Hope Butterfly Autumn

Another card in my series of Hope Butterflies. I have been making these for friends and neighbours using the same Statement Butterfly and sentiment. They have been well received by the recipients so far. It is bringing me joy making them as each one is different. I am using papers from my scrap drawers for the most part. The butterflies were all cut over the same 2 day period. As I am making the cards I am putting together a sketch and pretty papers and voila.

I love the colours on this one. I adore warm colours like orange and like to marry it with brown....very 70's but I love the happy colours together.

The butterfly was made from brown card as the base layer, plain orange paper for the middle and then cream linen textured card for the top. The orange layer didn't die cut quite right as the tape slipped and the die cut funny in a couple of places. I managed to save it though by snipping some pieces away with my tiny Fiskars scissors so it opened it up a bit. I think this worked quite well as you can see the brown poking through more. Every cloud has a silver lining......

The top layer of butterfly has been inked with a Tim Holtz distress ink pad. On the Outlawz Crash Your Stash challenge they were encouraging you to pull out your forgotten doilies. I used one as a base layer to mat the butterfly on and also inked around the edges. I think it makes it look softer and more antique.

I used the current sketch 808 from Stella Says Sketch for the layout.

The base of the card has been covered with a Papermania paper to match the colours in the wings. I used a die from Crafter's Companion called Intricate Floral Border and cut this from brown card. It amazes me how well these cut out with how intricate they are. I am however very glad I have the bristle roller tool to get the bits out with as they are a bit fiddly. One of the best things I have bought from HunkyDory I can tell you.

I used a digital sentiment from McMahon Five Designs who retired some years ago from designing stamps. I coloured the hearts with an orange glitter gel pen. This was matted onto offcuts of orange and brown left over from the butterfly. The finishing touch was some golden yellow gems for the body.

I have given this to a lovely elderly couple that live 2 doors away. They absolutely love my cards and as they are self isolating they do not have an awful lot to look forward to at the moment. Hopefully it will have brightened their day.

I hope everyone who visits my blog is safe and well wherever you are. It is a weird time but we can all play our part by following the rules that have been set out by our governments. The UK death toll is over 17,000 at the moment which is a huge number. 

I am incredibly sad for people that have been lost to this virus. I know a person who has passed. She is not a government statistic, she has a big family and it will have a devastating impact on them especially her mother. I am sure there are a lot of families who are in the same boat. Life as we we know it has been cancelled. This year has been cancelled. We have had Sports events and musicals cancelled until next year. I cannot even begin to fathom how upsetting it must be for people whose weddings have been cancelled. 

My sister and niece are frontline workers at a care home. A very good friend is a Sister in a hospital in a very nigh risk area. They are scared witless at the moment as they are put at so much risk every day. The stress is immeasurable, damaging their own healths as well as doing a difficult job anyway.  I am incredibly proud of them. When we clap on a Thursday at 8pm I am clapping for them especially, but also for every frontline worker.

I miss my friends and family but we are all keeping in touch, in some cases probably more than you would normally. I am creating beauty in my home and being crafty. The circumstances are not the best but lockdown isn't all bad. It is teaching us to slow down our busy lives. I had been unknowingly preparing for this since leaving my job at the end of October. I needed to de-stress and slow down, sort my head out and get into a much happier place. With meditation and being calm I have found peace. I am truly grateful I did that as I would have been going stir crazy by now. I am in a good place, probably the best I have been for many years which is crazy when you think what we are at the moment.

At times like this it is important to be positive and look on the bright side of life. I love how much quieter it is. I live on a major flightpath to Birmingham International airport and it is amazing how much quieter it is without so many planes. You can hear the birds twittering, the skies are so much clearer without as much pollution. Animal life is thriving and we even had a visit from a Sparrowhawk in our garden which we have never had before. 

My sister in Law saw an otter in the river in Stratford-upon-Avon yesterday, leatherback turtles hatching in high numbers on Thailand as the beaches are closed. I saw pictures yesterday of clear skies in Delhi without pollution, it is the same all over the world. Even the canals are clear in Venice as there are no gondolas stirring up the sediment.

Today is Earth Day which seems very apt as nature is thriving while humans are in lockdown. Maybe, just maybe when we get out of lockdown things will change for the better. Maybe we don't all want to go back to what normal was before.......

Card Details -

Size - A5

Digital Sentiment - McMahon Five Designs (retired)

Dies - Statement Butterfly & Intricate Floral Border by Crafter's Companion

Paper - Sunshine Capsule Collection by Papermania 

Colouring Medium - Sakura Glitter Gel Pen & Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad

Embellishments - gemstones

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - #37 Anything Goes with a Critter
• 613 Avenue Create – #232 Anything Goes
• A Bit More Time To Craft - #114 Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time To Craft - #4 Anything Goes
• All Fun Challenges - #6 Anything Goes
• Allsorts - #568 Flowers
• Alphabet Challenge – A is for Anything Goes
• Angie’s Digital Stamps - #41 Anything Goes
• Arty Divas - #20 Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug – Bingo (Flower, Sparkle, Sentiment)
• CCC Digi Creations - #113 Add a Flower / Flowers
• CD Sunday Plus - # 33 Anything Goes
• Classic Design Challenge - #4 Anything Goes
• Country View Crafts – Animal Magic
• Crafting Happiness - #45 Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - #37 Anything Goes with an Animal
• Crafty Calendar Challenge – Add a Butterfly
• Crafty Catz - #502 Anything Goes
• Crafty Friends - #133 Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper - Any Patterned paper
• Creatalicious Challenges - #185 Anything Goes
• Creative Craft Cottage - #128 Fully Loaded
• Creative Fingers - #184 Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - #189 Anything Goes
• Cupcake Inspirations - #CIC491 – Orange & Brown Image
• Cut It Up - #198 Our Beautiful Earth
• Die Cut Divas - Animals
• Digi Choosday - #16 Anything Goes
• Dragonfly Dreams – Add a Flower/Flowers
• Ellibelle’s Crafty Wednesday – Bugs, Blossoms and/or Butterflies
• Happy Little Stampers Die Challenge - ATG with a Die / Diecut
• House That Stamps Built – A2220 Anything Goes
• Ike’s World Challenge - #131 Anything Goes
• Jan’s Digi Stamps - #11 Anything Goes
• Lemon Shortbread - #118 Anything Goes
• Let’s Craft & Create - #158 Anything Goes
• Love To Craft - #45 Anything Goes
• Mix It Up Challenge - #36 Anything Goes
• Moving Along With The Times – #117 Diamante Embellishments
• Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
• Paper Shelter - #424 Happy Colours
• Path of Positivity -  #78 Anything Positive/Style
• Polkadoodles - #16 Anything Goes
• QKR Stampede – #394 Anything Goes
• Sheepski Designs - #37 Show us Your Wings
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Flower Power
• Stella Says Sketch - #808 Sketch for Layout
• The Creative Crafters - #27 Anything Goes
• The Library Challenge - #57 A Child’s Garden of Verses (Butterflies & Flowers on cover)
• The Paper Funday Challenge - #16 Anything Goes
• Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Word Art Wednesday - #436-437 Anything Goes
• World Wide Open Design Team Challenge - #04 Anything Goes