It's a Girl!

Having already made an It's a Boy! card, naturally, I needed to make an It's a Girl! version. This one is for some friends whose daughter was just born two weeks ago. I got the chance to play with my Sizzix for the first time and I love it! I'm already making a list of all the new dies and folders that I want to get for it. (Yes, cardmaking is an expensive hobby if you really get into it...which I have.)

I decided to take some in-progress shots while making this card so you can follow along. The design is pretty simple so it only took me an hour to complete.

I started with an envelope. I have a whole shoebox of random envelopes which my mother has amassed over the years. Pack-rat tendencies are inherited :)

I then measure out a piece of cardstock to fit the envelope.

I try to maximize any piece of cardstock I use to reduce waste. (I also want to have as much space to work with as possible.)

I scored along the centre fold with the tip of an empty mechanical pencil. When you are using cardstock, scoring is an important technique to make sure that your fold is as accurate as possible. 

The sheet was then cut down to size. 

I folded along the scored centre line. For thick card, I recommend wetting the score line slightly so that the paper does not fray or crack when folded. Use only the tiniest bit of water though - you don't want your paper to warp.

I used a Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly punch to create ombre pink butterflies from paint chips.

1 paint chip = 17 butterflies :)

Out came the Sizzix! I punched out some trendy letters with one of my many letter dies set. This machine was such a bargain! 

I positioned all of the elements onto the cardstock and then sketched in the rest of my design. I borrowed the image from one of the sticker packs I bought from Dollarama.

With everything glued down and my doodle drawn in black fine liner, here is the final result!

I actually made this card a few weeks ago and it has been proudly sitting in my display case for the last little while. The choice of pink was deliberate since my sister has already purchased a cute pink jacket for the baby. So far, all our baby shower gifts have been accompanied by a coordinating card and I really didn't want to break that trend.

Of course, I need to add my signature.

I liked the design so much and it was so quick and easy to make that I threw together a purple version as well.

I used a smaller paintchip which is why there aren't as many butterflies. 

I have another friend who is now pregnant (it's like an epidemic :P) but she wants the sex of the baby to be a surprise. I guess my next card is just going to have to say "It's a Baby!" :)