Friday, April 26, 2019

90th Birthday Wishes

Well, I finally made it back to Blogland... lots going on - like my 60th birthday (eeeek!) and a little holiday with all my family - which was not eek, lol.  The card I have today is the one I made for my Mother-in-Law's 90th last July.  It, as is usual with the difficult-to-photograph (courtesy, in this case, of the iridescence) nicer in real life.  I've added loads of pics in an effort to show the effect
I saw some of these iridescent finished cards on Pinterest, and worked out you need to use a very detailed embossing folder to get full effect.... so, despite REALLY not needing another embossing folder to add to my collection I bought this beauty from Crafters Companion "Ornate Lace"... of course now I've seen how delicious they are... suffice to say I've added some to my Wish List
I used a pearl finished cream coloured card for the base, it took the deep embossing very well.  I used mica powders I bought in a set from Ali Express, they're pretty good... but as I've never used them before it was a bit of a learning curve to get them to stick; I found that mixing them with aloe vera gel worked really well (bit pricy) and hair gel worked pretty well too... and not as pricy :-)
There are about 12 different colours on the card, I'll be more efficient next time, lol
I cut the butterfly using a die that was in a set of three I bought from ebay.  I added some purple iridescent to it - though that was using Jo Sonja's Violet iridescent paint, it is transparent so not "heavy" but gives a bit more coverage... I added some to the edges of the mulberry cherry blossoms I added to the corner.  I got those, and the small rose leaves, and "filler" flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts... a while ago.  I added a few spirals of green wire cut from the stems
I used some Swarowski crystals to the body of the butterfly, and a smattering to the flower arrangement.  They throw different colours and are beautiful in real life
The numbers are big dies (Ali Express), I cut them using glitter card bit of a nightmare... next time I'll add the glitter later!  Then popped them up on foam dots
I finished the inside of the card very simply, adding another iridescent butterfly and a computer generated sentiment
I really liked the effect and I've made a couple more cards using it, black card looks really nice... it's a stronger look so I think it works for masculine cards
I also made the cake for the occasion,  but that's a set of pics for another day ;-)
I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges
As You Like It Flowers or Ribbon (and why) ... I don't use a lot of embellies on my cards, when I do a "special" card, like this one for my MIL, I like to add flowers because they are not found on commercial cards very often.  If the card is being handed to the recipient you don't have to worry about making it "post friendly" 

Just thought I'd add a few pics from my birthday celebrations (that spread over a week!)  We hired a stretch limo to take us to the revolving restaurant in town and took a pic of the kids dressed to the nines - how grown up they are!  and also a pic I took with my phone yesterday evening when we went for a walk down by the river - the restaurant we went to for my birthday is in one of the office towers in the pic, the view from there is  of the river and city... and when you have a lovely sunset it's really quite gorgeous
The black blobs on the water in the foreground are actually black swans... our State fauna emblem
Until next time, Happy Crafting Donna

14 comments:

Wendy L said...

Gorgeous card, thanks for joining us at MAWTT, xxxx

Lola said...

Wow, sounds like your birthday was wonderful! Happy Birthday! And your card is beautiful and I'm sure it will be cherished. Thank you for sharing with us this month at Corrosive Challenge Blog.

Barbara Bruder said...

What a gorgeous card. Lovely design,Thanks for joining us at the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenges for our latest challenge.  {Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenges}Good luck and join us again soon. Hugs, Barbara

Pat said...

Gorgeous card, really beautiful embossing and colours, love your pics too. Thanks for sharing at MTTC.

Pat xx

Pat K said...

Stunning card Donna. Love what you have done with that folder. Belated Happy Birthday girl. 60 is still a small number! Your boys are growing up so fast...seems like yesterday they were babies! Thanks for posting a pic of your black swans. What a delight to watch them. hugs, Pat K xx

BożenA said...

Beautiful card and great design.
Thank you for attaching your card to our CWAA gallery
hugs,
BozenA DT CWAA

Carole said...

What a stunning card Donna. I have that embossing folder and it really is super in its detail.Happy belated Birthday...yo look like you had a wonderful time and the kids look so smart and in their outfits. I bet they felt really grown up. xx

Cicci said...

So elegant and beautiful!! Love everything about this wonderful card!!
Perfect!!
Thank you so much for entering our ATG challenge at Through The Craft Room Door this week. Looking forward to see you again next challenge.
HUGS Cicci
TTCRD DT

Cicci With the Pen {My Blog}

Lynne said...

A beautiful card and lovely colours. Thank you for joining in at As You Like It and it looks as though you had a great time for your birthday :) . Lynne DT

Brenda said...

What a beautifully elegant card. I love that you've used so many techniques and that embossing folder, WOW! This is just what I had in mind for our challenge. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Little Red Wagon!

Trish said...

Love that folder and your card,sorry I have been MIA

Sarah said...

Belated Birthday wishes!! Looks like you know how to celebrate in style!! Thank you so much for joining this beautiful card with us at AYLI. Sarah DT

Judy V said...

Beautiful card! Thanks for joining us for Week 17 at Polkadoodles Craft Challenge!

The Red Mullet Band said...

Such a cute card!!!
I love it!
Thanks for joining us at Corrosive Challenge blog.
Ana Isabel DT Coordinator.