Coffee with the Girls

I was having COFFEE WITH THE GIRLS last night, 

and as one of them celebrated her birthday last week, I thought I would make her a Shabby Chic card.

As this is the first time I've made a Shabby Chic card, I wasn't feeling too confident, however, having recently received a Shabby Chic ATC from a swap, I took cues from this for my card.

I started by choosing my stamp, and "Dwindled" was happy to oblige.  She was stamped on white card, coloured with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut.

I then chose a piece of handmade paper (which had actually been given to me by my friend whose birthday it was) which was torn to the right size.  I then found a piece of book paper which was also torn to the required size.  I inked around both these papers with a combination of  'antique linen' and 'tea dye' Distress Inks.  I small piece of muslin was lightly inked using the same colours.

After adding some faux stitching around both pieces, all the pieces were ready for placement.  A teeny piece of folded seam binding ribbon was tucked under the top layer, along with a little metal leaf.   A few ink spots were stamped onto the handmade paper before "Dwindled" was stamped again for the fine detail, and a piece of washi tape added.  The fussy cut coloured "Dwindled" was glued over this image and to finish off, the (sticker) words were added.

A simple sentiment was stamped in 'faded jeans' Distress Ink, and the edges torn and inked to co-ordinate with the front of the card.

"Dwindled" - Stampotique

"happy birthday" - Tim Holtz 'Simple Sayings'

"make a wish"  - Tim Holtz 'Simple Sayings'

This card fits perfectly (well, I think so, anyway) with this week's challenge at:
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - "M is for Mixed Media"
Craft Stamper - "Take a Technique - Text Me!"

I was really pleased with how my first Shabby Chic attempt turned out.

What do you think?

Happy Crafting!