A Bit Out of my Comfort Zone!

Aloha, all!

     I am really starting to get my energy back and was so happy when a neighbor asked me to make a birthday card for her visiting Mother-in-Law – who's just turned 90!  When I asked about colors, Marie said, "Oh something feminine like peach or something like that. She's really into girly stuff." Hmmm. Well, the first color that came to mind was Crisp Cantaloupe. And the equally-retired Pistachio Pudding would have been equally-perfect!  But those colors aren't around in my "current-Stampin'-Up!-products-only" craft room. I'm still moving and thinking a bit slowly, but I finally settled on Mint Macaron and Calypso Coral for my color combo.

     Now what to do for a design. Somehow, the standard A2-sized card didn't seem like enough for such a special birthday. Nor did a simple layered card, no matter how well embellished it might be. The good news was that this card was going to be hand-delivered, so I didn't have to worry about shapes or bumps that might have made it hard or expensive to send in the mail. Usually when I'm having a hard time coming up with a design, I get a bit frustrated. But this time, I definitely would not let myself be frustrated. I just kept going back to my living room and sitting with a book until I felt like maybe I might come up with an idea when I went back to the Craft Room.

     And after a whole afternoon of this, I finally had my card, and a coordinating envelope as well!

     I stamped flowers, leaves and sentiments from the "Birthday Blossoms" Stamp Set. I did all of the coloring of the stamped images using one of my trusty Blender Pens. I cut out the leaves by hand and used my Pansy Punch to cut the flowers.I wasn't sure I wanted that white edge around the flowers. But once I laid them out on a Tea Lace Paper Doily, I decided they looked just fine and I saved myself some trimming time.

     Of course I needed some papers to decorate the card, and I found just the right assortment in the Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack – one Calypso Coral pattern, and two with Mint Macaron patterns. Once I had everything laid out the way I wanted, I used some Mint Macaron 1" Dotted Lace Trim to wrap the card front across the striped piece of Mint Macaron paper and tie a bow under the floral "bouquet." I added some little flowers made with Calypso Coral Cardstock and punched with the Flower Punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, onto the vine patterned Mint Macaron paper and down onto the sentiment layer.

     For the final touch, I added some Pearls Basic Jewels both to the center of the larger as well as to the smaller flowers. A sweet touch, I thought!

     I made the envelope using Mint Macaron Envelope Paper, and included a stamped flower and leaf image in the lower left corner. What a nice accent to a card that's definitely a bit out of my comfort zone. I should practice this more often some I can become more comfortable and skilled at making this kind of card! Or maybe I'll just do it once in a while.