Custom Milestone Birthday card with Pinkfresh Studio

Happy Wednesday, friends! I took most of yesterday off in order to prepare for celebrating the evening with my husband. He turned the big 4-0 yesterday, and while we aren't much for big parties or anything, it is still a pretty big birthday! I baked him his favorite cupcakes, created this custom card, grabbed some favorite dinner items and a 4-pack of a Double IPA that he never would have purchased for himself because of the price tag. Lol! It was a perfect night celebrating, just the two of us. We are going to go out to dinner at our favorite restaurant on Sunday night, courtesy of Josh's parents who got us a gift card. We are even going to Uber so that we can take advantage of the half off promo they do on full bottles of wine on Sundays - yay!!

For his birthday gift, I put a little coupon in his card, valid for (1) new Traeger Grill of his choice. Josh loves to cook, grill & smoke meats, and he has been using an entry level, no bells & whistles Traeger for over 5 years now. It has served us well, but it's time to be replaced. I thought that a 40th birthday was the perfect time to splurge, and get one with more insulation for these cold Minnesota winters, WIFI enabled, etc. There are a few different models and I don't know the difference...thus I didn't do the purchasing. Lol! He can research which one he thinks is the best fit, and we will get it then!

I have known Josh now for close to half of his life. I've watched a hardworking, extremely determined young man grow into a man with the same disciplines. But I see a man who is now also softer & gentler with people...but he will still totally call you out on your you know what if he deems it necessary. He walked beside me as we both dealt with losing our babies, holding me up when I just couldn't do it myself. He is proof that real men can cry, and be strong, and love fiercely, and let go...all at the same time. He is my best friend...the only one who truly knows how hard this journey has been. The only person who understand my dry, and sometimes morbid humor. The only person who doesn't cringe when I am raw, and need to say exactly how I feel right at that moment. Grief & loss do that to you, and while I wish with all my heart that this part of Josh's story (which of course, directly relates to my own) were different...I'm thankful that I have him by my side to help navigate it.

Happy 40th babe...here's to another 20. ;) (It's an inside joke....) And look at this adorable photo of him! (And us...lol!)

I made this custom birthday card for Josh with a mix of my Pinkfresh Studio products. I knew I wanted to use the Eucalyptus Fantasy washi tape, then just proceeded from there!

I started by adhering the washi tape to 80 LB white cardstock - I use this thinner cardstock with the washi tape so that it is easier to diecut. I think you could likely use heavyweight cardstock if you wanted, but I didn't really feel it was necessary here. I trimmed the frame into a panel slightly smaller than an A2 card, then diecut the Braided Oval from the middle. I also diecut the oval from white cardstock three times. I pulled them out of the diecut machine super carefully, as I wanted the insides to remain, other than poking out the tiny dots on just the washi tape layer. I also diecut the (4) eucalyptus branches while I had my diecut machine out.

Then I adhered the washi panel to an A2 kraft card base, then stacked the braided oval layers to the middle.

Next I used the Make A Wish set & stamped the layered cake, then heat embossed the cake platter & numbers. I also heat embossed a sentiment from the Oval Foliage Wreath set to the middle of the cake. I diecut them with the Make A Wish die set, then stamped the candle flames. I layered the cake & candles to the braided oval, then accented the bottom of the cake with the diecut eucalyptus stems.

To finished, I accented the cake and two of the card corners with trios of both the Essentials: Crystals mix and Essentials: Jewels mix. The crystals are diamond shape, so I just adhered them on their head to the card.

That is all I have for you today! I wanted to invite you to follow me on social media. I would love to be crafty friends!

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Have an awesome Wednesday!

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