Happiest Birthday Card

I often bemoan the fact that I have to work full time.  It seriously cuts into my crafty time!  However, a couple times a year someone special at work has a birthday and I get to focus on a project for a co-worker that really makes the days better and my work lighter.  This card is one of them.  It's for my co-worker, Wendy.  Wendy is a gift to me so much of the card was created to show her how grateful I am for her.  The inspiration was this Pinterest pin. The papers come from a clearance Stampin' Up paper collection.  They worked so well giving me the perfect color palette.  I knew that I wanted to do something more detailed and requiring more effort than a simple sentiment on a square piece of paper.  I used my Apothecary Art stamp set from Stampin' Up with brown Archival Ink.  The image was colored with my Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick and Peacock Feathers Distress inks using a water brush.  The entire tag was fussy cut and distressed with some Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  You'll also notice some Heartfelt Creations Posies stamped with brown Archival Ink with a pearl center, pieces of a Our Daily Bread Fancy Foliage leafy swirl along with a couple of pearl accents and a piece of organza ribbon from the stash.  All cardstock pieces are edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The inside begged for a treatment and a piece of the patterned paper.  This beautiful piece was cut from a 12 x 12 piece.  I added the small, shaped posy to create some dimension and stamped the sentiment in brown Archival Ink.  The cardstock edges were worn using my distress tool and the patterned paper was rolled by hand.  Both were edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  All of my co-workers signed in the open space and I can say that this card turned out the way I anticipated.  Wendy deserved it.

Happy Birthday, Wendy!

Thanks for all the kind encouragement regarding our band trip last week.  We had a wonderfully joyful (and exhausting!) time.  It's a trip I wouldn't have missed for the world, though it did consume an entire week with the preparing before we left, the leaving and the coming home.  Throw in a Thanksgiving holiday, my grandma's trip to the hospital (things are relatively o.k. now!), and a kid's birthday and I feel as though I've been through a whirlwind.  Life- it's crazy.  Hope your holiday was merry and you are eagerly looking forward to the Christmas holiday like I am.

I'm linking this up over at Word Art Wednesday's Challenge #108: Anything Goes and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Anything Goes.  Come join the fun.

Andie