Just Because Ladybug Card

This card is so cheerful it makes me smile.  

I started off by stamping the clouds.  It is a large background stamp from Hero Arts.  I stamped it first, and then trimmed down the paper.  

Next I stamped my ladybug and kite.  This is from an old Stampin' Up set called Ladybug Picnic.  I bought it used and the copyright year was 2004.  I was stamping over the blue clouds so the black lines looked fine, but any areas that needed to be filled with color needed to be paper pieced.  I could have avoided this by masking, but I honestly thought this would be easier this time around because of all those skinny lines.

I stamped the kite portion onto a pink polka dotted paper and cut out the main part, and the 3 bows.  After I adhered them I stamped the ladybug again onto white cardstock.  I colored her in.  I cut out just her body and her head.  Her antennae, eyelashes, and limbs are all on the cloud piece and looked fine.

I added some grass from a Martha Stewart Punch. 

I decided to make a pleated ribbon down the side.  I put adhesive on the back of the ribbon, and also in a straight line down the paper where I wanted to ribbon to go.  I carefully worked slowly creating the pleats.  Then, I went back and put more adhesive in each pleat to hold them all down.

I matted the stamped and ribbon embellished piece of cardstock on a pink card base and then did some doodling around the edges.

I decided I wanted the sentiment to be inside one of the clouds so I picked one and stamped "Just Because" from SP & Company's Ultimate Sentiments I  using a hot pink ink.  Then I went around just that one cloud with Diamond Stickles.