Birthday cards for everyone

For my aunt's birthday last November I gave her a gift certificate for a card-making day: I would design and prep the supplies for eight cards (four each of two designs), and she just had to come over and make them. Well, with all the crazy busy-ness of the holidays, we didn't get to have our craft day until last week, and I thought I'd share the card designs with you.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Flowering Fields, Petite Pairs
Paper: Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper (DSP); Hello Honey, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, markers - Hello Honey, Basic Black, Old Olive, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Envelope Liner Framelits dies, Basic Black baker's twine, Dimensionals

My aunt requested birthday cards, and I actually decided to do three designs -- one feminine, one masculine, and one neutral -- with three cards of each design. So my aunt got a bonus card. Sweet!

For this card design, I used two of the current Sale-A-Bration products: the Flowering Fields stamp set and coordinating Wildflower Fields DSP. I used the same stamped focal panel for each card but changed the color of the card base and the DSP. Did you know that you can customize your DSP? The pattern I used on the Hello Honey card on the left was originally just white with outlined black circles. I used markers to color in some of the circles so the colors of the card were reflected in the DSP. Neat, huh? I forgot to include the envelopes in the picture, but I also made an envelope liner for each card using the same DSP. I want to try to do that more often to use up my patterned papers.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Traveler, Work of Art, Perfect Pairings
Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Basic Black card stock; Going Places DSP stack
Ink: Sahara Sand, Lost Lagoon, Delightful Dijon, Mossy Meadow, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: 1-3/8" square punch, metallic hemp cord (Hemptique), sponge, Dimensionals

I knew I wanted to use the Traveler stamp set for the masculine card design, but I was stumped. I searched for some online inspiration and found many great samples, including one that used the abstract images from Work of Art to add color and one that used parts of the images in a square punch. I also wanted to use some of the new Going Places DSP stack, which has great patterns for masculine card designs, so I combined all of those elements into this card design. I sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla squares with Sahara Sand ink to enhance the vintage look, and for a simple embellishment I tied a piece of metallic cord around the card front.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Silhouettes & Script, Champagne Dots (Paper Source)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Pool Party, Watermelon Wonder, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Bermuda Bay sequin trim, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Glue Dots, Dimensionals

For the third design, I went with a single-layer card that would be great for any recipient. I stamped the party hats in two coordinating blues -- Bermuda Bay and Pool Party -- and Watermelon Wonder for a little punch. To create the look of confetti, I stamped a dotted border along the top of the card and added a few sequins. For the sentiment I stamped and cut out the "Happy Birthday" and adhered it to the card with narrow strips of Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!