Birthday cake!

Tomorrow is my birthday (yippee!) so I took the next several days off work to have a fun crafty weekend. But near the end of my shift yesterday I discovered that I had thwarted the plans of the team leads: They had planned a birthday surprise for me today, not realizing that I wouldn’t be there. I wasn’t expecting any sort of celebration, and the gesture was so sweet that I happily agreed to stop by on my day off for the “surprise.” I got a bouquet of lilies, a card, an emoji helium balloon and this awesome cake:

Isn’t that cool? To make it even better, I discovered it was supposed to be a book:

It looked beautiful — and tasted great, too (even if it did turn my mouth blue). What an awesome way to start the celebration!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy robot birthday

I have more than a dozen friends and family members with October birthdays, and several of them are kids. So here's a bright, kid-friendly birthday card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Robo Birthday, Get in Gear (both Raisin Boat)
Paper: Cucumber Crush, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Cucumber Crush; Tempting Turquoise marker; alcohol markers: Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate Blendabilities, YG09 Lettuce Green (Copic Ciao); journaling pen
Accessories: Balloon punch, google eyes (unknown), mini-pinking scissors (Fiskars), Stitched Shapes Framelits dies, Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Dimensionals

I think this robot is fun, and I really like how it looks with the gears in the background. All those gears are separate images, so you can mix and match whichever shapes you want. I picked several gears in different sizes and mounted them together on a large clear block. Then I inked and stamped them all together a few times to cover the background, which was much faster than switching between the stamps. When I was done with the larger images, I filled in any empty spaces with the small dot image.

For the focal layer, I stamped the robot on Whisper White card stock and colored it with alcohol markers. I cut out the image with a stitched circle die and adhered it to the card base with Dimensionals. For a couple of fun details I glued on some google eyes and added a balloon with a hand-drawn string.

I stamped and colored the sentiment on a strip of white card stock and trimmed the ends with a mini pinking scissors to coordinate with the gears. I also repeated that zig-zag element when I doodled the border around the card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Congrats on your new home

Over the summer two of my cousins moved into new houses. I wanted to send them each a card to celebrate the occasion, and this is one of those cards:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Fossil house-shaped card base (The Paper Cut); Soft Sky, Old Olive, Summer Starfruit, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, textured Soft Suede card stock; The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine paper pad (My Mind's Eye); window sheets
Accessories: Brick Wall embossing folder, Grand Flower Box die (Poppy Stamps), curtains from window die (Our Daily Bread), Flowers and Stems die (Taylored Expressions), Ice White Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), micro pop-dots (Forever in Time), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Dimensionals

Isn't that cute? I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I started with the house-shaped card base (which I also used to make a few other cards a couple of years ago) and embossed it with a brick wall texture. I realized after the fact that I used the embossing folder backwards. The bricks, rather than the "mortar lines," should be raised. I must subconsciously like it that way as I seem to do that every time I use this folder. Oh, well.

I had to get a little creative with the window. I have a couple of different window dies, but they were both too big for this card base, so I had to make my own. I cut out the flower box using textured Soft Suede card stock and used that as a guide for the overall size of the window. I cut a rectangle of textured Soft Suede card stock and then used a ruler and craft knife to carefully cut out the inner panels for the windowpanes. (I did draw the outlines for the panes on the back of the card stock with a pencil.)

Once the whole window frame was cut out, I glued a piece of window sheet to the back to create the look of glass. Then I added the die-cut curtains and, finally, a piece of Soft Sky card stock for the background. I adhered the window box to the bottom of the window and added in the various die-cut flowers and stems. (I used micro pop-dots for some of the flowers to add depth.) Using Dimensionals I attached the whole window to the card base.

This definitely wasn't a quick card to create, but it was fun to watch the different elements come together. Thanks for stopping by!

Two-tone blue hydrangea

Back in June when I was making cards to enter in a contest, I made two Pool Party card bases with a brick wall embossing paste background. I used one of the bases to make a card for the contest, but the other one sat around on my craft table. I finally put it to use for this floral, feminine card:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Love Blossoms (Raisin Boat)
Paper: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Pool Party (pad and refill), Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green
Accessories: Light Molding Paste (Golden), Pattern Party Decorative Masks, linen thread, Rhythm 'n Blues sequins (Craft Medley), Bermuda Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), sponge, Dimensionals, Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

I love blue hydrangeas, and I think this two-tone look is really pretty. It was easy to do, too. I inked the cluster of blossoms with Pool Party ink and then used a sponge to apply Island Indigo around the edges and a bit in the middle. I stamped the image on Whisper White card stock then cut it out by hand. To add some dimension, I stamped a few smaller individual blossoms using the same technique and glued them on the cluster. I used a Pearl Pen to create the centers of the flowers.

For the stem, I inked the image with Wild Wasabi and used a sponge to apply a touch of Garden Green in the middle of the flower. I cut out the stem and glued the top to the back of the flower cluster.

To make the card base, I mixed some Pool Party ink refill with the embossing paste and spread the paste in a diagonal across a brick wall stencil. For the background I cut a strip of Island Indigo card stock, tied a piece of linen thread around the bottom and adhered it to the right side of the card base. I attached the flower with Dimensionals. stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner and added three blue sequins. I wanted a little more Island Indigo, so I sponged ink all around the edges of the card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Metal meets brick

I know many card-makers have a hard time creating masculine cards, myself included. For me, I think that's at least party because so many embellishments -- rhinestones, glitter, sequins, etc. -- have a decidedly feminine feel, leaving the more manly cards feeling a little boring. I tried to remedy that with this birthday card:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Basic Gray card stock, Through the Lens: Metal patterned card stock (Elizabeth Craft Designs), black glimmer paper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Scribble Happy Birthday die (Poppy Stamps), Brick Wall embossing folder. Metal Mesh and screw brads (Making Memories), sponge

I'm not sure I love the way this card turned out, but it's definitely not boring. I started with a pack of 6" x 6" paper where all the patterns are different close-up photos of metal. I chose a bright, bold piece and layered it on a Basic Gray card base. I cut another smaller piece of Basic Gray card stock, embossed it with a brick wall pattern, lightly sponged on some black ink and adhered it along the top of the card.

I added another metal element to the card with a small piece of metal mesh, which I attached at an angle with two brads I also added a third brad in the lower right corner for balance. To add the sentiment I die cut "happy birthday" out of black glimmer paper and used liquid glue (I can't remember exactly which one) to adhere it over the mesh.

And that's it! What do you think? Too bold? Too busy? Thanks for stopping by!