Happy Mother's Day!

Hello and Welcome to Magpieheaven! As you may know life has been quite hectic in the Magpies' Nest lately. I realized - thanks to my daughter - that Mother's Day is tomorrow! My mother always joins us for Sunday Lunch so, thanks to Matilda reminding me, I have created a card for this special day, which we can spend together as a family now that my Mum is only just down the road. One of the 'ingredients' on the card is a little unusual this time! My lovely crafting friend, Lesley Ebdon who I chat with on Twitter and who I hope to meet soon at Ally Pally on April 12th sent me a mystery package last week with some material left over from a City and Guilds Fashion Course she once did. I think it is the kind of 'iron-on' gauzy fabric used to reinforce collars, although she no doubt would be able to enlighten me on this. The translucence of it really appealed and suggested butterflies to me! My mum is losing her sight, but if she holds the card up close I hope she will be able to see that unmistakable butterfly shape. I always feel that Spring has well and truly come when the butterflies appear, so ethereal in the hedgerows - and there was something rather ethereal about that fabric Lesley sent when it was cut into a butterfly shape!

 I ran the fabric through my 'Big Shot' with a Sizzix butterfly die and then played around with painting it and adding it as layers. I've edged this layer in the foreground with some French Roast PaperArtsy Fresco. The other two butterflies are Smoothy card painted with Antarctic and Mermaid and then stamped with an Ink and the Dog Mini Script stamp in Versafine Vintage Sepia and a lady from LPC028, one of the new Lynne Perrella stamps from PaperArtsy. You can also see some pieces of cocktail stick painted with Fresco. I used these for the butterflies' bodies, adding some flower centres I had in my stash as antennae.

 Here is the finished card! I got so carried away experimenting with effects on the gauzy material combined with paint, Frantage and other layers, I had no time to take step by step photos, but I have taken some detail shots to show how I built up the butterflies. My background is a sheet of card, Crackle Glazed over Little Black dress with Sage Fresco. I love this shade and I've used so much of it, I now need to replenish my supplies! I edged the card with Hey Pesto and stamped some script from LPC028 and a border from LPC012 in Wendy Vecchi, Fern Green Archival ink. The sentiment is from Lin Brown's new Flower Sentiments in the PaperArtsy Eclectica range and the label comes with the butterfly die. I painted it with Vanilla Fresco and edged and stamped it with Fern Green Archival.

The Sizzix die has two sizes of butterfly so I was able to add a second layer that really focused on the lady's eyes. This one is rather like a surreal version of a Peacock butterfly. When you see Peacock butterflies settled in large numbers on a Buddleia their wings always remind me of hosts of bright glittering eyes. I added gems and Frantage in Shabby Blue to the wing tips.

 It is difficult to convey in a photograph, but the Frantage worked really well with the gauzy layer. I also did some stenciling over the dress-making gauze on the left-hand butterfly. The bunting floating in the breeze is Wendy Vecchi Fern Green Archival ink stamped on Mermaid Fresco painted card and then 'fussy cut' and attached to the card. The stamp is from LPC005.

I do hope that all the Mums in Crafty Blogland will have a lovely day tomorrow; that those of us whose Mums can spend the day with us will have a really special day and that those whose Mums cannot be with them for whatever reason will have happy memories to celebrate.