I was so happy to receive samples of my latest licensed greetings cards - this one is available in Trader Joe's in the USA. I wanted to share some of the process and sketches that took the design from the initial idea to the finished product.

I always start with initial pencil sketches - using lots of images from pinterest and various books for inspiration. I wanted to do a birthday cake decorated with lots of fresh flowers, and bunting and make it really summery and fresh. One of the parts that takes the longest for me is choosing the colour scheme - I always want to ensure it is perfect before starting and I am not the most decisive ! Pinterest is great for this too.

I like to prepare all the elements - flowers, leaves, decorations, and then place them on the cake just as if I am decorating it in real life. I do this with my flower bouquet designs too.

The same goes for the text - I tried a couple of options for this one and finally opted for the simpler version. I always draw it by hand in pencil, then black ink before scanning it in.

I was really happy with how this one turned out - and I hope you will look out for it if you live in the USA !