It might be a slight understatement to say that spring has been a little late arriving here in Nova Scotia. Finally, we’re seeing near normal temperatures and we might even see blossom on the apple trees in a day or two. Other flowers are starting to show signs of life as well and I’m looking forward to all the bright colours.

In anticipation of that, today’s birthday card project has a floral theme, courtesy of the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper (DSP).

AN ABUNDANCE OF FLOWERS

For today’s project I couldn’t help but pull out another pack of Stampin’ Up! DSP. I’ve never known a time when I’ve been so obsessed with Designer Series Paper, but with designs like these who can blame me?

When designing today’s project I wanted to create something that would get the maximum use from the 12″ x 12″ sheet. So this card uses 1/4 sheet, which means you can get four cards from one sheet, or 48 cards from a pack.

I began by cutting my DSP to 3″ x 12″. Then I cut the strip into two pieces at 5-1/2″.

Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow), I attached the larger piece to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. Then I cut the DSP to shape following the edge of the flap with my Paper Snips.

After that I cut a strip 3/4″ x 5-1/2″ from the scrap piece and glued that inside a Thick Whisper White Card Base against the right-hand edge using liquid glue.

I then turned to the 3″ x 5-1/2″ piece of DSP that was left.

First I cut two 1/4″ x 5-1/2″ strips from the piece. Then with liquid glue I attached the remaining 2-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece to the card front up against the crease.

The reverse of the the floral design is a vivid green that would add a nice border to the flowers on the larger piece. So I turned over the 1/4″ strips and using more liquid glue attached one to the edge of the DSP on the front of the card. Then second strip was fixed up against the DSP already inside the card.

SIMPLE BUT ELEGANT SENTIMENT

For my sentiment I turned to the new Rustic Retreat Stamp Set. Using Blackberry Bliss ink I stamped the Happy Birthday onto some Thick Whisper White Card. Then I cut out the sentiment using one of the Lakeside Dies.

With that done I turned the sentiment over and attached half of a Pearlised Doily to the back using liquid glue.

While I liked the contrast of the white against the DSP, it looked a little unfinished. So using the Leaf Punch I punched out two sets of leaves from Old Olive Vellum (from the Perennial Essence Vellum pack). These leaves were added behind the ends of the sentiment with liquid glue.

One final touch was needed, loops of Linen Thread held in place on the back with a couple of Mini Glue Dots. The natural colour and texture really complimented the floral theme I thought.

So now I could add the assembled sentiment to the front of the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals, and my project was complete.

I simply love the images on the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper. The flowers were hand painted by the artists at Stampin’ Up! and then the artwork was photographed. There’s such an attention to detail that makes every project special, don’t you think?

Here’s a short video from Stampin’ Up! showing all the designs in the Perennial Essence DSP pack.

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