International Art and Soul Challenge 18

The challenge at International Art and Soul this fortnight is Monochromatic. Other than that, your project can be anything you like!

I was inspired to use a free gift from a magazine for this card.

The butterfly was made using the template which was a magazine freebie a few months ago. It gives a cut line and provides a scoring board for both a butterfly and heart-shaped embellishment. I used some paper from a Papermania pad for that. I had planned on using other papers from the pad to make flowers and as the background, but maybe I'm just too wary of mixing patterns. When I tried it out, it just looked too cluttered and busy. So, I had a re-think. I stamped the sentiment using a Lily of the Valley stamp and Memento ink, and shaded the flowers and leaves with Sakura glitter pens in silver and clear. The swirls were cut using Sizzix dies, and the flowers are, I think Cheery Lynn, which I finished with seed beads.The background is actually some marbled card I bought very early in my paper-crafting career. Back in the days when I did a lot of cross stitch, I used to go to a craft show at Olympia which had both stitching and papercrafts. As I got into papercrafts, I realised I needed some patterned paper, but was wary of anything too busy, so I bought a pack of marbled card in various pastel shades. I've still got a lot of it because it's actually too subtle for most uses! Last time I went to that show, it was almost completely turned over to knitting, so I never went back. (I do knit, but not often and I wouldn't feel the need to go to a craft show to get yarn.)

So, that's the card, as well as some totally unnecessary background! I hope you can join us this time.