Four square birthday balloons

Yesterday I was on a mission. I wanted to enter the card-making contest for the upcoming Rubber Stamp Events show, so I needed to make two cards that fit the theme "Hollywood Glitz." I am not a glitzy person at all, in real life or in card-making, so it was a challenge. But I stayed (mostly) focused and came up with two cards I really like. I want to share them, but I think I should wait until after the show. So, stay tuned for those in a couple of weeks -- sorry for the teaser! Instead here's a bright (non-glitzy!) birthday card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Bundle, All Shook Up (both Paper Pumpkin sets)
Paper: 110-lb white card stock (Recollections), Whisper White card stock, Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Signo white gel pen
Accessories: Red and white twine (Target), Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables Lawn Cuts dies (Lawn Fawn), Dimensionals

This is a fun layout that be used for any occasion just by changing the DSP, colors and/or image. Think leaves for fall, Halloween pumpkins, snowflakes for winter or bright spring flowers. And it would be even easier if you used punched or die-cut shapes instead of stamping and cutting, which I did for the balloons.

For this card I wanted a lively, gender-neutral pattern for the DSP. And the colors here -- Real Red, Coastal Cabana and Crumb Cake -- are festive without being either too girly or too masculine. To add a little interest to the background, I die cut the DSP with a stitched rectangle die before adhering it to a heavy white card base. I stamped a smaller background image on four Whisper White card stock squares, added coordinating balloons with Dimensionals and arranged them on the card. For a little embellishment I added a simple pieced of knotted twine.

Thanks for stopping by!