Birthday card using Sweet Summer

It's that wonderful time of the Stampin' Up year when you get to choose free stamp sets for every £45 you spend! There are four gorgeous sets to choose from and extra benefits for those hosting a party and for those joining Stampin' Up too - click here to find out more.) If you'd like to take advantage of any of these offers, just email me or call me on 01280 820593.

Now, if you were with me yesterday, you'll know that I've been thinking of ways to use the butterfly and bird stamps from the Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration set. I felt they deserved to be more than just accessories to the bigger flower and leaf images. Yesterday we had an explosion of multi-coloured butterflies and today we have a confetti of birdies!

I adore the little birds aqua-painted in these fondant colours. My aqua painter appears to have been glued to my fingers doesn't it?! If you haven't yet used one, you must try it! I am addicted to using mine and am currently aqua-painting anything that moves in my house...!

The envelope-style of this card was an idea that came to me in the night and I think it works rather well here. The happy birthday stamp from Perfect Punches is brilliant and has the added advantage of having a coordinated punch so that you can cut a perfect oval.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock 9cm square. Stamp a random design on it using the bird image and Early Espresso ink. Colour the birds roughly with inks and a medium aqua painter. Stamp one extra bird on a scrap of Whisper White card stock and colour it too.
• Mount the bird panel onto a 9.5cm square of Pumpkin Pie card stock.
• To make the card base, cut a piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock 14cm x 20cm and cut and fold as shown in the diagram below.

• Attach the mounted bird panel to the card front and fold the flap over it. Secure the flap with Stick Strip.
• Colour the happy birthday stamp from Perfect Punches using markers. Cut it out using the extra large oval punch and fix over the bottom of the flap with dimensionals.
• Take the extra bird you'd stamped and cut him out with sharp paper snips. Add him to the happy birthday oval using a piece of dimensional.

I am absolutely loving using this Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration set and I'm certainly not finished with it yet! Come and join me tomorrow when I'll be using the set for the first Three Minute Thursday of 2011!
See you then,