New paper...

I've had this orange/turquoise thing in my head for awhile now and when I saw this awesome sparkly paper, it called out to me. I definitely need to have my head examined for buying another bit of paper- I clearly need an intervention! But, like the true addict, I rationalized that this was only a 6x6" paper pack, so not really like buying a full size paper pack...

I have some birthdays coming up this spring, so I decided this would be perfect for a special birthday card. I started with a Sahara Sand card base, a color I'm becoming more fond of because of its ability to complement almost any other color. I layered on a square of More Mustard and Very Vanilla, then a piece of this delicious paper- you just can't appreciate the sparkle in the picture! I used a new punch I have to make a deep border edge and added a complimentary patterned paper piece across the top. I turned to my ribbon stash for some pretty light turquoise ribbon and tied a simple bow with a button and some twine.

The main image is one of my "go to" stamps- I really do love Coneflowers in real life and this reminds me of some pretty ones from White Flower Farm in CT. I stamped it in pigment ink and colored it with alcohol markers- I think this would look great on watercolor paper, painted with re-inkers, but I was unmotivated last night, so markers it was! The color in the patterned paper was somewhere between mustard and orange, so sponging the edges of the Mustard pieces with Pumpkin Pie made the match perfect- it's amazing how much sponging does for paper!

I had a scrap of this pretty paper left, so decided to finish the inside of the card. The greeting is from a great new Stampin' Up set called "Well Scripted"- I love the combination of simple type and script- so pretty! The greeting and the scalloped circle were cut out using nested dies on my Sizzix machine which can cut and emboss the edges. Finishing the inside is a small amount of work for a beautiful look!

Hope you enjoy your Monday holiday- the sun is finally out here in Houston and I am going to get out and enjoy it!