Wednesday 8 June 2016

Candy Box Crafts MDF Butterfly featuring Tim Holtz Butterfly Dies - Tutorial


Good morning everyone. The picture tutorial I posted yesterday on here has totally gone, so I'm starting over again. Happy days!
Here are the materials you need to create this Butterfly Project.


MDF Butterfly. Candy Box Crafts in the UK.
Centura Pearl Card Stock. White, reverse side, face up.
Tim Holtz Alterations Butterfly Dies. Some come complete with Embossing Folders.


Tim Holtz Texture Fades Embossing Folder, ''Dripping''. I bought mine from Oyster Stamps but they may have sold out. Give 'em a ring on 01634 686823.


Art Basics, Heavy Black Gesso, Oyster Stamps have this too.
Mod Podge, Glossy or Matt, or any other strong Glue Medium.
Inka - Gold Paints (various colours) Treasure Gold Gilding Wax (various colours) Strong Wet Glue, Seed beads, Small white pearls and Five, pearl tipped, ''Hat Pins'' for the Butterfly Antennae. 
Old paint brush for the applying the Glue Medium, Sponge brush for applying the Inka Gold paint, finger for applying the Treasure Gold or other gilding wax......and this is what you do. 
                                        ......
Run two pieces of card stock through your embossing machine in the 'Dripping' embossing folder. Apply plenty of Mod Podge or other gel medium, to the embossed images and stick down firmly to the top of the Butterfly wings, one on each wing.



When totally dry, use a heat gun if you wish, cut / trim the card stock to snugly fit the wing shape.
Cut and emboss, using the Dies, lots of different sizes of Butterflies and stick them down, single layer, but overlapping in places, all over the MDF Butterfly shape.


Cut, emboss and stick more butterflies, building up texture, depth and dimension by layering up the same image on top of each other.
Some butterflies on my project are two or three die cuts deep others are four or five. When you are happy with the design of your work its time to break out the Heavy Black Gesso. Apply a coat of the gesso using an old paint brush, all over everywhere and everything. Dry, using a heat gun if you wish and then do another coat. Dry.



Ensuring all the black gesso is totally dry, apply the Inka - Gold paints using a sponge brush and any colours you like as they blend together very well. Apply  the Gilding Wax as well until you have a ''Look'' you like. Messy time but fun! 


Plonk on some wet glue, here and there, in a 'river' and shake on some seed beads. Stick on some pearls and fix the five 'Hat Pins' to the back of your butterfly with strong sticky tape/foam. I will paint the back of my project with more of the Black Gesso to finish it off. 

So, all done and dusted. Please message me if you need any help or have any questions. I hope you found this tutorial useful. Please let me know if you, or your craft group make this project.... be fun to see. Easy innit!
Thanks for looking  I do hope Blogger leaves this post alone and I have not forgotten anything!
Eileen xx