CCC Day 14 ❄️ Butterfly Tree Card – Use Your Scraps!
Are you a scrap hoarder? I definitely am – I can’t bear to throw any bits of cardstock away, even the tiny ones!
But do I actually USE them? Err… nope!!
Well, that all changes today!! This butterfly Christmas tree card is a great way to get those card scraps OUT of the drawer and ONTO a craft project!
This project was part of 2022's Christmas Craft Countdown.
Materials supply list
Here is a list of the materials that I used to make this project.
Please note that some of the links included in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
- Cricut machine
- Light blue Cricut cutting mat
- Scraps of green card (ideally 5 different shades), plus a tiny bit of brown for the tree base
- Patterned card or thick paper for card base
- White and gold card
- Collall All Purpose Glue
- Needle Tip Applicator Bottle
- 3D foam pads(thinner ones e.g. 1mm work better for this project)
- Double-sided tape (optional)
- Cricut scoring wheel or scoring stylus (optional)
- Washi tape or similar
Video tutorial
Watch the video below to see how to make this project. Keep scrolling for a written tutorial.
Written tutorial (with photos!)
Here’s how to make your very own Christmas bauble card using a Cricut machine!
Step 1) Download the cutting file(s) & unzip the downloaded folder
Purchase the Cutting File(s)
This cutting file is available as part of the
Christmas Craft Countdown 2022 Instant Access Bundle.
Already purchased? Access the downloads here.
Or, purchase this design individually from my SVG shop
Before you upload the SVG to Design Space, you need to unzip the download folder that it comes in.
- How to unzip a folder on Windows computer
- How to unzip a folder on a Mac
- How to unzip a folder on an iPad/iPhone
- How to unzip a folder on an Android device
Step 2) Upload the SVG file into Design Space
Open up Cricut Design Space and start a new Project.
Click “Upload” and then find your unzipped version of the downloaded files for this project.
Select the file called svg-scrap-butterfly-tree-craftwithsarah.svg
This is how it should look after you have uploaded the file:
All the layers should appear “on top of each other” as per the image above. If you see all the layers next to each other instead, that means you’ve accidentally uploaded the wrong file type. If that’s the case, click “Cancel” on the bottom-right of the screen and try again.
Make sure you upload the file which starts svg- in the filename!!
After uploading, the design will show in your “Recently Uploaded Images”.
Click on it and then press “Add to Canvas” to put it onto your Project.
Check the design is 10 inches wide and 7 inches tall. It will make a 5×7 inch card when made.
The butterflies on the left of the card are “spares” in case we need some extra to fill in gaps in the tree shape when it’s being stuck together.
Step 3) Add a score line
If you have a scoring tool or scoring wheel for your Cricut machine, it’s a good idea to add a score line to the middle of the base card to make it easier to fold in the correct place.
If you don’t have a way to score with your Cricut, move on to Step 4.
To add a score line, first click the card and “Ungroup” all of the layers.
Drag the base card away from the other layers to make it easier to work with.
Go into “Shapes” and choose a score line.
Make it the same height as the card (7 inches).
Click “Align” and “Center” to put the score line exactly in the middle of the card.
With both layers still selected, press “Attach”.
Attach is what tells the Cricut that we want it to do the score line down the middle of the base card.
You can leave the base card where it is, or move it back into position.
In the image above, notice that I’ve moved the grey tree layers over to one side. You don’t have to cut this if you don’t want to, but it’s used as a stencil so that we know where to stick the butterflies
If you’re confident you could make the shape of the tree without a guide then you can leave that layer off by clicking the eye next to it in the layers panel, however I know I’m not very good at sticking things by eye so I will definitely be using it.
Step 4) Cut out all the layers
When you’re happy with how the project is looking in Design Space, click “Make It” and follow the instructions on-screen to cut out all the layers.
To change the paper size, go into the dropdowns over on the left side of the screen and choose the paper size that you want to use. You need to change it for every single colour.
Select your scraps of green cardstock so that you can position the butterflies.
You can move things around by clicking and dragging. Make sure when you’re moving things about that nothing overlaps because otherwise, it won’t cut out properly.
Align the butterflies so that they will fit on your scraps of card. Watch the video near the top of this page for a more detailed guide on how to do this.
TIP: New to cutting cardstock with a Cricut? Check out this in-depth tutorial which goes through every step of the process, including tips for getting the best quality cuts from your Cricut.
The butterflies make perfect use of your tiny scraps of card!
Step 5) Create the butterfly Christmas tree
Use washi tape or similar to stick the solid white rectangle piece to your desk so that it won’t move.
If you’re using the tree shaped stencil, tape that on top.
The download folder contains a printable guide on where to stick the butterflies. I recommend printing this out and having it next to you, as a guide.
Glue the butterflies to the card, tucking some of them under the stencil where they meet the edges.
My favourite glue to use on papercraft projects is Collall All Purpose Glue.
It’s SO good because it doesn’t “warp” or bend the cardstock like some glues do. You can use as much of it as you want and the card stays perfect – and it dries perfectly clear too!
To make it even easier to apply glue to layered card projects, I highly recommend getting some of these needle tip applicator bottles to put the glue into.
The nozzles are REALLY tiny which makes them perfect for putting glue in the pieces of cardstock that make up this design.
Start with the larger butterflies.
Keep adding the butterflies, in size order.
At this point, I added some thin 1mm foam squares under the smaller butterflies to give it a bit of dimension.
I also started adding some of the “spare” larger butterflies to cover the big gaps that were left.
When the tree is looking almost complete, carefully take off the stencil layer.
Finish adding the butterflies.
Glue on the three layers that make up the base of the tree.
Carefully remove the washi tape from the edges of the card.
Step 6) Assemble the greetings card
Glue the tree piece to the gold rectangle.
Add foam squares to the back of the piece. Make sure you add some in the middle as well as around the edge to stop the piece of card from bending downloads.
Stick onto the front of your greetings card.
As I used a patterned paper for my card base that’s highly decorated on each side, I cut an extra white and gold rectangle to stick on the inside of my card so that I can write my message a little bit easier.
There you have it – your beautiful butterfly Christmas tree card is all finished!!
I love the concept of this card for using up some of the card scraps that have been sitting in my craft room untouched for months.
You could use the same idea to make cards for any occasion. Perhaps a butterfly-filled heart for Valentine’s Day, an egg shape for Easter or a balloon for birthdays?
Happy crafting,
Sarah x