Lavender Lupins ... a Card for a Spring Birthday

Morning Everyone

Ah, it's Friday, and for many of you that means the weekend starts here ... well, more likely this afternoon. Whenever, I hope you have a good day and that your looking forward to a lovely long bank holiday weekend.

The card I have to share with you today is the one I made for my sister's birthday last month. Margaret was a spring baby, and actually born on Easter Sunday, 1954. The date was 18th April ... a particularly late date for Easter. She has only twice celebrated her birthday on Easter Sunday since - 1965 and 1976 and she will have to wait until 2049 for the next one, when she will be  95!

Margaret loves all shades lavender and I've teamed it up with a pale creamy yellow and white for this card. This lovely lupin image is another digi from Janey's Digi Designs, coloured lilac and cream with ProMarkers.

The embossing folder, Kassie's Brocade, is one of the loveliest from Cuttlebug, and a perfect background for flowers and butterflies. The gorgeous butterfly die came free recently with a magazine - I can see it becoming a firm favourite too.

Materials used:
Cardstock - smooth lilac and white card
Digi Stamp - Janey's Digital Designs Lupin
ProMarkers - primrose, pastel yellow, buttercup, lilac, lavender, bluebell, lime zest, leaf green, pear green and marsh green
Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug 5x7 embossing folder Kassie's Brocade
 Dies - X-Cut oval die,  Butterfly free with Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine
Edge Punch - Martha Stewart butterfly border punch;
Embellishments - Ranger crystal Stickles, yellow ribbon and purple card candy from stash

I'd like to enter this card for the following challenge:

Digi Galore Challenges - the theme is Spring

Whilst making this card I was reminded of the year of the Great Lupin Disaster - 1997. That year my garden had several herbaceous beds that were chock-a-block with lupin plants I'd grown from seed. They were a picture and I was so proud of them. Well, you know what pride comes before.  Several weeks into summer my prized plants were attacked and stripped, almost overnight, by the most voracious of beasties, the lupin aphid, and nothing I did prevented them from decimating my plants. I still like to grow lupins but limit myself to just a few ... in the hope that the aphids don't notice them growing in among the other plants :)

We have no plans to do anything special for the bank holiday weekend ... which is just as well because it's raining - not a good start. I hope it's rather better wherever you are.

Whatever the weather and whatever your plans, I hope you have an enjoyable few days.

Take care and happy crafting,