Graceful Beauty, A Belated Birthday Card

My girlfriends birthday was back in February, but it was just a couple days after I had surgery, so I wasn't able to get a card made in time. I made this "belated" birthday card for her the beginning of this month. I hope that she likes it, but I'm sure she will.

Becca and I have known each other for about 13 years or so now, I want to say. We've been through a lot together, and we've lived far apart, then close together (literally a few minutes apart) and then we lived far apart again, then close together and now we live in different states again. I liked adding butterflies to this card because they are free and can fly as far as they want... in a way, this was my love flying to her :)

Here's a sneak peek of the card, read on for more pics...

This card was fun to make! there are a few different techniques used. I have to say this is not completely my design... while some elements of the card ARE my though and design, the general layout and stamps as well as embossing folder, were NOT my original idea. they were originally a Stampin' Up! Design at a leadership meeting... I found the idea at Stamping with Lynn's blog. You can EASILY distinguish my ideas from the SU! team's ideas, as well as I completely finished teh inside of my card and added adornments to my butterflies and ribbon.

  ~I cut the butterflies with my quickcutz butterfly die. I only used the back piece of the butterfly and left the top piece with the holes off. I used my fresh vintage stamp set to stamp the flowers on the butterflies in versamark and then used white embossing powder and heat embossed them. there is a nice raised feel to them. I adorned them with 4 small clear diamond gems, adhered with gloss accents for a super strong bond. I used my thin paint brush to "roll" the wings of the butterflies and give them a rounded shape. I folded them upwards so they are popped off the card.

   ~I used my Stampin' Up! Elegant bouquet textured impressions embossing folder for the cream colored base and then I used my sponge dobbers and cocoa brown chalk to make the flowers pop off the cardstock. I added a diamond gem with glossy accents for adhesion in the center of the small flowers.
   ~I used the Stampin' Up! Elementary Elegance stamp set for the "Happy Birthday" on the front and put a clear diamond gem above the "i". This sentiment was stamped in Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip.
   ~On the front you see lace and ribbon. I weaved this cocoa brown ribbon into the holes of the lace at every other hole. I LOVE how it came out. I wasn't sure at first, because I was weaving it through every hole, and it looked so crowded, so I took out all the ribbon and redid it at every other hole. I will be getting more of this lace so I can do this on cards in the future.

   ~The butterfly inside the card was stamped in Sky Blue Martha Stewart craft ink. I put 4 extra small clear diamond gems on it to keep with the flow of the butterflies from the front of the card. This stamp is an inkdadinkado red rubber stamp, stamp #98162-K.

   ~The sentiment on the inside next to the small butterfly is from the Stampin' Up Happiest Birthday Wishes, set #1 (of 2). I am lucky I have this set, because it's the ONLY "belated" birthday sentiment I have. it's also stamped in Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip.

and here is the card on it's back, so you can see the dimension.

Well, that's the card, I hope you like it :) I had a blast making it and it came together in a matter of a few hours (I ALWAYS get sidetracked! LOL)

thanks for looking!
Keep on Scrappin' and please, be kind to one another.
~Melisa Marie