Don’t you just love making birthday cards? I sure do! While our family was here to visit this past weekend, three of us (my daughter-in-law Aude and little Mia who is only 3, plus yours truly) decided to go paint in my workshop. While Mia was colouring in hearts and Aude was busy working on her own, I created a simple watercolour with roses that I decided to use for the background of a card 60th birthday card for my friend (16 x 12 cm).
Here’s how I made it
Of course, the watercolour needed to be personalised, so I wrote “Joyeux Anniversaire Annelise” on a scrap piece of scrapbook paper, with a 1.5 mm Brause nib and walnut hull ink. To make the scrapbook paper pop out a little on the watercolour, I just used a loaded brush to draw around the outside edge (being careful, of course, not to get any water on the ink – that would spell catastrophe!).
Thinking that it still looked a little plain, I decided to add a ribbon rose. Yes, I am the Queen of Ribbon Roses! Do you know how to make them? If not, you can learn how from the video here.
The little white rose is part-and-parcel of the white ribbon and the rose leaves are just cut out of pieces of felt.
All of that was first mounted on black cardstock (16.5 x 12.5), then onto pink cardstock (17 x 26, folded in half).
So, there’s the outside done. But what on earth am I going to put on the inside?
Creating the inside of the card
It’s not always easy to come up with something at least semi-original. Yes, you’re right, an internet search can always help … Of course, it’s easy to stimulate our creativity in more “organic” ways. I talk quite a bit about that in this book. Oh, don’t let the name “Maggie Bell” throw you off. It’s a favourite pseudo of mine; it’s short for the MAGic of BELieving.
SIXTY sure sounds like a huge number when it comes to birthdays, so, I wanted something a little “light” to write inside. Into Mr. Google I typed “60th birthday card” and then I /clicked on the “images” tab. That’s where I found the idea for this card. The text (translated) reads, “Sixty years old? That’s only 17 in Scrabble!”
If you like this idea, and you’d like to use it yourself, I’ve made a sheet of scrabble letters downloadable here.
I wrote the text on the inside with a Tombow marker. The photo below shows you the exact pen I used.
(For those of you that are interested in lettering, this book might appeal to you: Brush Lettering).
