Today is my mom’s birthday and I wanted to create an extra special card for an extra special lady.

I was working on some fancy fold cards recently and decided to create a stair step card. I like making these cards because you create each panel and then build the card. The base uses 12″ x 12″ card stock. Although I don’t use this size of card stock frequently, I like to always have some at hand. A great choice is the Neutrals 12″ x 12″ assorted package.

On the front panel, I added the “Happy Birthday” greeting and then over stamped with the beehive stamp. All images are from the Butterfly Basics stamp set.  The Whisper White layer is 4″ x 1-1/4″ and the Coastal Cabana layer is 4-1/8″ x 1-3/8″.

The middle panel is the Irresistibly Yours designer series paper sponged with Pistachio Pudding and Coastal Cabana inks. A Whisper White butterfly cut out with the thinlits die and colored with the dark Coastal Cabana Blendabilities completes this layer. The Irresistibly Yours piece is 3″ x 4″ and the Coastal Cabana is 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″.

To finish the card, I added a collage of images and burnished inks on Whisper White. This piece is 3-3/4″ x 5. The Pistachio Pudding is 4″ x 5-1/4″ and the Coastal Cabana is cut to 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″. This card will fit into a medium envelope.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

This is a full view of the last panel. I love the collage look made by stamping and sponging. I used Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding and Sahara Sand inks. 

Since I thought the panel needed a bit more color. I stamped the small butterfly image onto Coastal Cabana card stock with Sahara Sand ink and punched out the image with the Elegant Butterfly punch. Remembering the odd rule in photography – that the eye prefers odd numbers like three, five, seven, etc – I added three butterflies. 

Cut the 12″ x 12″ Sahara Sand card stock to 4-1/4″ x 12″.

Score at 1-1/2″, 3″, 5″, 7″ and 9-1/2.”