adventures with pretty paper

Like many paper crafters, I have a problem with pretty paper - there's so much of it, and it's so pretty, and I always end up owning more of it than I can use.  It's not that I don't use it, (well, ok, there is some I can't bring myself to use), but I can't seem to use it up.  I bought only one package from the current catalogs, the Wood Textures (my brother and I live in log homes, my daughter used log slices in her wedding decor; I *had* to have it).  But then a second package arrived as an incentive prize from my upline, and a third package was free with an order, and there was another incentive prize this weekend, and now there's a  fourth package in my storage drawer!  It's not my fault, really ;)

Since the newest prompt at Stampin' Up Only Challenges is to CASE a catalog project, it seemed like a really good idea to use some of that brand new paper, so I turned to page 4 in the Occasions catalog, where I found two great ideas:

stamp set - Birthday Wit; ink - Bermuda Bay, Berry Burst; card stock - Lemon Lime Twist, Peekaboo Peach, Bermuda Bay; designer series paper - Picture Perfect Party; Big Shot with Simple Stripes Textured Impressions™ embossing folder

I don't have the coordinating stamp set or the paper ribbon, so I made a few minor changes.  The candles on this card make it perfect for the optional topping at Seize the Birthday, but that challenge closed earlier today (not midnight tonight as I mistakenly thought).  It's a fun card, though, and since the usual theme at Seize the Birthday is Anything Goes, maybe one of these weeks I'll remember to link up while a challenge is still active!

stamp set - Amazing You (Sale-A-Bration); ink - Berry Burst; card stock - Whisper White, Peekaboo Peach; designer series paper - Picture Perfect Party