Happy Birthday Mum

It was my mum's birthday at the end of the month and this is the card I made her. I am really pleased with the way this turned out, and know she loved it too.

 

This card was based on a card by Michelle Last and she has a useful tutorial on her blog, showing you how to make the flowers. You will find it here. Michelle's card was in blue which I personally love but my mum doesn't really like blue, so I made her a pink version. I used Regal Rose cardstock, ink and designer paper, contrasted with Crumb Cake.

The flowers were stamped using the Flower Accent stamp (£7.95) and the 'Rock and Roll' technique. This means inking the stamp with Regal Rose and then 'rolling' the edges in Crumb Cake, giving the edges of the flowers some definition. The flowers were then cut out and covered in Crystal Effects, sprinkled with glitter and some Basic Pearls were added to the centre. Once dry, the points of the petals were curled and shaped. Leaves were cut using the Little Leaves die and the Big Shot, in Crumb Cake.

The background was stamped on Very Vanilla using Crumb Cake ink. I used the Notably Ornate and Vintage Vogue stamp sets. I then sprayed the card with water and scrunched it up. I tore the edges and inked them with Crumb Cake.

The greeting was stamped using one of the Sincere Salutations Greetings, embossed in gold, and punched using the Oval Extra Large and Decorative Label punches.

Have a go at this card yourself. The results are beautiful.



My Diary

I have been wanting to alter my diary, ever since I saw the altered notebook in the Idea Book & Catalogue on page 64. I bought the Notably Ornate stamp set (17.95 clear, £22.95 wood) to make a birthday card for my daughter (which I haven't shared with you yet).She's not really into card making and it was one of the few sets she really liked. I actually love this set. It's so versatile and stamps beautifully every time. So, this is what I did to my diary:

I used Riding Hood Red cardstock, and the coordinating Love Letter Designer papers. The 2011 was cut using my Big Shot and a Sizzlets alphabet - you could use the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet.

I stamped the letter 'S' using the Broadsheet Alphabet and fit it into one the beautiful frames that you get in the Hodgepodge Hardware set. 

I used the 1-1/4 striped grosgrain ribbon in Real Red to decorate the front but I also wanted it to act as a book mark, so I left a length to go inside the diary and added a punched flower to give it some weight. The flower was created using the 5 Petal flower and the Boho Blossoms punch.

I made sure everything was stuck down really well especially all the edges, as my diary is in and out of my bag all day long and I don't want to accidently pull anything off. That is why I've not used any 3D elements. I reckon this diary will explain what I do far better than words could and, as I go to lots of meetings, I may even get some parties/orders out of it. Have a go yourself and alter something. I'd love to see the results. x