Butterfly Valentine Card

Valentine cards are so much fun to make.  There are lots of types, from the cute kid valentines exchanged in school to the super elaborate multi-layered lace and bead creations dripping with vintage elegance.  I eventually get tired of red and pink but I do love making valentines.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have a slight (well more than slight) "addiction" to the Memory Box dies.  Every time new dies are released I am like a kid in a candy shop.  I just bought this butterfly heart die and I couldn't wait to try it out.

My first Idea was to simply cut the heart shaped group of butterflies into the front of a pale pink shimmer card and add embellishments.  I wanted to keep the die centered so I taped it to the cardstock (total fail! - I forgot that I actually bought the Sizzix magnetic plate so I wouldn't have to do this...!).  

The tape left marks on my card front so I moved on to Plan B.

Fortunately, I already own the die that coordinates in shape to the butterfly heart - it is called the "Cupid Heart" and it matches a few other heart dies from Memory Box.

I cut a heart shape in the center of a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 piece of red cardstock.

This overlay fits perfectly around the butterflies.  I trimmed the pink cardstock to be a bit smaller than the red card top.

I thought the plain red cardstock was a little too simple for a Valentine so I looked through my Anna Griffin embossing folders.  I was sure that there would be one that would work nicely for this card and the "Reflected Damask" was just what I was looking for.

The symmetrical pattern lined up perfectly with the heart cut-out.  These folders cover the full front of an A2 card.  I usually make my card toppers a little smaller than the card to leave a thin border but I decided to show off the entire embossed design and have the topper completely cover the white card front.

I used 1/8 inch ScorTape to adhere the overlay to the pink butterfly layer.  By putting the adhesive on the pink piece I could be sure that the top layer would be easy to place over the butterflies.

The butterflies are pretty but the three dimensional effect was rather subtle with just a white card base behind the image.

I tried putting a piece of gold metallic cardstock behind the butterflies and if really made them pop!  The butterflies need to have their wings lifted after cutting and you might not want to mail this card unless you put it in a box - otherwise the wings might get crushed down.

Here are the pieces of the card front - the base is white cardstock from Papertrey Ink.  I really like using this for card because it is very thick.  The back of the folded card can take the weight of this multi-layered front.

After I added the full front to the card all I needed was a sentiment.

I decided to pull out an older Cricut cartridge called Sentimentals and look for a quick cut for this card.  I found the "For You" on page 64 of the handbook.  It has a shadow layer so it worked for my card.  (I could have created the sentiment with my Silhouette but sometimes a quick Cricut cut is just faster and easier).

I reversed the colors for the sentiment, using gold for the top layer and the pink shimmer for the  shadow.

If you don't have a clear layout ruler, you might want to pick one up.  They can be found in art supply stores or craft stores and usually cost less than $10, depending on the length.  I use mine all of the time for paper scrapbook pages and a shorter ruler is great for keeping things lined up on a card.

I adhered the sentiment directly to the card instead of using a foam dot to raise it as I often do.  I didn't want the words to take away from the fluffy butterfly wings.  The words are slightly off center because I wanted to line up the slant of the "F" with the angle of the heart.  This also gives me a bit of extra room if I decide to add a ribbon to the side of the card.

It is very hard to capture the effect of the shimmer and metallic cardstock in a photo.  This darker photo gives you a better idea of what it looks like in person.

I haven't added a sentiment inside but an appropriate one (though slightly corny) might be "my heart flutters for you!"

Thanks for all of the good wishes for my sister - she is out of the hospital and recuperating at home. We that our new kitty might end up being called "Dorabella" - we just have to try it out for a few more days.  We like it because she is adorable and Dorabella sounds like it could be Italian for adorable - or maybe it's Italian for "doorbell?"

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Autumn Leaves (and a special box...)

Metallic cardstock is so pretty - I just love the shimmer and shine.  I found some copper metallic cardstock a while ago at the Tuesday Morning store and I have been drawn to it for many of the cards I've made recently.

