Always be a unicorn

Unicorns are pretty awesome. They're magical and sparkly and all that good stuff. They're also perfect for a couple of fun girly birthday cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Little Dreamer - Cardmaking (Close to My Heart)
Paper: Soft Sky, Berry Burst, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Soft Sky, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories: Large and Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables Lawn Cuts dies (Lawn Fawn), Frost White shimmer paint, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen, Go Green sequins (Craft Medley), glitter ribbon, sponge dauber, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I love this saying. It just makes me smile, and if I'm honest it's probably the reason I bought this stamp set. But the unicorn, which has separate stamps for the body, snout, horn, mane and tail, is pretty fun, too.

As befitting a unicorn, there are lots of glittery, shiny things on this card. For the background I used a sponge dauber to apply Frost White shimmer paint to two different star images and then randomly stamped the stars around the outer edges of the Soft Sky card base. (I've used this technique before with snowflakes, and I love the way the images catch the light.) On the focal image I brushed Wink of Stella glitter on the unicorn's mane, tail, snout and horn. And for embellishments I added a few iridescent light-green sequins and a strip of glittery ribbon. I think all the sparkly bases are covered.

I added a little magic inside the card, too, with a sentiment banner and three stamped and hand-cut stars. Oddly, I didn't make these stars sparkly. I may have to go back and add Wink of Stella so the stars don't feel left out. Or maybe just a few sequins? What do you think?

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that I created this card with the intention of using it for a birthday. But there isn't actually a birthday sentiment on the card, so you could use it for encouragement, thinking of you, or just to give someone a smile.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Little Dreamer - Cardmaking (Close to My Heart), Stylized Birthday
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories: Layering Ovals Framelits dies, metallic foil doilies, Go Green sequins (Craft Medley), Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen, Lucky Stars embossing folder, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

While I was stamping one unicorn, I went ahead and stamped a few so I could try out some different layouts. I stuck with the same color combination for this card -- I'm still not sure how I feel about Lemon Lime Twist, but I think it's growing on me.

I also stuck with the sequins and star background, but I switched it up a bit by embossing the stars rather than stamping them. I added a little emphasis to the stars by painting them with my Wink of Stella brush pen.

Instead of matting this focal image with a layer of card stock, I used a silver doily (shiny!), which I cut in half and glued to the back of the oval.

Since I used the magical day banner on the front of this card, I needed something different for the inside. So I stamped "Happy Birthday" with Berry Burst ink and added a few Lemon Lime Twist stars that were left over from the first card. Again I don't have any glitz inside the card, so I may have to add some.









Thanks for stopping by! And remember, always be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn. Then always be a unicorn.