Birthday card - using So Happy For You

Regular readers of my blog will know that I'm usually a clean and simple girl but there's more than a hint of the boudoir in today's post!

You probably know that as part of the Sale-a-bration promotion, you can choose one of four exclusive stamp sets free each time you place an order of £45 or more. Well, one of the free sets is this sentiment set:

Not terribly feminine, you may be thinking! But look:

I set myself the challenge of using just the stamps from the sentiment set to create something pretty and girlie. And it was great fun!

The main panel has been sponged to make a quick background, then I stamped a riot of flowers over it, using the tiny flower stamp, on stems made from the trail of the butterfly. Some of the flowers were 'stamped off ' which gives a lovely range of tones. I dotted the insides of the paler flowers with the fine end of a marker and decorated the darker ones with lovely sparkly rhinestones.

An extravagant satin bow adds to the feminine feel as does the lacy border, cut with the scallop trim border punch.

I layered more details with a little piercing, faux stitching, distressing and tone-on-tone stamping.

That gorgeous little butterfly makes the perfect finishing touch - although, looking at it now, I wish I'd moved him a tad to the right.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut an 8cm x 6.5cm piece of Very Vanilla card stock. Lightly sponge the top half with Marina Mist ink and the bottom half with Old Olive ink to create a simple background.
• Use the trail of the butterfly stamp to stamp stems on the bottom of the card stock in Old Olive ink.
• Use Rich Razzleberry ink to stamp flowers. Stamp two or three flowers at a time before re-inking the stamp (this technique is called Stamping Off) to create a range of tones. Colour the centre of the paler flowers with the thin end of a Not Quite Navy marker and decorate the darker ones with self-adhesive rhinestones.
• Stamp the sentiment and the butterfly using a stamp-a-majig for accuracy.
• Mount the panel onto an 8.5cm x 7cm piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock.
• Cut a 10.5cm x 8.5cm piece of Pink Pirouette card stock and curve the corners with a corner rounder. Stamp flowers over the bottom half of it using Pink Pirouette ink, which gives a tone-on-tone effect. Use the template from the mat pack to pierce holes round the edge and join the holes with the thin end of a Pink Pirouette marker to create faux stitching. Distress the edges of the card stock and sponge with Pink Pirouette ink.
• Tie a piece of Old Olive satin ribbon round the Pink Pirouette card stock and finish with a big bow. Attach the flower panel on top using dimensionals.
• Cut an A5 piece of Very Vanilla card stock. Score and fold in half to make a card base. 
• Cut an A5 x 5cm strip of Very Vanilla card stock and decorate the long edges with the scallop trim border punch. Use the template from the mat pack to pierce holes along the insides of the border. Glue the strip to the card front and attach the focal panel on top of it.

Supplies
Stamps: So Happy For You (FREE sale-a-bration set)
Ink: Marina Mist, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry
Other: Basic Rhinestones, scallop trim border punch, Old Olive satin ribbon, Not Quite Navy marker, corner rounder

If you would like to order any of the supplies to re-create this card, or have any questions, please click here to email me, or give me a ring on 01280 820593. I'm happy to help!

All this feminine frivolity has made me feel a bit wistful. I often think it must have been wonderful to wear those pretty, lacy Edwardian frocks... but then my practical side takes over and I wonder how on earth they got their hems clean! A bustle would play havoc with your tumble drier too so, all things considered, I think I'll stick to my jeans!

Thank you for looking today.
See you tomorrow for a little bit of luck!