This paper pad from Prima has quite a few sheets that coordinate beautifully with the copper metallic cardstock.  I cut a top layer from one of the sheets and aligned the design so there would be a leafy area along the left side and bottom of my card.

I found this little stamp set from Inkadinkado  and decided to make the card a genereic sort of note card for Fall.

I stamped the words with Versamark ink and heat embossed them with dark brown embossing powder.  I had a tiny mishap with the bottom of the "N" missing but there is always a way to cover up mistakes like this.

I had some dark brown leafy ribbon that would work perfectly for the card.  The ribbon has a thin "stem" and this can be tricky to adhere to a flat surface.  I used my Precision Point Adhesive pen and drew a line of adhesive where I wanted to place the ribbon.  It is white when you first apply it but if you wait a few minutes it will turn clear.

Once the adhesive has dried to clear, it is easy to set the thin ribbon into the adhesive.  With a little pressure it will hold quite firmly.

I cut away one of the leaves on the right side before I stuck the ribbon down on the card front.  This gave me a space to add the pretty copper leaf.  The leaf is a Metal Filigree Accent from the SEI Moonrise collection and it coordinates very nicely with the copper cardstock.  I turn over the patterned paper and secured the ends of the ribbon with tape before attaching it to the dark brown mat layer.

The stem of the metal leaf tucks under the ribbon and is hidden under a leaf.  I also used a couple of small glue dots to secure the leaf to the card.

I used the leaf that was removed from the ribbon to "accent" the words.  It very conveniently hides the small error in the stamping and a gem sticker adds a third bit of shine to the card (Embossed words, copper leaf and the gem sticker).

The card even matches my copper frog that I use for some photos! 

I have a little surprise for you today.  A year or so ago I thought about keeping a small box on my craft table and adding bits and pieces to it through the month.  It can be hard to find certain supplies and I like to share the things I have. 

I finally have a box set up and so far I have added:

1.  2 sheets of the sticky paper I used for the glittered ornament card
2.  A new set of the same Inkadinkado Autumn Leaves stamps I used on the card
3.  An 18 inch piece of the brown leaf ribbon - enough for a few cards.

I'll keep adding things until the end of the month and then I will pick a random comment from all of the posts this month and send the box to one lucky reader/commentor.

You can leave a comment on every post to increase your chances but please just leave one per post and make sure that you give me enough information so I can contact you if your comment is drawn.

Thanksgiving is just one week away - how are your preparations going?  Do you cook the entire meal or join forces with other family members? 

A few people emailed me to ask where they could buy the die that I used for the ornament card.  If you can't find the Memory Box dies at a small local store they can be ordered online.  I added links to yesterday's post HERE - just scroll to the bottom and you'll see the images of the dies.

Have a wonderful day!

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Glittering Delicate Diecuts

Some of my favorite things about the holiday season are the lights and the sparkle.  Since the winter months are so dark, we need to brighten up our surroundings as much as possible.  I think that glitter is magical and when it catches the light it always makes me smile!

Along with glitter and things that sparkle, I have a fascination with intricate cuts.  I often design and cut delicate designs that I can cut with the Cricut or Silhouette machines but they can take a long time to cut and are prone to errors, particularly when there are lots of curves that might cause the blade to "hang."  There are a number of companies that make intricate cutting dies - some of my favorites are by Memory Box.

I recently bought this die - the "Emma" ornament which has the added attraction of a snowflake design (if you have been reading my blog for a while you know that I am a little bit obsessed with snowflake patterns!).  I wanted to cut out the shape and make it as sparkly as possible.  I have various glitter papers in my stash but the twinkle of actual glitter is hard to duplicate.

 I recently bought some of this sticky back paper at my local stamp and scrap shop, Ink About It.  It is from Art Glitter and there are lots of ways you can use it (see the Art Glitter site HERE).

