Birthday balloons

I'm not sure what happened to spring in Minnesota. It's certainly gone into hiding for a few days. We had the potential for frost last night, so we brought out a bunch of old sheets to cover up the veggies as much as we could. This morning it's still only 38°F; hard to believe Memorial Day is coming up next week. But I know that in just a few weeks we'll be in the middle of heat and humidity and I'll be wishing for a cool snap, so I won't complain too much.

Something I won't complain about at all is birthday cards. They're fun to make, fun to give, and fun to receive. I'm actually not sure which of those I like best! Today I'm going to share three birthday card designs that feature balloons.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Up, Up & Away
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Soft Sky, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Dimensionals

This was actually the last card I made for the stash I gave to my uncle. It was the afternoon of the party, and I needed a quick and easy design. This card fit the bill perfectly, and as a bonus it's gender neutral and could even be used for other occasions by changing the sentiment.

There's nothing too complicated with this card, which is pretty typical for me; I don't think a card has to have twenty layers, a dozen embellishments, or a time-consuming technique to be impressive. I stamped the balloons on Whisper White card stock, cut them out, and adhered them to the card base with Dimensionals (I stamped the balloon baskets first). Then I filled in the background with a few clouds, birds, and the sentiment. Easy peasy.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Celebrate Today
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Tangelo Twist, Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo
Accessories: White baker's twine, foam dots (unknown)

The Celebrate Today set is currently in the 2015 Occasions catalog from Stampin' Up!, but it's also carrying over to the next annual catalog. I'm excited that this set is staying around because I love these bold balloons and the different ways you can use them. You can make these balloons into hot air balloons, too, but I decided to go with more traditional birthday balloons. Again I used basic stamping and cutting to make this card. (There are coordinating Framelits dies to cut out the balloons, but it's actually just as fast for me to cut out the stamped images by hand.) I think this card could use some sequins or rhinestones, but I was trying keep it "guy appropriate," so I skipped the sparkles.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Sketch a Party, Sew You (March 2015 Paper Pumpkin kit)
Paper: 110-pound white card stock (Recollections)
Ink: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Bermuda Bay sequins, Glue Dots

This card is another gender-neutral design, and it's even more "simple" than the previous two -- no cutting! To make the balloons, I stamped the outline image in each color. Then using the same colors, I stamped the inside/filler image on scratch paper before stamping it on the card, so it is lighter in color.

For the sentiment I used stamps from the March 2015 Paper Pumpkin kit. The "Happy birthday to" and "you" are separate stamps, so I used black for the first part and Bermuda Bay for the "you" to make it stand out.

I did have to add a few sequins to this card because it needed something. But they're blue sequins, so I don't think the guys would object too much, right?

Thanks for stopping by!