Give a Poem a Home - 5 Year Old Birthday Boy

Well, I did manage to make the first birthday card of the month.  I have three male birthdays to prepare for this month, but I can't promise they will all be handmade!  This one had to be, though, because it's for my nephew.  All my nephews have had only handmade birthday cards from me and hubby since they were born.


This card is made with a digital stamp.  I have a few stamps that work for men.  I was going to use a little train, but I think my sister and I bought the same stamp from Michaels, so I tried very hard not to use it!  (Of course, then, I started to fixate on the train.)  Then it hit me.  The only way to totally steer clear of any possible duplicate images was for me to use a digital stamp.  (My sister doesn't have a printer!)  I sifted through my small collection of digital stamps on my computer and found this one.  It's perfect for a little boy, don't you think?

I got this stamp as a freebie from Pollycraft - I think it was last summer.  It was free for a limited time but now you can buy him from her Cuthbert and Kiki line.  (I just wanted to say, she has a Critters and Cogs line that is PERFECT for little boys too, and her monster named Fluffy is THE CUTEST monster I have ever seen!  One day, he will be mine.)

I coloured Cuthbert with Copic markers and mixed in a few Letrasets where I didn't have a colour in Copic.  (What are those?  Read about them here.)  This nephew loves green, so Cuthbert's shirt is a light green to match the patterned paper.


I tried something new with this stamp: paper piecing with stamps.  I stamped Cuthbert twice and coloured his hands and balloons and his head twice.  Then I cut everything out: his full image plus the extra pieces.  (Let me tell you, balloon strings are not fun to cut around!)  I used some foam tape to pop up the extra bits.

I hope you like him.  (Actually, I really only hope my nephew likes him!)  Here's the poem I wrote for the inside:

It seems that yesterday, you were born and now you are five!

My, you're a very fast growing young guy!

You are darling and sweet, energetic and smart.

Yes, indeed, we think you're a real work of art!

We just want to say, "Happy Birthday To You"

And may all your birthday dreams come true!