Spring Greetings!

Today is the day: the Waltzingmouse Blog Party! And the theme this month is Spring!

I knew I wanted to use my Spring Baskets set from Waltzingmouse Stamps to create a card, and especially the sentiment "Glorious Spring Wishes." I also wanted to create a sort of window box with the pretty flowers spilling out of it. I liked the polka dot frame in the Very Vintage Labels No. 18 set for my window. And when I see polka dots, I immediately think stripes to pair with them. (Mary Engelbreit can't be the only one having all that fun.)


As I had already coloured my flowers with Copics, I discovered I had no striped paper that coordinated with the colours I used. I did have some black and white DP, however, so out came the Copics to customize the stripes. (Note to self: always choose the DP first to inform your colour choices!)

I cut the stripes out with a scalloped border Spellbinders die. I then embossed some lime green cardstock in my Cuttlebug to scatter flowers across the surface. Here is how bright that lime green was:

I then painted Picket Fence Crackle Paint over top and allowed to dry. This toned down the lime considerably. I swiped Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks across the crackled surface to highlight the texture. 

I hope you can see the texture in the photo above. I really like the vintage aged look of this background next to the bold stripes and polk dots. I also distressed my striped border a bit with Antique Linen and the same green Distress Inks. Below is a close up of the Jolee's Swarovski heat set crystal gem I added to the border. These are so beautiful and sparkle in real life.

And here's the finished card. Hope it is spring where you are, and if not, trust that it soon will be! Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out all the Spring cards on the Waltzingmouse Stamps blog here.