Elegant Layered Swan Card with the Buttons & Keepsakes Collection

Hello, crafty friend! I’m Adrienne Boese, better known online as Alice Scraps Wonderland. There’s nothing quite so delicate as swans floating over the water. So today, we are going to recreate those ethereal vibes in cardstock and patterned paper using the Buttons & Keepsakes collection designed by Frank Garcia. In this tutorial, we’ll be using some simple techniques including die cutting, embossing, paper layering, and paper tearing. These are great foundational techniques that can really make any project pop while giving it texture and dimension. We’ll also make use of one of the Better Press plates in the Buttons & Keepsakes collection. Let’s get started.

• Using Classic White Color Wheel Cardstock, trim and score an A2 card base (trim cardstock to 8 ½ x 5 ½, then score at 4 ¼ so when the card is folded it measures 5 ½ x 4 ¼ inches).
• Select a pattern from the Buttons & Keepsakes 6x6 paper pad, trimming one to 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 inches. (Keep in mind that we are making a landscape orientation card, so cut your paper accordingly!) Distress the edges with the blade of your scissors by dragging one of the blades back and forth over the edge of the paper.
• Attach this patterned paper to the white card base with your favorite adhesive.
• Select a second pattern from the Buttons & Keepsakes 6x6 paper pad and trim it to 5 ¼ x 3 inches. Tear the top half off so that the bottom half shows the white core and distress the other 3 edges with your scissors. This will create one “paper wave” layer.

TIP: You can also use a distressing tool or thread cutter tool to distress your paper edges with.

• Trim a piece of Alabaster Color Wheel Cardstock to an A2 size, mist it with water, then place it in the Haberdashery Buttons 3D embossing folder. Run it through your Platinum with the D adapter plate sandwich configuration.
• Tear your embossed cardstock down the center to create another “paper wave” layer. Then trim one edge to make the embossed cardstock 5 ¼ inches wide. Distress the other 3 edges of the cardstock
• If needed, trim the height on your patterned “paper wave” layer so that it layers nicely with the embossed cardstock layered underneath.
• Adhere the patterned layer to the embossed cardstock layer with 1 millimeter thick foam adhesive.

TIP: Keep the adhesive toward the bottom of the patterned paper layer so that you can layer your swans underneath later!

• Die cut the Keepsake Swans from these Color Wheel Cardstock colors: Classic White (body and tail feathers), Raven (face layer), Beeswax (bill), Alabaster (largest cape layer), Chiffon (smaller bow and upper cape layer), and Seaside (larger bow and third cape layer).

TIP: Die cut two of each of the bows and glue the two layers together only in the center. Bend the top bow up gently to create more dimension!

• Assemble your die-cut swans and their bows using your favorite liquid adhesive. Using a wax-tipped tool can help you place the tiny die cuts easily. Tweezers work great for larger die cuts!
• Tie some distressed silk ribbon into a bow, leaving long tails.
• Place the bow over the bottom left of the “paper wave” layers and wrap the tails over to the back. Use your favorite adhesive to take the tails in place on the back side of the waves and cut off the excess ribbon. Don’t add adhesive to the front side so you can layer your swan under the ribbon later.

• Place 1 millimeter thick foam adhesive on the back of the waves. Then adhere the waves with the bow to your card base, lining up the bottom of the waves with the bottom of the patterned paper on the card base.
• Tack the bow in place with a dot of hot glue to keep it from flopping around.
• From the remaining embossed cardstock, tear a thin strip, trim it to 5 ¼ inches wide, distress the other 3 edges, and attach it on top of the waves, lining up the bottom edges. It’s okay if it overlaps your bow a bit.

• Add your swans with foam adhesive, layering the one on the left between the bottom embossed cardstock and patterned paper waves, and the one on the right under your ribbon.
• Glue a button or cabochon to the center of your bow using hot glue.

• Place the Heirloom Words BetterPress plate onto your BetterPress platform. Ink the plate up with the Black Ink that came with your BetterPress (or in the Regal Tones ink set).
• Using Best Ever Craft Tape, attach an A2 BetterPress Cotton Card Panel in Porcelain to the clear plate of the BetterPress platform. Place this over the base of the platform on the magnets and roll this through your Platinum.

• Remove the Cotton Panel from the BetterPress platform and use the coordinating die to cut the sentiments out using the standard die sandwich and your Platinum.
• Attach a sentiment to the top center of your card using 1 millimeter thick foam adhesive.

• Add some Gold Pearls and Pink Color Essential Gems to your card for a bit of sparkle!

I hope you enjoyed this layered card tutorial. The Buttons & Keepsakes collection is such a wonderfully shabby and chic collection full of sewing notions and couture elements. And the dies, embossing folders, and BetterPress plates coordinate so wonderfully with the papers. I’ll have more inspiration and ideas using this collection for you, so don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and to check out my blog. Until next time, happy crafting! Adrienne

Other Supplies

Foam adhesive (1 mm thick), roller adhesive (dotted and/or permanent), liquid adhesive, hot glue, scissors, paper trimmer, tweezers, wax tipped tool, distressed silk ribbon, button or cabochon