Handicrafts by Kate Perry and other ramblings

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Flutterby - Butterfly

My sister Jean is probably the only one who will immediately recognise the title of this post as it relates to some 'fairy' cereals bowls we had as children.


I promised myself that I would make a few more cards that were not for specific birthdays etc this year, to build up a small stock for last minute needs, but sometimes it is hard to get started. So when I found myself with a little time to spare last night, I looked for a challenge to give me inspiration, and sure enough, the new Butterfly Challenge was up. This week they want us to use at least one of each of the three 'B's - butterflies, buttons and bows. So here is what I made.


I have been having a tidy up over the past few weeks and lurking in the back of my embossing folders holder, I found two Cuttlebug cut and emboss folders. Although I really like these, they have been very under-used, so I chose the one with a circular aperture and found a snippet of lime green paper to cut/emboss it. 
I wanted a good contrast and searching through my card I found this piece of bright pink pearl with a matt black reverse, that was just large enough to make an A6 base card with a small strip left over. It is not a card I would choose and I think it came in  a cheap bulk pack. I once had a lady visit me for some basic guidance on using her silhouette machine, and she loved it, so I gave most of it to her, but this used sheet must have been overlooked. I glued the embossed frame onto the card and then used some ribbon to go around it. I often attach ribbon using double sided tape, and it wasn't until I picked the card up later that I realised the tape was wider than the ribbon - doh! -  so I had a sticky edge along each side of it. My eye-sight is not good right now and I hadn't seen this. So I rummaged through my glitter drawer and found a fine pink glitter which I poured over the ribbon and shook it off again, leaving quite a pretty glittery edge along each side. More by luck than judgement, I had actually stuck the ribbon fairly centrally on the tape! I tied a bow and added it to the ribbon with a glue dot. 

I then made one of my 'wet-method' flowers. I hadn't done this for ages. They are a little bit bulky for cards to post Internationally, but fine for local ones, and I do like them. I stamped several flowers from the Everything Eleanor SU set, and cut them with the matching punch. I then did the same with some of the Heartfelt Creations delicate Asters set of stamps and dies, all using the Memento rose bud ink pad. Starting with the smallest, I fed them onto a tiny central brad, spritzing each layer with water, and scrunching it up. When they were all on, I opened the brad to hold them together and gently unfurled the petals. I dried it a bit with my heat-gun, because I am impatient!, and then left it on a pad of kitchen roll to dry completely over night. This morning I glued the now dry flower to the centre of the frame, and added a black button over the tiny brad, for the centre.
With my little strip of left-over pink card, I cut two butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch, reversed them to show the black side, glued them over the rest of the pink card, and cut them out. I glued these to the top of the frame.
I have left a space at the lower edge to add a sentiment when I know what the card is going to be used for.
So now I shall link this up to the Butterfly Challenge 2, and also to Pixie's Snippets Playground.

9 comments:

Saskia said...

Love the colour combo!

Jean said...

Nice bright and cheerful card. Good use of the double sided card for the butterflies.I love the pretty pink flower.
Jean x

Di said...

Wow Kate - this is gorgeous. I love the lime and pink together and your flower is stunning. Thanks for telling how you did it, another trick learned in the Playground :)

Hugs, Di xx

Mrs A. said...

A pretty emboss/cut folder. I love the pattern and what a lovely detailed post on how you have made the card. I thought the glitter effect was all part and parcel of the ribbon it looks so good. Butterflies are stunning cut with the reverse of the pink card and like Di says the colours are fab together. Such a pretty flower too. Thank you for fluttering by for #2. Hugs Mrs A. (butterfly challenge).

scrappymo! said...

This is stunning. Love the vibrant colours of your card. So suited to adding a flower to my heair and dreaming of hot, sunny climates!

Stunning card.

kiwimeskreations said...

Love your stunning colours, and your flower is fabulous Kate - sorry to hear about your eyes :-(.
Blessings
Maxine

Jenny L said...

Hi,
popped over from the butterfly challenge, and I am so glad I did.
Snap I have a problem with my eyes too, and am waiting for an eye op.
Your card is beautiful and the colours are so bright and cheerful.
Fab design too.
Lots of crafty love. Jenny L.

MaryH said...

Kate, what a wonderful card for the new Butterflies challenge! I am loving this lime & hot pink combo. I have this C/B folder, and don't use it either, and it's so beautiful. Shame to hide it away unloved! It is lovely on this card. Loved reading your ribbon & tape experience. Wonderful save & turned out grand. I enjoy these confessions as much - if not more - than the actual specs. Cause I frequently need to 'know these things'...Well done, and I'm loving the wet flowers. Hope to see at Mrs. A's. Happy Sunday. Hugs

Princess Judy Palmer said...

Wow! So bold, bright, and cheery. This is a fun color combo. Isn't it fun to poke around and find forgotten treasures like your Cuttlebug folder? I really like you big puffy flower.