There are fifty card size sheets in the package - you can also buy single sheets but it actually turns out to be a little bit cheaper to get the precut package.  This paper has an edge to edge very strong adhesive on one side.

I taped the die to the paper side of the sheet and ran it through the Cuttlebug.  I needed to put it through several times to make sure that all of the fine details were cut through.  (I have noticed that sometimes my Cuttlebug leaves one area not quite cut through - I wonder if I've worn the rollers down from overuse!  Next time I'll try it with the Vagabond - the Cuttlebug was handy when I started on this project...)

I chose this beautiful blue shade of glitter from a collection pack of Martha Stewart glitters.  I  peeled off the protective backing paper from the ornament cut and poured glitter over the adhesive to get a layer of glitter on the ornament.  I poured the glitter onto a piece of scrap paper and after the top was coated I pressed the sticky side of the ornament into the glitter to be sure it was fully covered with glitter.

I was so excited to get the glitter on the ornament cut that I forgot to take photos at each step.  Here is a photo of one of the letters as I glittered it.  Once the cuts were covered in glitter I put them flat on the table and placed another piece of scrap paper on top of the glittered side and burnished the cut to make sure the glitter was completely secured.

I cut the letters using the "Jolly" font from the Holiday Frames & Tags cartridge. There are three fonts on this cartridge with upper and lower case letters.  The Jolly Font has some additional letter options so you can choose upper case letters with straight lines or curls.  I used the curly options for the "N," "E" and the "L" but decided to make the "O" in the simpler shape with no curl.  The card base is Core'dinations textured cardstock and the mat layer is shimmer cardstock from The Paper Company.

To add more texture to the card, I embossed the mat layer using the "Snowflakes" Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I put the starburst design at the top of the card and aligned the letters to the shapes along the bottom of the card.

When I bought the ornament die, I didn't see a background plain die for that shape.  I checked online and found that Memory Box does have a plain die so I may try to order that.  I decided that I could make my own shape using the die that I already own.

 I cut the ornament again from a scrap piece of pink cardstock to make a template for the background.  I placed this "stencil" over the piece of shimmer cardstock I wanted to use for the background and traced the shape.  I made sure to do my tracing on the back side of the cardstock so any pen lines wouldn't show.

Then, I did something a little unusual for me these days - I cut the shape out with a pair of scissors!  I was careful to stay exactly on the line and moved the paper instead of the scissors to get around the curves smoothly.

The hand cut shape fits the delicate ornament cut very neatly.  Since there is so much open space in the design you have a little bit of stretch as you add the top layer.  I used the Creative Memories Precision Point Adhesive pen to adhere the glittered cut to the background shape.

The ornament is popped up from the card front with some foam circles.

It might be nice to make the ornament removable so it could be hung on a tree by the recipient.  You could make it two sided by adding another glittered shape and attaching it to the card with a ribbon, ready to hang.

I tied a small bow from shimmery ribbon (I think this is from May Arts) and attached it with a glue dot right at the top of the ornament.  Even though it was slightly off center, I made sure to have the top highlighted by the starburst shape in the embossing.

If I was planning to make a lot of these ornaments I would definitely but the plain die but since I discovered that it is not very difficult to cut it by hand I may use the money to buy another one of the ornate shapes.  There are so many pretty Memory Box dies that I'd love to add to my small collection.

I am very pleased with how firmly the glitter seems to be attached to the ornament shape and the letters.  I have handled the card and rubbed my fingers on the glittered parts and nothing has come off.  None of these photos can show just how sparkly and pretty the card is in person - you'll just have to try making one yourself!

I had planned to finish up the post about this card yesterday but some "real life" things kept me away from my computer.  I hope you didn't mind the wait too much.  I am shopping for a new laptop as this one is several years old, has been used very heavily and is starting to give me a few too many problems.  There are a lot of choices so I am trying to decide whether to stick with an HP model or try something new...any ideas?

If you can't find the Memory Box dies locally you can order them from Simon Says Stamps (affiliate links)

InLinkz.com

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