Painting Designer Series Paper & Glue Pen Embossing

What are the odds that on the day I wanted to make a special card for our fabulous friend "Russer," I would get a birdie stamp in the mail so I could be just in time to play along with the amazing Alison's (Queen of link-love!) theme for the week (birdies), and that I would just squeek in under the deadline for Anna's special birthday card challenge that I found on Alison's treasure trove of a blog? Neat, huh? (I love the blog-community!)

Believe it or not, I used the new Berry Bliss designer series paper to paper piece the bird. I just painted it blue to make it blue. That way I got those pretty little dotted circles showing through. I am in mad LURVE with my Sakura glue pen. It's a ballpoint, so it adds the most teensy details. I put wee dots of glue along the wing and birdie hairdo, then sprinkled it with silver embossing powder. Super FUN to do! Then I wrote the phrase"Happy Birdie" in glue pen (free-hand) and I embossed it too. Click on the pic if you'd like to see the details close up:

I found this great burlap paper at the dollar store. The package said acid & lignin free; do you think that's a fib? How do they do it?

Anywho... Russer is very special to us, so I wanted to make something unusual for his birthday. The big FOUR OH! (He's even more dear to me for being the only one of our close friends who's older than me.) All hail Russer! ;0) Well, I've heard life begins at forty; I'm prepared to believe it!

Happy Birdie...

The best thing about the glue pen is that you can emboss your own phrase inside the card--anything you want to write.

It's way easier to do this with the glue pen than it is with the Versamarker. I love that you can emboss a the name of the person you're giving the card to-->on the envelope, in or on the card, on a box... [Russer is his nickname, based on a kid's show character & it always makes me smile. I holler it whenever he's on the phone or visiting; it drives him bonkers I think, but hopefully it tells him how much he's loved!]

More card details: Rhonna Farrer stamp: Nature Stamps. The body of birdie is done in embossing on Berry Bliss d.p. in Chocolate Chip craft ink; his feet & hair on Soft Sky in Not Quite Navy craft ink (clear e.p. for both.) Really Rust & Not Quite Navy cardstock.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
:0)
Mel