Dots and Stripes for a Birthday

All of a sudden, we're close to halfway through March! Time for another Seize the Birthday challenge, and our new topping is ••• Dots and ⁄⁄⁄ Stripes. 

Remember, our *toppings* are always optional - if you're not feeling in a dots and stripes mood, we love to see any birthday card. 
I don't normally mix dots and stripes - I think it's my upbringing :D - but in honour of the challenge, I did! 

I went floral to go with the dots and stripes, though to be honest, I sometimes hesitate to use them for Seize the Birthday, as my teammates are masters at using flowers! But I wanted to test-drive this new-to-me stamp set from Catherine Pooler - and yikes, the flowers have FOUR layers! Using reds might have been easier, but no, I decided I wanted purple. My first attempts came out way too dark, so I adapted and used the same light coloured ink for the first two layers, saving me from going super dark for the final one. Similarly, I just used two green inks for the three-layer leaves. I could probably have experimented all day with various ink combos. :D I almost cut a strip of polka dot paper to layer over the vertical stripes, but chose ribbon instead - the dots were a little more spaced and seemed to cause less eye buzzing. :P The card still seemed to need a little something, so a few clear sequins finished it off. The overall design is inspired by the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge. 

The design team has used our topping theme in all sorts of original ways - as has our newest surprise party guest, Tenia! You're sure to be inspired. 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, MFT Dots & Stripes neutral patterned paper, Catherine Pooler Rose Garden stamps & dies, Unity sentiment stamp, Versafine onyx black, Stampin' Up almost amethyst & lavender lace, wilted violet distress & Memento new sprout & bamboo leaves ink, Wow clear embossing powder, Sugar Pea Designs cardfront element builder die, May Arts ribbon, Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins