Mother's Day Cards

So...I have gotten my creative juices running for Mother's Day. I was getting out of my car in the lot at work and making my drowsy way up the flight of stairs to begin the much dreaded gathering of my quarterly statistics, when I noticed a butterfly on one of the tree branches. It was weird because I rarely see butterflies this time of the year.

I love butterflies (probably as much as Mariah Carey) and have used a butterfly motif in many of the cards that I have given friends. In the past, I have tried to add dimension to the butterflies and they have turned out fine (my friends like them).....but I wanted a little something different. Something fresh. Then I remembered my mom's Spring Wreath. She has made wreaths for every season. Her Spring Wreath had these fabric butterflies that added a lot of dimension and flight. I knew I wanted to start my etsy store and what a perfect time with Mother's Day just around the corner. So...off to Beverley's Fabrics I went (of course after putting in a long day of crunching numbers).

I came across these pink and orange butterflies that I knew would be perfect for the cards I had in mind. I also wanted the butterfly to sit on a branch. I was thinking using a real tree branch (of course smaller in scale) but was concerned that it wouldn't hold up in the mail. Thank the Gods for Cricut. One of my better purchases. I had used the Cricut Winter Woodland cartridge while making my Christmas cards this past year. The cartridge has a great tree branch image that would be perfect for the card (cardstock is a little sturdier than actual tree parts.)

I have been doing a lot of heat embossing lately and can't seem to stop myself from purchasing a new stamp every couple of weeks. Of course I had to get a new mother's day stamp. The stamp (pictured above) is from inkadinado. It's the perfect size for making a tag and the perfect image for heat embossing. As you heat embossers know, the more detail the stamp has can sometimes lead to a messy looking image.

The first of the two butterfly cards I made was the one with the orange butterfly. At first I was happy with the card, but after sitting on it for a while...I thought it needed a little more pop. I love adding beads to my cards (which initially I had added some on the the tree branch and the flowered paper) because I really like the detail that it adds to the cards.

I decided that the "Happy Mother's Day" tag needed a little more dimension. I decided to add some more beads to the tag. I think the flower shapes I created with the beads gives the entire card a better look. I am much happier with the final product (second card pictured).

Just a little bit about the card: The front of the card is double layered with Brazzill Basics Cream Paper and a very pretty orange flower paper I picked up at Beverley's. I added the branch cut out from the Cricut cartridge Winter Woodlands using a heavy gold paper and added pink beads to the the leaves section of the branch and orange beads to the centers of the flowers on the orange flower paper. The final tag is layered on the same flowered paper and cream paper used to make the card.

I accented the cream paper used for the tag with orange paint that I lightly brushed on to give it an antique feel. The tag is attached using cooper grommets. I added a piece of orange ribbon to the top of the card and used Martha Stewart's blade to fray the edges of the card and Martha Stewart Hibiscus stamp pad to add some color to the frayed edges.

I left the card black inside but like to add a little personal touch with coordinating paper and/or themes. As you can see in the third picture, the inside of the card turned out pretty cute. I love the orange ribbon accents.

Materials Used:

Acid Free White Card Stock

Bazzill Basics Paper: cream

Orange Flower Paper

Orange Craft Butterfly

Gold Tree Branch Image from Cricut Winter Woodland Cartridge

"Happy Mother's Day" stamp from inkandinado

Pirate Gold Stampendous Embossing Powder

Orange Ribbon & Pink and Orange Beads

My second card turned out great. I really like the pink and brown together. Just a little bit about the card: The front of the card is double layered with Brazzill Basics Tan Paper and a brown and pink stripe paper from the Jolie Paper Pad Chocolat collection. Using a heavy gold paper, I added the branch cut out from the Cricut cartridge Winter Woodlands and added pink beads to the the leaves section of the branch. The tag is layered on the same brown and pink stripe paper and Brazzill Basics Pink paper. I used Martha Stewart's Hibiscus stamp pad to add some color to the tag. The tag is accented with pink beads with a gold center making the decorations look like flowers. I topped the card off with a bow made with gold and pink ribbon.

Just like the orange butterfly card, I left the card black inside but like to add a little personal touch with coordinating paper and/or themes.

Materials Used

Acid Free White Card Stock

Bazzill Basics Paper: tan

Jolie Paper Pad Chocolat: brown and pink stripe

Pink Craft Butterfly

Gold Tree Branch Image from Cricut Winter Woodland Cartridge

"Happy Mother's Day" stamp from inkandinado

Pirate Gold Stampendous Embossing Powder

Tan & Pink Ribbon

Pink & Gold Beads