Stampin' Up - Gift Tags - a teddy bear birthday card

Hi blogging friends

I have been wanting to upload this card all week but the weather has been terrible:  extremely windy and rain then drizzle and all dull and dreary - rather useless for photographing outside and not even bright enough to use my kitchen bay window. Anyway, I managed to get a photo or two today as it was brighter for about ten minutes - and now the drizzle has set in again .   I am hanging out for spring, that's for sure.........

I made this card for the Splitcoaststampers 'Free for all Friday' F4A68 Challenge of 'Give me your tired, your poor unused stamp sets'.  The image I used is from an old retired Stampin' Up set called "Gift Tags" which I bought second-hand on EBay ages ago for a song - mainly because I loved the teddy and one of the other images that had snowmen (I am nuts for snowmen and teddy bear stamps) - but sadly, I hadn't got around to using the set at all - and I don't know why because I really love it. 

I stamped the image (the sentiment and teddy are all on one stamp) onto watercolour paper and coloured it with watercolour pencils.  I really wanted the teddy to have lots of texture, so instead of colouring directly onto the teddy, I scribbled various browns/yellow hues onto a scrap of watercolour paper and used a wet paintbrush to dab into the colours starting with the lightest colour first, touched the paintbrush onto some paper towel so it wasn't so wet, then dabbed it onto the teddy, and kept building up the layers of colour.  You can see the technique a little better in this close-up of the teddy:

I added pink transparent glitter to the teddy's bow and present and lemon transparent glitter to the bow on the present.  The main image panel is popped up on doublesided foam pads.

The pink cardstock side panel was run through my Cuttlebug using a Caramello embossing folder.  The ribbon was attached in two separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.  The button originally had a shank on it, but I snipped it off with a pair of my DH's tinsnips from the garage (ssssh - don't tell him....).  I then glued the button on with Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue.

The plaid designer paper has no name on the back so I have no idea who made it.  If you know, please leave me a comment and I will update this post.  Lastly, I added the gorgeous  plaid fabric brad - here is a wee close-up:

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

SCS 'Free for all Friday' F4A68 (as already mentioned)

SCS 'Ways to use it' WT188 'Mad for Plaid'

I had best be off.  My little cat Ruby is banging on the computer room door and miaowing incessantly.  It would appear that she doesn't like the cat food I gave her and she is certainly letting me know.  I don't know why they don't just make mouse-flavoured catfood.......

Thanks for stopping by! 

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Gift Tags (2000) - retired

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black

Designer paper:  unknown

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Caramello embossing folder, Spellbinder Scallop circle nestabilities, 140lb watercolour paper, Faber Castell watercolour pencils, small round #2 paintbrush, pink gemstones, Art Institute pink and lemon transparent glitter (from Shabby Chic set), Designer dries clear adhesive (for glitter), gingham ribbon, Bow Easy, pink button, doublesided foam squares (dimensionals), fabric plaid brad, Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue (to adhere button), Cardstock:  brown, pink

Punches:  Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop