CTMH-- B-day Card with Bonjour Stamp and La Bella Vie

Hello, it's a chilling morning here in Boston.  I have some extra time this morning so I thought I would post one last card using the La Bella Vie paper pack.  I made this card last week for my card group that met on Sunday.

If you recall this CTMH paper line is retiring at the end of January 2013. 

What I love about this card, in addition to it being all things French, is that most of the shapes were cut from CTMH's Cricut Cartridges.  For instance, the circles and hearts were cut using Art Philosophy and the Eiffel Tower and banner using the Artiste. This makes life simple for me-- no dies to worry about! Plus, once the card is designed, it is so simple to replicate.

The stamp sets used were 'Bonjour' for the crown and the Artiste stamp set for the HB D-ay sentiment. The inks chosen were Desert Sand and Smokey Plum.

While in San Diego, I was lucky to meet the owner of Paper Tales, a local scrapbook store. 
http://www.papertales.typepad.com/

I shouldn't call it a store because it was more like a boutique-- it had a vintage feel.  After I met the owner, Karin, I discovered why the store was awesome.  Karin is on the Melissa Frances design team!  Karin showed me a number of techniques, one of which was how to incorporate some crepe paper into my design. Here, I just cut out crepe paper and wrapped twine around it. Next time around, I want to dip the edges in sparkly glitter! Always something new to try!

Well, I'll be in LA for work in February and I think a drive to Paper Tales in San Diego is on my agenda!  Psst-- don't tell my husband:)  What happens while (or for) scrapbooking stays in scrapbooking-- something like that!

Thanks for stopping by, Maureen:)