Mother's Day Butterflies

Mother's Day here in the U.S. is fast approaching! I made this card for my brother & SIL to give to our mom. The sketch at My Favorite Things' Wednesday Sketch Challenge this week inspired the design.

I cut a piece of coral cardstock to 4x5.25", and die cut 3 of the "Flutter of Butterflies - Solid" by My Favorite Things (possibly discontinued) from that. I then stamped the negative piece with the "Romantic Script" background stamp by My Favorite Things. I heat embossed that with Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder, to give some subtle interest to the background.

For the background panel, I cut a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper to 4-1/4x5-1/2". I masked off 1/8" around all 4 sides, and placed my coral panel in the center. I traced the butterfly openings onto the mixed media paper, and mostly erased the lines so they only showed up faintly. I used a makeup blending brush to apply Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Evergreen Bough, & Peacock Feathers to the areas I'd traced, then spritzed the panel lightly with water. I let the colors blend a bit, then dried the paper with my heat tool. I was really glad, when I removed the tape from around the edges, that the ink had not bled under it at all! (I have had that happen a time or two.)

Since I had decided to make a shaker card with one of the die cut windows off the edge of the card, I needed to figure out how to contain the beads I planned to use. My first attempt was using a page protector and my Fuse tool. That didn't work out very well, since when I fused around the (approximate) perimeter of the bottom butterfly, it didn't leave much room within the pouch for the beads to move. So I didn't even bother fusing the other 2 pockets.

On to Idea #2, which was to use acetate. I cut a piece of Grafix Duralar acetate to 8-1/8x5-1/4". I scored it along the long side at 4" & 4-1/8" to create a 1/8"-wide "spine," and folded along the score lines. I used double-sided tape to adhere one side to the back of my coral panel, making sure the folded edge was on the right side where the die cut opening went over the edge. I then added an insane amount of foam tape, doubling the layers to give my seed beads plenty of room to move. I added cornstarch in the openings with my anti-static powder bag, and wiped it away with a dry cloth. I cleaned any powder residue with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, then dried the acetate with a paper towel. After I added my beads in each opening, I (carefully!) removed all the foam tape liners. I folded the other half of the acetate over, adhering it to the foam tape. I carefully turned it over and gave it a shake--and it worked!

After I adhered my inked background panel to a white A2-size card base, I added more double-sided tape to the back of my shaker. I mounted that onto my card, and then moved on to the overlay butterflies. I used the corresponding dies from the "Flutter of Butterflies - Lace" set to die cut 3 butterflies from 40 lb. vellum. I also cut the bodies from light grey cardstock. I applied a small piece of 1/8" wide tape to the middle of each butterfly, and adhered them in place over the windows on my card. I glued the bodies on with liquid glue, and bent the wings up to give some added dimension.

For the greeting, I cut a narrow strip from white cardstock. I printed one of the "Mother's Day Sentiments" digital greetings from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps onto it, cut a banner end, and glued it to my card. And that finished it! A lot of work & mental focus, but I so love how it came out in the end!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)