Fiesta fun!

I'll admit that when I first saw the Birthday Fiesta stamp set in the Stampin' Up! catalog, I thought it was fun and cute, but not something I would ever buy. Then I started seeing comments online from other demonstrators who couldn't wait to get that set and were planning to use it for make-and-take projects. Naturally I started to wonder if maybe I needed that set after all ...

So I looked at Birthday Fiesta again and started to think about different card ideas. I realized the images would be fun to use with a fiesta-themed card stock pack I bought at a craft store a couple of years ago. And the banners and streamers would be useful for general birthday cards. And ... well before I knew it, Birthday Fiesta -- and the coordinating Framelits dies, naturally -- ended up being the first item on my order when the catalog started.

I've had a lot of fun playing with the stamps and dies over the past two days. I only have a few cards to show for my work, but it was fun just to tinker. For my first card I had to use the llama image:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Birthday Fiesta
Paper: Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Cucumber Crush, thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Cucumber Crush, Bermuda Bay, Smoky Slate, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Fiesta Time Framelits dies, Word Bubbles Framelits dies, rhinestones, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue, Glue Dots

I know there's a lot going on here, but this card makes me smile, so I'm happy with it. I started by stamping and cutting out the llama, banner, and cacti. A couple of quick tips: 1) To make the banner, I inked the solid image, stamped on scratch paper and then stamped on the die-cut banner. Then I stamped the detail image using the same ink color. 2) For the llama's blanket, I used a narrow strip of washi tape to cover the middle part of the image. I inked the image with Watermelon Wonder, removed the tape and stamped the image. Then I repeated the process, covering the outside parts of the image with washi tape and inking the middle with Daffodil Delight, and stamped between the red triangles.

With all the pieces done I started playing around with layout. I stamped one streamer in each color near the top of the card and then adhered the banner with Dimensionals. With the busy-ness at the top of the card, I needed to "ground" the bottom, so I added a strip of Basic Black card stock. After adding the llama and cacti, there was still something missing, so I hand-cut a few tufts of grass and glued them along the black strip. I didn't want to stamp the sentiment right on the card base, so instead I stamped it on a die-cut word bubble. Who can resist a llama telling you to fiesta?!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Fiesta, Hello Sunshine (Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin), All About Everything (Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock, gold glimmer paper, Fiesta Forever stack (DCWV)
Ink: VersaMark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Fiesta Time Framelits dies, Winter White embossing powder, gold Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, banner punch, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue

For my next cards I set the llama aside and focused on the banners as the main images. First I had to settle on a background. I wanted to use white card bases, but I didn't want them stark, so I added flecks of gold by firmly tapping a gold Wink of Stella pen over the card bases.

Then it was time to add color. I picked out several sheets of the Fiesta Forever card stock stack I mentioned earlier in my post and got to work die cutting and embossing streamers and banners. The embossing was a bit time-consuming, but I love the white patterns on the colored banners. Then I settled on a layout, gluing the streamers directly to the card bases and adhering the banners with Dimensionals. One note: With the spacing on the banners, it worked better to use a 4" wide card base rather than the 4-1/4" of a standard A2 card. That way the banners went from edge to edge and I didn't have to cut any of the individual pennants in half.

To bring in the gold, I added a strip of gold glimmer paper along the bottom of the card bases and a small punched banner piece in the top left corner. For the sentiments I used the stamps from a couple of past Paper Pumpkin kits, and that was it.

Now I'm on to other new card-making goodies. I'm definitely enjoying my time off work! Thanks for stopping by!