Vintage Birthday Celebrations

Hello all!  Can you believe we've been on A Vintage Journey for a whole year?  Nope, me either... what a milestone on the journey.  We're celebrating the birthday with an Anything Tim challenge as well as a few changes to how we travel.  Check out all the details over at A Vintage Journey - as well as exciting news of the fabulous prizes on offer this month - our regular sponsor Country View Crafts are there with their always generous contribution, and there are prize packages from Tim and Mario as well as from some of us.

The main thing to know about the changes is that you now have a whole month to share your creations with us.  We'd like to see Anything Tim this month, and as usual, my fellow Creative Guides have created wonders to inspire you, so make sure you check them out, but before you go here's my offering.

Yup, it's a card... a birthday card, if you like!  And it's in a different style than usual - though this does seem to be what happens when I try to make cards (you may remember these Simple Cards for Artistic Stamper), and I was really guided by some of my new Tim toys.  I mean, with a sentiment like that, it would be pretty silly to be in my usual mixed media, multi-layered mode, so I'm exploring the art of simplicity this time around!

This glorious Wildflower stencil was one of (far too many) must-haves for me from this winter's CHA releases.

I spritzed Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn and Shabby Shutters Distress Sprays through it onto watercolour paper, and then used another piece to "print" the leftover inks onto.











I was really pleased with the watercolour appearance as well as with the level of detail, as I really had got a bit too much ink on it!













And now I have another background awaiting my attentions some time soon.












I blended on some complementary colours around the torn edges and used a water brush to soften them, before adding some spatter with my Distress Marker spritzer.












I stamped the sentiment from the new Perspective set onto another small piece of Distress Watercolour Paper, and blended and coloured using inks and markers to create a matching panel.

It's mounted on two strips of padded tape with space for the twine to go through the middle.








And the twine continues its journey on the inside of the card, through a hole to the back where it's taped down.

I stencilled the Wildflowers again on the inside, in Vintage Photo, and added a neutral echo of the sentiment (leaving plenty of space for a personal greeting of course).








And having done that, it seemed only right to create some interest on the envelope too - more Wildflowers, more Vintage Photo, and another chance to appreciate the words.











So, a very simple make from me but, as I say, I was following where the new goodies led me!  I hope you'll hop over to A Vintage Journey and see what my amazing team mates have created, and we hope you'll come and join us with Anything Tim at some point in the next month.  Our generous sponsors Country View Crafts are simply itching to share that prize voucher with somebody!









I'll be back at A Vintage Journey on Monday to set off for a brand new Destination Inspiration, so I do hope you'll join me then.  In the meantime, thank you so much for your visits and comments - every one is so much appreciated.  Apologies if I'm not around as much as usual, but I'll hope to be back on the Craftyblogland road soon!

The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.
Walt Whitman

Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.
Isaac Newton