The Happiest of Birthdays...

If you can indulge me, I'd just like to take a moment to muse on the response to my Gallery Idol 2010: Inspired by card. I truly appreciate the love left by my friends and family, but I'm equally astounded by the flattering comments being left by people who have never seen my work before this competition. This community of paper-crafters is unmatched for its kindness. Now on to the card details...

My wonderful Aunt Karen is celebrating her birthday next week, and I wanted to make her a nice card. She's also going to be a grandmom in November, so I know this year is going to be extra special. Karen is what our friends across the pond would call a "brick" as she is always willing to try anything at least once! I'm trying really hard to go a little more outside my comfort zone to create cards that are more vintage, to experiment with distressing, and try new techniques. I really admire cards like this and I'd love to expand my abilities. When I saw the Tuesday Trigger photograph on Moxie Fab, I knew I had a chance to do something new!
For this card, I used the lovely Jen del Muro's SFYTT Sketch. I had the lucky opportunity last year of being a guest designer for Jen, and I'm glad to be able to play again. I was really kind of just starting out with card-making then, and Jen gave me the confidence to keep going. I love the Trigger colors and had to go through my whole stash to find something that I was happy with. That blue is what I think of as cerulean and it's so beautiful that I wanted to match it as closely as I could.
I began with making some paper roses. I've never really done this before, and I found a wonderful tutorial here. I did mix it up a bit by employing the faux suede technique (see sidebar) and sponged the cream rose to match the Trigger. I then die-cut some pretty lined paper and adhered the roses to it.
I really love the idea of cabbage ribbon, but I don't have any. I decided to try making my own, and I was pleased with the results. I used some gold organza and stitched across the middle before pulling the ribbon along the thread. Next, I used distress ink on the background paper I found, mimicking the cool background of the photo.
Sometimes it's hard to try something new, but, like my aunt...you've got to do it at least once!

BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up More Mustard and Rose Red Classic Dye Ink; Tim Holtz Broken China and Wild Honey Distress Ink; Making Memories Designer Paper; Pink Paislee Think Big and Believe Designer Paper; SU Pale Plum, Pretty in Pink, More Mustard and Very Vanilla Card Stock; Adirondack Stream Dimensional Pearls; Freebooter Script Font (fontspace.com); Spellbinders Nestabilities; Big Shot; Foam Tape

HAPPY BEANS: True Gold Organza Ribbon (generic); Embossing Thread & Needle