Spring Butterflies Have Arrived!

Hello, Friends!

Besides coloring tulips with Copics and Faber Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils, I've also been making some other cards without telling you.  You might remember I had a list of cards to make on my Ta-Da list and slowly, I've been getting them done.  

TA-DA!!!

This was one of the cards I made for someone who has become a dear friend!  We met on the Papertrey Ink Forum.  First, when I was wondering if I was allergic to their wool or not, she sent me a sample that I could touch to see if it made me itchy.  That told me she was very nice and generous.

Then, you may remember last fall, my Fentanyl patches suddenly stopped working.  I went from being very medicated to keep my back pain at a level I could tolerate to completely unmedicated in a matter of days.  I was begging for prayers anywhere I could get them and posted what was happening on the PTI Forum.  It took more than a month to finally start to get things under control.  In all the pain and mess, I forgot to update people on the forum about how things were going.  This dear woman contacted me to see how I was doing.  This doesn't happen very often, so she immediately had a special place in my heart, whether we ever talked again or not.  

Luckily, we did!  We switched from sending messages over the forum to emails.  We both are Christians and enjoy making cards, especially with Papertrey Ink goodies.  Now that I am finally able to stamp some, I knew she was someone I wanted to send a card to right away!

We both live in the midwest and I knew we both might have snow on the ground when my card arrived.  I thought a reminder that spring IS on the way might be fun to receive!  Since we both love Papertrey, I used their supplies to make her card.

I started by using Papertrey Ink's Bitty Butterflies Cover Plate to cut the butterfly shapes from 3 different colors of cardstock, which are listed below.  Then I chose one floral patterned butterfly from the Bitty Butterflies stamp set to go on the cardstock die cuts.  Using my MISTI, I was able to line up my stamp into the negative space where one of the butterflies had been die cut.  Then, all I had to do was pop in a butterfly into the negative space and stamp it on the cardstock using the matching ink color.  I was able to stamp all of my butterflies pretty quickly.  

After that, I just had to cut out another cover plate die cut out of white cardstock for the front of my card.  Just like I placed the butterfly in the negative space to stamp it with the MISTI, all I had to do now was place a stamped butterfly into the hole left by the die.  I tried just putting glue in the center of my butterflies so their wings would stick up a little bit.  I'm praying that none of the butterflies flew off the card on their trip.  I made sure my friend received her card before I posted this, but I haven't asked her about this yet!

I gently pulled the white cardstock back up so I could tie a bow around it for a little embellishment.  My friend knows I love ribbon and greatly took part in the PTI sale when ribbon was only $.50!  So I thought it would be fun to show her how wonderful a little ribbon on a card can be since she doesn't usually use it.  :)

After the ribbon, I gently put the white cardstock back down, this time adhering it to stay.  A smart person would have put the ribbon on first, stuck it down and then put on the butterflies.  Unfortunately "Pain Killer Brain" struck again and I took the hard route.  Luckily, it all worked out after I glued a couple of butterflies back in their spaces!

I had planned this card for a while, but just completed it last week.  It happened to fit into two challenges that were announced after my plans but before I had made it.  I'm entering it in the Papertrey Ink 10th Anniversary Day Two March Release Challenge to use multiples of the same shapes on a card, whether stamps or dies.  These pretty little butterflies met that challenge wonderfully!

I am also entering it in the Wednesday Simon Says Stamp Challenge to make a card for a special lady or girl.  It definitely went to a special lady! 

Stay tuned for more cards that have been sent to special friends!

Happy Stamping!

I used the following products by Papertrey Ink to make this card:

Bitty Butterflies Stamp Set

Sweet Blush, Lemon Tart and Aqua Mist Ink Pads

Stampers Select White Cardstock

Sweet Blush, Lemon Tart and Aqua Mist Cardstock

Cover Plate:  Bitty Butterflies Die

Lemon Tart 1/2" Satin Solid Ribbon

MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Glue Pen Medium Point by X-Press It