Hello Bee friends! It’s Bobbi Lemanski here sharing a new card. Butterflies are beautiful and I love what they represent. When my father passed away, my mother hung this beautiful butterfly in her breakfast nook window. It brought her peace. Later, I learned that there is a common belief that butterflies are signs of everlasting life after death. Some people believe when a person suffering from the loss of a loved one has this kind of unique experience with a butterfly, they feel it is their loved one communicating with them. I don’t know if my mom knew this, but for some reason this symbol helped her cope a little. Recently, my neighbor just lost her husband so I drew from this experience and created this card for her.

I’m using the following Honey Bee Stamps products for my card:

Lovely Layers: Bugs die set

Secret Garden Cover Plate die

Praying Big Time stamp set and coordinating die set

Rooting For You stamp set

Just BEEcause die set (for the antennas only)

Little Boy Blue sequin mix (Note: I used the Blue Jeans Baby mix which is no longer available, but this mix is very similar.)

First, some basic details… The featured project below is made from Neenah 80lb Solar White cardstock for the card base. All of the black ink stamping was done using Honey Bee’s Bee Creative Intense Black Ink. I use Honey Bee Stamps Bee Creative Precision Glue for adhering my elements together. My card measures 5″ X 7″. 

For the card front, I started by splattering on watercolor paint in black and metallic gold for a speckled look on a 5″ X 7″ piece of white cardstock. I used the Secret Garden Cover Plate die cut from a warm gray cardstock to layer over my card base. Since my card is an A7 size and the die cut is A2, I positioned it at the top with even borders around the three sides, leaving room for the “Heartfelt Sympathy” sentiment from the Rooting For You stamp set to be heat embossed below. I used my Bee Creative Clear Embossing and Watermark Ink Pad and gold metallic powder for all the heat embossing done on this card.

To create the butterfly, I die cut the butterfly pieces from Neenah 80lb Solar White cardstock. I also lined the butterfly wings in black cardstock to make them more sturdy since they stick out a bit. The butterfly was colored in using Copic colors: B39, B28, B26, B05, B02 and 100. I used a Gelly Roll white gel pen for the white markings on the wings. The butterfly was assembled. I added a black foam cushion between the wings to make the top layer stand out more. The butterfly was added to the front of the card, nestled inside the secret garden. 🙂 Sequins were added for additional blue color. I will attach this completed card front to the base once the base is completed in the next step.

When the card is opened, this glorious blue butterfly has spread its wings and is ready to take flight. The butterfly actually pops up from the inside for a lasting impression. To create the inside, I started by stenciling the Radiant Stencil sunburst in the middle, using a very light gray ink color. I wanted this to be subtle. I added a few black and gold dots to the edges, around the design with gel pens. I also heat embossed the sentiment phrases from the Praying Big Time stamp set and coordinating die set.

To make the pop-up mechanism, I cut a 1/2″ wide X 5″ tall strip from white cardstock. I scored and folded on the score lines using the measurements provided above: 1″, 2″ 2-1/2″, 3″ and 4″. I also die cut antennas using the string die from the set, Just BEEcause die set. Two circle punches were glued to the tips of each one.

To make the butterfly, I die cut two of the Lovely Layers: Bugs die top wings in black and two in white and colored them in using the same colors noted above. I flipped one wing and colored it on the wrong side so that I had a left and a right wing. I glued the colored wings to the black wing set to make them more sturdy. I adhered the pop-up mechanism and the butterfly with antennas (glued behind the wings) in place using permanent hold double-sided Scor-Tape.

Here’s how the pop up will look from the top down. It folds beautifully in place and folds flat for mailing. My antennas fold flat as well. This makes mailing the card doable.

You can shop the entire Honey Bee Stamps Modern Spring release here. If you decide to place an order, please use the links in this post so that Honey Bee knows which ideas inspired you!

Thanks for stopping by today. If you want to see more ideas and inspiration from me, subscribe to my blog, BobbiHartDesign.com. I’ll send you updates on new posts! You can also find me on Instagram as @BobbiHartDesign and on Facebook as BobbiHartDesign.