Birthday Wishes

A friend had her birthday in March and due to my poor planning her present was a bit delayed, so we celebrated in early April and I wanted to give her a card she would love. Serena has loved the melon mambo color since we first got a sneak peek when the current catalog was sent to demonstrators. I couldn't think of a better card for her than one made with Melon Mambo!

As I was putting the card together in my head, I realized that I had only a few days before I had to send my April swap cards on their way, so to be efficient I combined the two efforts. Needing to incorporate designer series paper for the April swap theme, I pulled out the Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper and got to work. It was a pretty simple design that enabled me to spend some time to create the flower focal point.

I used a technique I learned at a previous class I attended called Faux Suede. The point of the technique is to work the cardstock in many directions and break down the fibers within. This softens the cardstock to give it that worn, veiny look. I punched out my shapes using three punches: the Extra Large Fancy Flower, the Scalloped Circle Punch, and a 1-inch Scalloped Circle Punch. Using my fingers, I worked the cardstock in multiple directions. When the cardstock had softened a bit, I rolled it in a tight ball. I unfolded it and repeated in different directions multiple times. The layers of paper that make up the cardstock eventually start to split along the edges. When this happened, I carefully pulled the cardstock apart to form 2 pieces of my punched shape. I also used Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper as two layers of the flower and used my fingers to gently work the paper to give it the worn look, but did not split it. I layered my flower and used a Summer Sun corduroy brad to secure the layers together. I made the leaves in Old Olive cardstock using the wings from the Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch. I used my bonefolder to make veins in the leaves.

Also, there are four things I learned while making this card:

1. When Steve offers to help because I looked stressed (because the kitties were running away with my balls of paper), he really doesn't want to 1. run around catching the kitties or 2. roll 15 flowers into balls until they start to fall apart while I run around catching the kitties.

2. This technique is not best for large number replication, as your hand will cramp after 3 cards.

3. I really really love the Rich Razzleberry color and I'm SO glad it's becoming permanent (more on this to come).

4. And lastly crushed curry is starting to grow on me...hopefully I use up my stash by June 30th.

Thanks for stopping by!

All supplies by Stampin' Up! ® unless otherwise noted:

Stamps: Heard from the Heart

Paper: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon (I used the back side), Extra Large Fancy Flower punch, Scalloped Circle punch, 1-inch Scalloped Circle punch (EK Success), Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch, Summer Sun Corduroy Brad, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, bone folder