Colorful candles and a big balloon

I'm making progress in clearing out the old stamping projects, and tonight I'm sharing two birthday cards I made last fall.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Make a Wish stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Pool Party, Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight card stock; Oh My Stars kit (Bella Boulevard)
Ink: Pool Party, Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, Dimensionals

This card is similar to one I shared as part of the Taylored Expressions birthday sketch challenge. For this version, I cut back on the sparkle (I just have Wink of Stella painted on the candle flames), but I added more color. I love that bright patterned paper, but since it's a little busy, I didn't want to add a bunch of "competing" embellishments. In looking back, though, I think it needs "something." Maybe I should have embossed the Pool Party card base to add a little more texture.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Balloons (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock, white card stock (Recollections)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; violet and ultramarine Color Burst powders (Ken Oliver)
Accessories: Balloons dies (Simon Says Stamp), balloon punch, star sequins (Paper Pumpkin leftovers), white baker's twine, Dimensionals, Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

These colorful pieces were two of the backgrounds I made while experimenting with Color Burst powders during my Second Official October Craft Weekend. I love how vibrant the colors are! I wish I could remember specifically how I made them, but even if you followed the exact same steps, you wouldn't get the exact same results. So just play around with paper, water and the powders and see what happens!

Since the two pieces coordinate I decided to combine them on one card. I adhered the darker piece to a white card base and used a die to cut a large balloon out of the lighter piece. I stamped a large sentiment in the middle of the balloon, tied a white twine bow around the neck and adhered it to the base with Dimensionals. A few small gold star sequins add just a touch of sparkle.

After die cutting the balloon, I used a punch to make some smaller balloon shapes from the leftover card stock. I added the balloons inside the card to carry over some of the color from the front.

When I was trying to decide on placement for the small balloons, I couldn't quite get them to fit where I wanted them because I'd stamped the sentiment a bit too high. I decided to go ahead and glue the balloons where I wanted them, and then I just trimmed off the part of the balloon that hung off the edge. (That's a fun little trick to do with cloud die-cuts, too; you can even use the piece you cut off by gluing it to the opposite side of the card. Two for one!)










Thanks for stopping by!