Are You Ready to Flutter Into Spring?

Today I’m sharing how to make a card a bright and beautiful BetterPress card that I made using Flutter Into Spring, the February 2024 BetterPress Plate of the Month.

Everything about hummingbirds is fascinating. For example, did you know that they migrate? They are the smallest bird that migrates. Additionally, they’re the only birds that can fly backward. Also, there are over 330 species of hummingbirds in the Americas. My favorite is the ruby-throated hummingbird which is what we are using on our card for today’s project.

We’ll begin by pressing the designs on porcelain BetterPress cotton cardstock. To do so, we’ll press the floral plate on an A2 (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″) size card panel with black ink. And, we’ll be die-cutting the hummingbirds, so they can be pressed together on another panel.

Once the designs have been pressed, we’ll use watercolor brush markers to add bright vibrant colors to them as follows:

Flutter Into Spring:  Large Flowers

• Hummingbird’s Throat – Ruby Red
• The Hummingbird’s Body – Emerald
• Hummingbird’s beak and claws – Winter Fog & Jet Black
• Large Flowers – Rubellite
• Lily’s – Sunkissed
• Lily’s – Citrus Burst
• Smallest Flowers – Persian Blue
• Leaves & Stems – Just Green, Moss, & Sea Forest

I like to add different colors of ink to my work surface along with a pool of water. After that, I blend the water with the ink with an empty watercolor brush marker to get just the right shade. And then you paint it onto your design. Set aside the panel to let it dry.

Once the watercolor painting is dry, die-cut the hummingbirds and trim the card panel to 3 3/4″ x 5″. Then move them around on the card panel until you decide where you want them to be. Now you can figure out where you’re going to put the sentiment. Once you’re positioned it just right, go ahead and press it onto the card panel with black ink.

Assembly is quick and easy for this card. To do so, create an A2 (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″) card base by scoring a half sheet of heavy white cardstock at 4 1/4″ along the long side. After that, we’ll fasten an A2 piece of Blue Spruce cardstock to the card front with a tape runner.

I like to showcase pretty watercolor backgrounds by popping them up off of the card base. To do so, you can use foam tape or a foam sheet is what I prefer. All that is left to do is to pop up the hummingbirds and we’re done. HINT: I used a double layer of foam squares on the tail of the hummingbird on the left to make it look like it is on a different angle than the other one.