?  The card is 4” x 9 ¼” and fits perfectly in a letter-size envelope (9 ½” x 4 1/8”).

Butterfly Bouquet Long & Skinny Card

This is the card I saw that I wanted to make my own.  Isn’t it pretty?  I love the background and all of the different colored butterflies.  I copied the basic design of the original card, along with the butterflies, but that’s about it.

My Butterfly Bouquet Long & Skinny Card

I decided to keep my colors simple and used Blushing Bride, Basic White and Smoky Slate.  I needed the Blushing Bride butterflies to pop a little more so I used my new Blending Brushes and lightly colored Velum Cardstock with the Smoky Slate ink.  It was just enough to make the Blushing Bride butterflies and the little velum butterflies pop against the Basic White background.  One other thing I did to help make the butterflies pop against the background was to use a Sponge Dauber and add a little color around the edges of the butterflies.  It really made a difference on the card.

Another little secret is how I was able to emboss the Basic White background without a seam since the cardstock is longer than the embossing folder.  I put the cardstock in the embossing folder about halfway.  Then  I ran it PARTIALLY through my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.  I made sure the end of the embossing folder didn’t go all of the through the roller of the machine.  I had to roll it back towards me to get the folder out and then turned the cardstock around and repeated the process.  It worked like a charm!  If you try this, you definitely don’t want to try it with a folder that has a distinct design.  I used the Subtle Embossing Folder that didn’t need anything to line up. 

On all of my butterflies I only adhered the bodies down to let the wings flutter.  I used the Elegant Faceted Gems to add a little sparkle the butterflies too.   

This was a fun card size to make.  I’m not sure how often I’ll make this card size since it’s such a large area to fill.  I’d have to be working with just the right products (like butterflies!) to make it work.

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!