Birthday bonanza

September and October are busy birthday months for my family and friends; it seems like there's at least one birthday every week. That means I need plenty of birthday cards. So last night and this afternoon I started replenishing my stock. Here is the first birthday card:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Perfect Party
Card stock: Whisper White, Creamy Caramel, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, River Rock, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Distress Stickles - Hard Rock Candy (Ranger), plaid embossing folder (Sizzix), Dimensionals

I love the summery look of this card! For the gloss and texture on the ice cream "scoops," I applied Stickles so it looked as if it were dripping down the scoop. I made the vanilla scoop by inking the stamp with River Rock, stamping off on scratch paper and then stamping on Very Vanilla card stock. It's hard to tell in the photo, but there is a tiny scalloped border on the bottom edge of the card made with Chocolate Chip card stock and the Dotted Ribbon Scallop Border punch. The embossed background adds some texture and interest without distracting from the ice cream.

Typically when I stamp, I'm not very talented at finding ways to use stamps in "out of the box" ways. I don't pick up a flower stamp set and imagine how I could use the stamps to create a bunny. (OK, that's a made-up example, but you get what I mean.) So when I had the idea to use the pennant stamps in the Pennant Parade set to make party hats, I was pretty pleased. Here is the result:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Pennant Parade, Bring on the Cake
Card Stock: Whisper White, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Poppy Parade
Ink: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Poppy Parade
Accessories: Petite Pennants Builder punch, Cupcake Builder punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Stickles - Crystal (Ranger), Dimensionals

I used the small circles in the Cupcake Builder punch to make the "trim" on the bottom of the hats. For each of the pom-poms, I punched two of the scallop circle shape from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, crumpled them a bit and then glued them together. Stickles on the trim and pom-poms adds a bit of sparkle. I made two score lines on the bottom of the card front and placed the "Happy Birthday" banner over the score lines. I'm not sure I'm happy with the hat placement; I think I should have left them all in a straight line.

For the third birthday card, I went with a more masculine feel:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Bring on the Cake
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Card stock/paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Island Indigo, Newsprint DSP
Accessories: Vintage Brads, 3/4" circle punch, Word Window punch

I like the crisp color combination of this card, and I think the two brads add a bit of embellishment without looking too "girly." The Island Indigo strip at the top of the card was made with the Word Window punch. To make the strip on the right, I cut a piece of card stock that was slightly less than 3/4" wide. Then I put the end of the strip through the bottom of the 3/4" circle punch and punched off just the end to create the rounded edge.

I hope you liked my cards and that they spark some ideas for your own birthday cards!