Autumnal colours and birthday season

Hi! Been a while since I last wrote on my blog, I have been busygetting my son into the new routine of secondary school which of course is much more structured - and strict - than primary. He has settled in amazingly well,. I am so very proud of him.

This time of year starts the influx of birthdays in my immediate family, starting off with my niece. She is now 3, and it just doesn't seem possible really, and feels like she must still be a baby, surely? But no, pre-school beckons and before we all know it, she too will be starting school. I didn't quite know what to do for her card. I made a very pink and girly card for my cousin's daughter but wanted something that evoked the season as well as something apt for my niece, so I rummaged in my old stamps I have collected and came up with a favourite by Elisabeth Bell - Picking Apples for Sugar Nellie. I love this stamp and haven't yet used it on a card so thought this would be the right time. I stamped her on smooth white card and coloured her in with Promarkers and a touch with Ranger Distress markers. The background was done with ink and a sponge to give the autumnal colours to tone with the BPs. The patterned and green paper were gifted to me by a good friend so not sure what they are, but think they may have been part of a Christmas pack but the colours went really well for the Autumn theme and the Core'dinations papers in dark brown and the russet I used to coordinate with the other papers and love the texture..I used beech leaf die cuts for two of the sentiment tags and three sizes from a nesting die set for the image, number 3 and Happy birthday sentiment.

 

  

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Make My Monday Challenge Blog - Something Beginning with F
Artistic Inspirations - #139 Anything Goes/Twist of School
Wednesday's Creative Inspirations Blog - #326 Vintage
IndigoBlue Blog Challenge - #31 Frame It!
Elisabeth Bell's World - 4+ Papers (EB Design)

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - Let's get Girly