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Tuesday 7 June 2011

Growing Green birthday card

I didn't tell you about my birthday did I? For my birthday treat I was taken to the David Austin rose garden at Albrighton to smell the roses! I adore roses - the many shapes, colours and fragrances of them - and I also LOVE the idea of slowing down our lives and taking time to 'smell the roses'. Anyway, before you go off yawning, the only reason I mention it is that my card-making seems to have been inspired by roses a lot just lately - you'll see a couple of floral cards this week!

This one was triggered by this week's Make My Monday challenge where we've been asked to make cards with red flowers.


I've recently rediscovered my Growing Green stamp set and this card is made with the rose image from the set. Last week I found that you can water colour nicely on the Confetti range of card stock - so naturally I've not been able to stop doing so! These roses have been stamped in Riding Hood Red and then the colour has been smooshed around haphazardly. (And no, I didn't think spellchecker would like the word 'smooshed'!)


I wanted a graphic look for this card so I used this punchy sentiment from the hostess set Afterthoughts and added a scored border round the card front. I did this really easily using my Fiskars trimmer and a bone folder. Honestly, I really could not do without my Fiskars - I sometimes think I could ask it to make me a cup of tea and it would oblige!


The card really needed something to link the sentiment with the pile of roses so I added my favourite embellishment of the moment - these gorgeous butterflies made with the Beautiful Wings embosslits die. And then, because a girl sometimes gets carried away, I added a touch of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the roses! Can you see that in the photo?

Here's how to make this card:

  • Take an A5 piece of Confetti Cream card stock. Score and fold it in half to make a card base.
  • Stamp the bottom and right of the card front with the rose image from Growing Green using Riding Hood Red ink. Use an aqua painter to pull some of the colour out to fill in the petals.
  • Use a ruler and a soft pencil to mark the corners of a border on the inside of the card front - my border is half a centimetre in from the edges. Use the pencil marks as a guide to score your border, then rub them out with an eraser.
  • Sponge Marina Mist ink over the sky areas on the front of the card - the raised border will catch a lot of the ink. Sponge Riding Hood Red over the rose-stamped parts of the border.
  • Stamp a sentiment in Riding Hood Red ink, using a stamp-a-majig for accuracy.
  • Add three Baja Breeze die-cut butterflies and some touches of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to finish.

Supplies
Stamps: Growing Green, Afterthoughts (hostess set)
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Marina Mist
Card stock: Confetti Cream
Other: Beautiful Wings embosslits die, Dazzling diamonds glitter

I really enjoyed my birthday which kicked off with my youngest son coming into my bedroom wearing a pair of underpants, a clean tea towel folded neatly over his arm and a beaming smile. "May I take your breakfast order?" he asked cheerfully. He went on to suggest some specials and then sped off to ask his big sister to get on with it!

After I'd done full justice to pancakes, juice (with ice) and coffee, my lovely family showered me with gifts and then whisked me off to see the roses where I spent a lot of time doing this:


And I'm afraid the boys thought it was hilarious to make vulgar snorting noises!

We had a lovely lunch in the café, where everything was served in or on beautiful china decorated with roses.


Afterwards, my husband asked me to choose my favourite rose - and bought it for me! It was the Generous Gardener rose, a gloriously scented climber - just gorgeous!


Thank you so much for joining me today and for allowing me to go on about my little life! Do come back tomorrow when I'll have a lot more crafting and a lot less wittering! (I promise!)

Hope to see you then,

32 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Vicky, Happy Birthday to you! I'm glad you had a wonderful day! Your roses are beautiful!

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  2. Oh my! Sounds like a wonderful birthday! Please don't stop wittering- I always look forward to the "witter bit" at the bottom of your posts!!

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  3. Stunning card Vicky. I love the scored border you've created! Hope you had a lovely birthday, sounds like you had a great day!
    Hugs, Victoria ~x~

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  4. What a wonderful birthday.

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  5. Your card is truly beautiful Vicky. I`m pleased you had a great birthday and even more pleased you actually recieved a rose. At first I thought you had been taken to the garden centre simply to smell them. How gutting would that have been,lol.
    Lynne xxx

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  6. Many Happy Returns Vicky :)
    Sounds like a fab day out, you're so lucky to have such a wonderful family.
    Love todays card, the colours are so bold and definitely punchy together...love smooshed by the way :)
    Love your 'daily witterings'too...it's part of the package :)
    Jenny x

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  7. As I'm reading this post I'm humming 'Perfect Day', it certainly looks like it was. The roses on your card are reminiscent of 1950's style fabric, ladies in full skirted dresses. It's so fresh and I love the butterfly embellishments that 'Big Shot' is such a good idea x

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  8. A happy happy birthday to you Vicky! It sounds like you had a wonderful day & were truly spoilt :)
    Love the card, as ever. Why have I never thought of scoring a border with my fiskars?! Fab idea. Oh, & keep going with the wittering :)

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  9. What a fabulous post Vicky . . . and BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES to you.

