Cuttlebug Challenge #29 - Mom's Day card

So this challenge came at the perfect time. I actually had the perfect idea for a card...inspired by a design in last month's "Card magazine". Yesterday I turned this design into reality, creating a thank you card for my husband's grandma. Today, though, I used the same design to create a super sparkly floral MOTHER'S DAY card.

My inspiration was a card punched with various flowers and backed with ribbon. Those of you who know me probably also know that I love creating, but am not into all the work. (If that "easy" button from the commericials actually worked I'd be the proud owner of several!) Anyway, what could be simpler than punches backed with patterned paper?! It provided a similar look to ribbon but without the work.

With the last Cuttlebug challenge I discovered a new technique which I just love. Instead of embossing each piece, I run my layered creation through the machine all at once. I wouldn't recommend this if you have a super-thick design, but the above card has about two layers of cardstock and it ran through perfectly. I love it because the embossing is more defined too.

Card info:
I started with a 4 x 5.25 inch white cardstock scrap (by Georgia Pacific) and randomly punched out parts with my Martha Stewart flower punch (by EK Success). (This punch features all three flowers so for the two flower portions I lined up the punch with the edge of the paper so that the large part didn't get punched.) I selected some other papers - two patterned (pink-Making Memories; yellow-Basic Grey) and one textured cardstock (by Diecuts with a View). I cut these papers down to fit the punched shapes and adhered using regular tape to the backside of the card. Then the Cuttlebug came out. I ran the whole piece through - layers and all and actually ended up using the debossed side of the paper for the front of the card...no real reason except that I thought it looked nice (Floral Fantasy folder). I took some of the punch outs and used tiny zots to attach to the front of the card and accented with mini gems. You'll notice I peeled up the edges of the small adhered flowers for added dimension. I also added a larger gem to the four large punchout flowers for flair (gems by Kaiser Crafts). The final step was the layered greeting and butterfly. I used the oval and matching scallop templates from Spellbinders to cut the greeting tag. The "Mom" stamp (by Amuse) was stamped directly to the white cardstock using a Staz On pad. I used 3-D dots to pop up the greeting also. Finally, I punched two butterflies (Martha Stewart by EK Success) from the yellow pattern. The top butterfly was glued to the bottom one using a glue dot so that only the body was attached allowing me to peel up the wings to create more dimension. And it absolutely couldn't be complete with some bling (row of gems by Hero Arts). To finish, I backed the white piece with a layer of teal to offset from the white card base.

As for the matching envelope, I used a standard white A2. I cut a block of the textured cardstock and added a scallop strip to the top (border punch by Stampin' Up!). I accented with the same floral diecuts as used on the card. (Tip: Instead of using glue to attach the diecuts, I ran a strip of the patterned yellow through my mini Xyron machine to create a "sticker". I then punched the images and peeled away the backing. Permanent and ready-to-go!) I then added a faux envelope seal by cutting a circle and scallop shadow with Spellbinders templates. Finally, I added a layered butterfly. Also, all pieces were run through the Cuttlebug with the Floral Fantasy embossing folder prior to be attached to the envelope.

To enter your design in the Cuttlebug challenge, click here for more info!