Happy For You

 My friend retired last week, so I wanted to make a card for her. 

I made a one layer card, so I used Gina K. Designs heavy base weight cardstock. I knew the alcohol markers that I used would not bleed through. 

The image and sentiment are from the Gina K. Designs The Best Flowers stamp set, and stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I used my MISTI for all my stamping. It makes it so easy to restamp if I don't get a good impression the first time. I used some Inkadinkado Stamping Mask Paper to mask off the flower and add the leaves. I think I should have tried the placement of the leaves on a scrap piece of paper, because I don't know if I'm really happy with the way it looks. I used Spectrum Noir alcohol markers BT8, BT5, BT4 and BT2 to colour the flower, and AG4, AG3, AG1 and DG1 for the leaves.

I thought I might want the word 'happy' over part of the flower, so after I stamped it, I cut it out with my Silhouette Cameo. I guess I could have just stamped it, since it wasn't over the flower, but it gives a bit of dimension. I stamped the 'for you' on a piece of black cardstock and embossed it in white. I trimmed it down with my My Sweet Petunia Cut-Align rulers.

I wanted to add some sequins, or something, and then I remembered that I had some Shrinky Dinks sheets. You colour the image on the clear sheet with alcohol markers, cut them out and then either bake them or heat them with your embossing heat tool and they shrink to produce cute, little shapes. I used the colours from the flowers to colour the balloons.

I gave the card to my friend the other day, and told her she might see it on my blog! I am entering this in the Gina K. Designs Monthly Mix Challenge - White Space and the Splitcoaststampers MISTI Monday Challenge - It's a Party!