    Love the card and can't wait to see what else you have in store for us this week.

    Hugs, Sandra

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  10. A belated happy birthday. I just love this card, the colours and everything are just beautiful

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  11. Gorgeous card Vicky, so glad you liked my first challenge. I noticed that you haven't linked it to the blog yet - you must it's just what we are looking for.
    So glad you had a lovely birthday - it's mine on Friday but I don't think I shall be receiving the star treatment you had from my chilren, it certainly sounds like you had a fab day - Jacqueline xx

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  12. Gorgeous card. Love that your smooching of colour hasn't lost any definition in the roses. Looks like you had a super Birthday. Many happy returns! x

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  13. Gorgeous card! Love those roses, and Happy Birthday! xx

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  14. Oh Happy Birthday Vicky
    Your day sounds wonderful as is your card
    Stunning!

    mandi x

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  15. Belated happy birthday wishes, sounds as though you had a fab day. Your card is wonderful, I love the 'smooshed' effect, I agree anbout the Fiskas, love mine too. Thanks for joining in Make My Monday's FIRST challenge, please give us a link, we need to pass the word around we are active. Caz

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  16. Sounds as though you had a super birthday! Your card is just beautiful. I love the effect you have achieved - very "arty"! Thank you so much for being our first entrant to "Make my Monday" - spread the word. See you again. We have a month long of flower challenges!

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  17. Gorgeous card Vicky. Nothing quite like the smell of roses is there?
    M x

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  18. Happy Birthday, Vicky!! What a treat! I love the photos and your card is splendid. The design perfectly showcases those beautiful roses!

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  19. Vicky,"Happy belated Birthday!", I'm so jealous you were treated like royalty......I wont get that for my birthday next week from Monty!!!, and I love to hear your witterings.

    Your card is stunning and you can almost smell the scent from here!!
    Bev.x

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  20. Happy birthday! It sounds like you had the most wonderful day. What a thoughtful family.

    Your roses are beautiful, too.

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  21. Belated birthday wishes Vicky, sounds like you had a wonderful day. Personally I don't mind blow owners talking about their personal lives - makes them seem a bit more realer (I just invented a word there!). It's a gorgeous card, the colour is just beautiful. Sarah

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  22. Hi Vicky
    Happy Birthday to you .....Seems as if you had a good one ...card love it ....hugs sylviexx
    Just going to ink my Motor bike stamp.....

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  23. It sounds like you had a wonderful day , I just love those roses. Thank you for joining in on Make my Monday, your card is stunning.

    Cathx

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  24. The flowers on this card are amazing and I love the picture of you smelling the roses! Thanks so much for sharing this! Janna

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  25. Belated Happy Birthday Vicky !!!!
    Beautiful card, I love the colour.

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  26. Happy Birthday, it sounds like you had a lovely day. I had to smile when I read about your son taking your breakfast order in his pants:) This card is beautiful and I love the watercolouring - stunning.

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  27. AAWWWW I missed your birthday, I'm sorry, I can see you had a good day, that's great:0) I love your card, fab stamp with the roses and I love your water colouring it works beautifully, Gay xx

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  28. Belated happy Birthday sounds like you had an inspiring day.
    Beautiful card :) love the rose stamp
    Sue x

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  29. Oh my goodness, the way you colored those flowers is breathtaking. Incredible!

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  30. Oh, Vicky! I love it when you go on about your life! Certainly looks like you had a lovely birthday (snorting noises and all... :) )! And your card... gorgeous! Love everything about it, but isn't it amazing how just a simple scoring line can take a card up a notch. Scoring lines and butterflies, of course! :) And a big belated birthday hug from me... glad it was happy!

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  31. A really gorgeous card Vicky and I just love those roses which are stunners.
    Glad to hear you had such a lovely birthday - what a great family you have!
    Thanks for joining in with the first Make My Monday challenge and good luck!
    Fliss x

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I'd love to know what you think. Do leave me a comment - it always makes my day! Vicky x


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