A Slightly Shabby Chic Birthday Card

I wanted to share with you a birthday card I made for my friend, Helen. She and I have been best friends since we were just 4 years old! She lives in Virginia, where we grew up, but I have been living in Tennessee since college. Let me tell you, that was years ago! Anyway, I don't get to see Helen much, it seems. Her birthday was April 17th, and I have had this coughing thing that really got me under the weather, so I hate to say that I didn't get a card out to her on time AGAIN. (It's not like this is the first time I have done that to the special people in my life.)

So here is the card I did make, using Whiff of Joy's Nikki Celebrating Raccoon. I love this darling raccoon carrying presents. I stamped him with black pigment ink, and then heat embossed him with clear embossing powder from Ranger. Then I colored him with Copics, cut him out and adhered him with 3D dots onto the Spellbinder's Lattice Pendant diecut that I cut from a lovely piece of dp from Crate Paper's Portrait Collection. In fact, all 3 layers of dp on this card are from that collection. It is so pretty and springlike! I drool over all of that collection (which gets so messy....lol).  The "Celebrate" sentiment sticker was placed on a scrap of dp from Little Yellow Bicycle. I distressed the edges of all of the dp to achieve a slightly shabby look, turned down one corner and attached a heart pin from Fancy Pants, added 3 heart buttons (threaded 2 of them), 3 pearls, Prima flowers with brads in the center, and finally added 2 ribbons. One is a piece of lace ribbon on the bottom of the card, and the other is some Close to my Heart organdy ribbon tied to the left edge of the diecut. 

    I am using this for 4 challenges this time:
                                              
 Pile It On -   2 or more  ribbons
 Simon Says Stamp -  Emboss Something (wet or dry)
Whiff of Joy -  Use one of their stamps and a recipe challenge - 3 buttons, 2 papers, 1 ribbon
 7 Kids College Fund - Easter or Spring, including just spring colors, so I think this will do! Also you must use something bought at their store, which is where I bought my Whiff of Joy stamp! 

If any of the links don't work, these are also listed in my sidebar. Each of these challenges are offering super prizes this week - check them out!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I only hope Helen didn't stop by, as I would like for her to get her card in the mail before seeing it on my blog!  I also hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to be with loved ones.  My son went back to school before Easter this week, and I sure did miss him on Easter Day!  It was a fairly quiet Easter this year. It was our first Easter with our BichonPoo baby, Augie, and actually I take back what I said about the quiet. Augie is always zooming around the house. He loves to rip up paper, so he is definitely in the right place, kwim? lol  Anyway, come back and visit my blog soon. Leave a comment if you have a minute - I love to see what you have to say!