Birthday Card

Hello and Happy Wednesday!  Today I'm here with a new birthday card to share with you.  This is one of my favorites!

I saw this little girl in the 2012 Annabelle Stamps, Tomorrows Dream Collection, and I just couldn't pass her up.  I thought she had the cutest face!  I paired her with the swirly background paper from K&Company's Citronella paper collection to create the "windy" mood for kiting.  :o)

I colored the image with my Letraset Markers and my Atyou Spica Twinkling Like Stars Pens to add a little sparkle here and there.  For the finishing touch I added a few highlights with my Sakura Ice Cream Smooth Gelly Roll Pen,  The little girl's dress and kite were paper pieced using patterns from the Melody Ross Designer Collection-Homespun Chic.  I love the array of tiny patterns in this particular paper collection.

This darling ticket comes from Whimsy Stamps, Ticket Notes and Ticket Die.  I use these a lot--tickets are so versatile and make a great little added detail to so many different card styles.

The detail across the top of the card was made using several elements:  The embossed floral border is from the Cuddlebug embossing border collection-With Love;  the embossed scallop border is an EK Success border punch-Embossed Curve, and the piercing was done using my Stampin' Up Paper Piercing Pack Essentials.

This card style was very easy to create and was actually an after thought, lol!  I find that the best cards come by allowing myself to create without a lot of preplanning and/or over thinking.  Letting go and allowing the creative process to take on a life of its own always yields the best results for me.

As you can see in this photo, I created the card base and attached my matted image to the inside of flap.  For a bit of added stability, I ran the rickrack and ribbon over top of the image.

For the inside I used some of the same embossed border detail for the upper edge, and I added a butterfly cut with my Martha Stewart punch, as well.  This was actually a practice cut I made to test the punch just after receiving it.  I keep all of those extra cuts in a box for future use.  Curling the edges and adding simple rhinestones made it come alive, don't you think?

The pretty, stamped greeting is one of my favorite stamp collections from Crafty Secrets Clear Art Stamps-Glamour Girls.  I've used this particular stamp set many times on other projects and I just can't get enough of it!  For a touch of elegance, I stamped the greeting, immediately sprinkled embossing powder over top, and heat set it.  I really like the finished effect.

I hope you enjoyed today's project.  It was a joy for me to create!  Please come back and visit again soon!

Merilee

Recipe:

Paper: Melody Ross Designer Collection-Homespun Chic, K&Company-Citronella, Recollections (yellow gingham, Blue card base)

Markers and Ink: Letraset Markers, Atyou Spica Twinkling Like Stars Pens, Sakura Ice Cream Smooth Gelly Roll Pens, Tim Holtz Distress Ink 

Ribbon and Embellishments: Offray Straight 'N' Narrow, Martha Stewart Create-Playful Ribbon, Rhinestones, Flowers and Brad from my stash

Stamps: Annabelle Stamps, Tomorrows Dream Collection, Whimsy Stamps, Ticket Notes and Ticket Die, Crafty Secrets Clear Art Stamps-Glamour Girls 

Tools: Martha Stewart Score Board, Martha Stewart Punch-Butterfly, Whimsy Stamp Collection-Ticket Die, Big Kick, Blending Tool, Stampin' Up Paper Piercing Pack Essentials, Scallop Scissors, ATG gun, Mini Glue Dots