Hello crafty friends, and Merry Christmas to you. We’re getting ready for a very quiet Christmas here in Japan. Usually, we head back to Australia and spend time with our parents or our children or both, but this year it will be just our little family of three here in Tokyo.

Despite he talk of Christmas, today’s card is actually a birthday card, and I’ve once again made a video of the creative process, which you can see below.

I started this card by giving some texture to the background panel using the Hand Stitching 2 embossing folder from Paper Rose Studio. I knew I needed these folders as soon as I saw them, because they are traditional Japanese Sashiko designs, and they are just so gorgeous. I trimmed the panel to just smaller than the card, and then added some spatter, (and some hand painted spats) in a rough diamond shape. The sentiment is the Paper Rose Chunky Happy Birthday die, which cuts a border piece as well as the sentiment. I used white for the background and a rich silver glitter paper for the words.

The sweet little flower is from the Wildflowers stamp set. I stamped it using Iced Spruce Distress Oxide, and cut it out using the matching die. The thread is a metallic one that I’ve had in my stash for about 10 years. Once I had all the elements made, it was just a matter of battling my very sticky home brand foam tape, and the card was done.

The picture below gives a good look at the embossing folder, In order to show the folder well, I’ve lost definition and detail on the actual card. If you know how to stop this happening, please let me know! But at least you can see the other details, especially on the picture above. That completes the card, and the blog post for today.

Until next time, may your days, like this card, be clean and elegant!

Blessings,