A Birthday Journey!

It's my husband's birthday this coming week-end, and I needed to get his card made this past week.  I was anxious to begin, because I had a new Tim Holtz die...the Globe, and ideas were beginning to come fast and furious, especially after I reviewed possible Splitcoaststamper challenges to catch up on.  This will be my last card for a while, as my hand surgery is scheduled for Monday, and it will be about a six-week recovery.

One challenge needed some shine, another die-cut word(s), another some spritzing and/or splattering, another to use up something set aside to maybe use later, another to be inspired by color, and then there was the one that needed something natural and not man-made...what could be more natural than Mother Earth...a planet!  

I had printed a vintage map, which didn't print quite right and ended up with some purple splotches, but I loved the vintage look of it and decided to keep it to see if it would fit somewhere...somehow.  I decided to re-color the map with my Copics to enrich its color and cover up the wonky purple areas.  Then, I added some metallic antique copper spritzing and splattering for even more eye-appeal and/or cover-up!  Since my Globe die has longitude and latitude lines, it will work for the Alphabet challenge, letter L.  To add depth, I die-cut four globes and four Happy Birthday die-cut sentiments so they would pop up off the card front.  I also spritzed the top gold matte foil layers of both with antique copper spritzing and splattering to add even more interest.  I had some little tiny metallic gold stars in a cup on my craft tape since early December and decided to scatter those randomly on the card front as well.  I was really please with how they looked, so I painstakingly glued each down.

My last step was to decorate the card inside to coordinate with the front design and to compose a birthday verse.  I am really pleased with how my husband's birthday card turned out.  I love the vintage flair, and I think he will be please.  He decided he only wanted one card for his birthday and that was mine, because the store-bought cards are a waste of money he says.  He added that he would rather have a candy bar for a card, and it would be okay if the children need to add a happy birthday paper taped to the bar.  I told him perhaps a handwritten tag tied with a string would work!  I promised I would pass the word to the klds!  I also let them know he was doing his "baa-hum-bug" birthday dance, which he does each year!  

Here is his one and only birthday card below with the inside design pictured as well!

Ingredients:  Papers:  Cardstocks--SU Early Espresso, Darice Timeless Pack (tan), Vintage North America Map (printed from Pinterest); DCWV Solid Golds Stack/ Matte Foil.  Dies: Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations: Globe; Dee's Distinctively Dies: Happy Birthday, Small.  Punch: EK-Victorian Corner.  Homemade Sprtizer: Folk Art Metallic Antique Copper diluted w/ water.  Copic Markers (map coloring).  Recollection: Large Copper Rhinestones.  Stash: bitty gold metallic stars.  Chatterbox verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".