Bold Tropical Birthday - Stampin' Up! Botanical Blooms

  Remember how fun it was to go to the mailbox and have a letter or a card from someone?  I remember getting letters from my grandma's in college, writing letters to pen pals in elementary school and sending fun mail to my college roommates when we were all spending summers apart.  I think it's about time we brought back fun mail.  All that was in my mail box yesterday was a catalog, tax bill (BOO!), a check I was waiting on (ok, not too bad!), and some other advertising.  Boring.

  I've been inspired by a trainer at Stampin' Up! who has started the #imbringingbirthdaysback campaign to send out tons of birthday cards and to get back some of the fun and anticipation we used to have going to the mailbox.  Facebook and email have kind of made recognizing someone's birthday an afterthought.  Who displays the emails or Facebook messages they got on their birthday on their desks or mantles?  Exactly.

  I have several birthday cards on my counter ready to head out to the mailbox today and I've got lots of ideas for more!  Check your date books (or look ahead on Facebook) and pop a few cards in the mail today and make someone's day!

  Here's a fun birthday card we made at class last week.  I love the tropical feel of the Botanical Blooms stamp set and coordinating Botanical Builder framelits.

  

  We created our own background paper by stamping 2 of the large leaf stamps in Pear Pizzazz and then adding the details over the top in Old Olive.

  A strip of the Sale-a-Bration Botanical Gardens printed vellum and a smaller strip of Basic Black set the stage for our gorgeous flowers.  The flowers are simply Whisper White thick cardstock and the centers are Basic Black.  Just cut them all with the Botanical Builder framelits.  Another great use for small scraps.  We used a sponge dauber to add some Pear Pizzazz ink to the centers of the flowers.  Next add the black centers with glue dots.  We used a candy dot and a White Perfect Accents dot to highlight and add detail to the centers.

  To layer the flowers we used one dimensional on the smaller flower and then stacked 2 dimensionals on the larger flower to have it sit up a bit higher.  

  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs and is punched and layered with circle punches.

  These colors are great together and really make for a bold statement if you aren't wanting to do bright primary colors.

  I hope you have some friends and family you can send cards to in the next few weeks.  Make their special day a little brighter with a real card!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps:  Botanical Blooms (Occasions catalog), Petite Pairs

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Basic Black

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Botanical Gardens vellum (SAB)

Accessories: Botanical Builder framelits, dimensionals, circle punches, candy dots, White Perfect Accents