Bellarific Friday - Birthday/Celebration Theme

Happy Friday crafters! I'm sorry I've been MIA for a few weeks. I got the opportunity to work on a large television production at work which completely consumed my life, lol! But I'm sooooo happy to be back into crafting mode and excited to share my card for this week's Bellarific Friday challenge which was a Birthday or Celebration card. 

My inspiration and color scheme for this card came from the Echo Park Party Time paper pack. I just loved the color combo and decided to pick my Copic colors by matching them to the pack. You can download and print out a really neat color matching chart from the official Copic website. You print the chart on your favorite marker paper. Then color in each swatch and write the color on the line next to the box. Once that's done, you punch out the hole with a standard hole-punch and you can place an image under the holes to help you match colors accurately. It's brilliant! Here's a link to get your very own: Color Match Chart

Once I had selected the best colors, I stamped the image onto a piece of X-press it blending card using Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink. As you know, this is my go-to Copic coloring combo which always gives me the best results. After coloring her, I decided to fussy cut leaving a small white border around the whole image. Here's a look at the colors I ended up using for the image:

For the background, I decided to use this fun somewhat neutral piece that had a nice happy birthday script written across it. I then selected a piece of striped paper that used all of the colors that inspired me and I layered that beneath the neutral piece. I liked how that looked but it was missing something so I decided to bring in a small strip of black and white dots as a border and that that really brought the whole background together. After adhering all of the patterned papers to my card base, then positioned my image and glued her down flat. 

Next, I wanted to bring in a sentiment. This set doesn't come with one so I grabbed another Stamping Bella set that had the perfect sentiment and heat embossed it onto a piece of coordinating card stock. I cut it down to fit the card base and gave it a little flag end for more interest. I decided to pop this up with foam tape as it would provide a nice "ground" for my image. Once that was in place it was time for my favorite finishing touches: Sparkle & Bling!

I added a ton of Stickles to each frosting layer of the cake. To be honest, I wasn't completely happy with the way I had shaded the frosting. The reds I had chosen didn't blend perfectly, so this layer of sparkle helped hide it a bit! To make her polka dots pop a bit more, I used a white gel pen on each one and then added some light green Stickles to the ruffle of her dress. I also used a little bit of my Spectrum Noir Clear sparkle pen on the present. (I couldn't help it, lol!) To finish off the card, I pulled in some Cartwright's transparent iridescent sequins for a little bit more color on the background. Here's a final close up of some of these little details:

I really liked the way this card came together. I use to be afraid of mixing patterns but I've learned to love using a coordinating paper pack as inspiration. There were created to be used to together and really make card design a breeze! Be sure to check out the Stamping Bella blog and see what fun celebration cards the rest of the BellaBabes created. Also, if you would like to participate in Bellariffic Fridays for a chance to be entered into a monthly drawing to win some Bella Bucks click on the link below for more details.

Next week's Bellariffic Friday challenge is a photo inspiration challenge using the image below. I just love all those colorful umbrellas and I can't wait to create something for "April Showers!" Hope you join along and create something with us! Have a wonderful day and I'll be back soon!