Vintage Type Birthday Card

I am finally back. We took some time to grieve the sudden death of our very loved horse (see two previous posts below) and then my husband got sick with a nasty virus. I got it next and still don't feel 100%, but working my way there :-). The snow here is beginning to melt a little at a time, so I am hoping that the snow is done now for this winter and that spring is just on the horizon. We have had such extended winters for the last few years here that an early spring would be awesome! I know that the groundhog says no to an early spring, but I don't know, he isn't always right, lol! My horse, Starlight, is already shedding her winter coat in droves. She and Sadie got their winter coats early in the autumn of 2009, so I knew that the cold was coming early and sure enough, it did. God has equipped animals so well :-). If I want to know when the rain is coming I just have to look out of my kitchen window to see if the horses are down by the barn. Once they get to the barn it will rain within 30 minutes, like clockwork. They know. So, since Starlight is shedding her heavy winter coat as much as she is right now, I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, spring is just around the corner. I hope so. I am sooooo ready for winter to be over and to see some green again.

I made a card before I got to feeling droopy, but with all that has transpired I didn't get around to posting it. I LOVE the Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper by Stampin' Up! I think it has to be my most favorite. This paper lends itself easily to a vintage look, so that was where I took it for this card. I inked the edges of the Top Note die cut and the Small Tag punch with Creamy Caramel to give it a bit of an aged look. I have seen a lot of flowers recently made by stamping tissue paper and then punching out flower shapes. The flowers look great! I ran out of white tissue paper at Christmas time though, and haven't had a chance to replenish my supply yet. I wanted to try these flowers so I used what I had- vellum! It does take a while for stamped vellum to dry, but you can speed up the drying process by using your heat tool. Just don't get too close to the vellum while heating the ink dry because you could burn it or cause it to warp.

I used one of my favorite birthday sentiments on the inside of this card and added three butterflies from the new Beautiful Wings embosslit in the Occasions Mini. The stamped swirl I used for the butterflies is from Snow Buddies, a hostess set from the 2009 Holiday Mini, but you could use any swirl stamp that you have on hand or draw the swirl yourself. I inked the edges of the inside of my card with Creamy Caramel so it would be consistent with the aged look of the outside, then added a touch of Old Olive.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful week so far and that you are all staying warm and cozy. I'll be back tomorrow! Have a great day!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: En Francais- 109521, Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370, Snow Buddies- 116505 (hostess-2009 Holiday Mini)
Paper: Bordering Blue- 102630, Very Vanilla- 101650, Old Olive- 100702, Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper- 113974
Ink: All Classic Ink used: Bordering Blue- 102265, Creamy Caramel- 103220, Bordering Blue Stampin' Write marker- 100070
Dies: Little Leaves- 114511, Swirls Scribbles- 113441, Beautiful Wings embosslit- 118138, Top Note- 113463
Punches: Tag- 105934, Small Tag- 108264, Trio Flower- 109183, 5 Petal Flower- 109041, Double Rectangle- 105088
Other: Very Vanilla 1/4" grosgrain ribbon- 109026, vellum