Embossed Birthday Card

Happy Sunday, all.  I took a break from blogging but am returning with full force!  March, April and May are busy card months for me.  And with the winter over, I'm itching to get out and about with other activities that I can possibly share.  

The first birthday card in this Spring series was made for my sister in law, Jill.  Jill turned 41 but according to her, she's 42.  Quite possibly the only woman to make herself a year older.  :)  

What I used: 

• black card stock
• piece of paper from the My Mind's Eye "The Station" paper pad
• clear stamps from Tim Holtz visual artistry Stampers Anonymous Collection
• Happy Birthday die cut from the K&Company 76 piece Beyond Post Marks Flora Die Cuts
• heating tool
• embossing ink
• embossing powder in ruby red
• scalloped corner cutter
• round corner cutter

The black card stock is cut down to 5 x 7 inch.  I adhered it to a 5 x 7 inch card and cut the right corners with a round corner cutter.  

I really liked the old look of the printed paper.  And I loved the bird cage.  I cut that paper down smaller than the black card stock and used the scalloped corner cutter on all 4 of its corners. I centered it in the black card stock and adhered.  

I found the cool Tim Holtz clear stamps at Michaels.  I chose the flowers and bird stamps.  I thought the flowers looked antique, almost like a pressed flower saved in a bible or a class year book.  I dipped it in the embossing ink and stamped it on the printed paper.  I wanted it to overlap the printed paper and black card stock.  Then I sprinkled the red embossing powder over the top of the stamped ink.  Next I shook the powder off, making sure the stamped ink was perfectly covered with the powder.  Then I used the heating tool over the powdered ink until it became shiny.  Since I was using a powder that had glitter in it, I had to be careful because it burns easily.  In fact, I did end up burning it so part of the flowers looked sparkly and part looked kind of like burnt sienna.  It actually ended up working well for the flowers, adding to that dried pressed flower look.  I did the same thing with the clear bird stamp.  

And lastly, I adhered the red "Happy Birthday" die cut at the bottom of the card, slightly over the flower stem.  

Happy Birthday, Jill!  

That was my card.  I hope you liked it.  I can't wait to do some more embossing in the future.

Coming up: 

• several birthday cards
• shadow box garden workshop
• outdoor stepping stones

You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real, 

Miss Jules  <3