Belated blog birthday

Note: I worked on this blog post over three days this week. Finished it yesterday, hit Preview to make sure it looked okay before publishing, and it was gone. Everything except the post title disappeared into who knows where. Sigh. Yesterday was not a great day to start with, and that just about put me over the edge. But today seems better, so I'm going to try this again.

Earlier this week my sister reminded me that Aug. 1 was my blog's birthday. I missed it. Oops. So as a belated celebration of nine years of blogging, I'm going to share five birthday cards made with the Wish Big Peek-a-Boo Parts stamp set from Hero Arts.

This stamp set includes a large background stamp as well as a number of smaller images and sentiments sized to work with the Peek-a-Boo dies from Hero Arts (although I only used the die for one of these cards).

Supplies:
Stamps: Wish Big Peek-a-Boo Parts (Hero Arts)
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Tangelo Twist, Daffodil Delight, Call Me Clover, Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: It's Your Day die (Simon Says Stamp), Nesting Squares Rounded Quickutz dies (We R Memory Keepers), sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

One of the first techniques I wanted to try with the background stamp was rainbow stripes. I placed the stamp on my stamp positioner, used mini ink cubes to apply ink across the stamp in stripes, and then stamped it on white card stock. I had a little ink smear on the stamped panel, so rather than tossing the whole piece, I used a square die to cut up the panel and then mounted the piece on black card stock. On top of the stamped panel I added a black die-cut sentiment that lets some of the colors peek through.

For the card base I actually used the small images in the stamp set. I stamped the images, and a few of the sentiments, all over a white card base using black ink. Then I adhered the focal panel using foam tape and finished the card with some clear sequins.

Supplies:
Stamps: Wish Big Peek-a-Boo Parts (Hero Arts), Simple Strips - Birthday (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Call Me Clover, Pacific Point card stock (Stampin' Up!); Brights 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper (DSP) (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tangleo Twist, Daffodil Delight, Call Me Clover, Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!); Oreo (Taylored Expressions)
Accessories: Wonky Stitched Circles dies (My Favorite Things), Simple Strips die (Taylored Expressions), Balloons dies (Simon Says Stamp), white crochet thread (DMC), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

For this card, I used the same technique to ink and stamp the background image, but this time I cut it out with a circle die instead of a square. I die cut three balloons from coordinating card stock, tied a bow to the largest balloon, and adhered them to the stamped circle.

For the card base, I cut two pieces of yellow DSP - I think the stripes and polka dots look so cute together - and glued them to the front of a white card. Then I used foam tape to add the focal piece near the top of the card and a sentiment strip below it. I didn't add any extra embellishment on this card so it was a little more guy-friendly.

Supplies:
Stamps: Wish Big Peek-a-Boo Parts (Hero Arts), Simple Strips - Birthday (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White, Pacific Point card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Poppy Parade, Tangelo Twist, Daffodil Delight, Cucumber Crush, Pacific Point (Stampin' Up!); Oreo (Taylored Expressions)
Accessories: Happy Birthday die (Stampin' Up!), Simple Strips die (Taylored Expressions), Rhythm 'n Blues sequins (Craft Medley), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute), foam tape (3M)

For this card, I stuck with the multicolored background, but this time I used the ink cubes to create random "splotches" of color instead of stripes. One tip to keep in mind with this technique: Start by applying the lightest color first and work your way to the darkest. That way you don't end up with blue ink on a yellow ink pad. Once that was done, I adhered the panel to a blue card base.

For the focal image, I used a large die-cut "Happy Birthday." I cut out the sentiment a few times and layered the pieces together to create some dimension on the card base. I added a sentiment strip using foam tape and finished off with three blue sequins.

Supplies:
Stamps: Wish Big Peek-a-Boo Parts (Hero Arts)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Black, vellum card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Blends markers - Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Granny Apple Green, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Clear embossing powder (Stampamania), Birthday Wishes Frame die (Simon Says Stamp), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

For this card I stamped the background image on a white card base using black ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. I used alcohol markers to color in some of the images and then rounded the corners of the card base.

To make the focal image, I die-cut a Polaroid-style frame with a "Birthday Wishes" sentiment from black card stock. (This is the same die I used for one of the cards in the Sending tropical sunshine post. I just trimmed off the words for that card.) I backed the die cut with a piece of vellum, and attached it to the card base at an angle. I think the vellum works perfectly here; it doesn't completely hide the colored images behind it, and it also helps the scripty text stand out from the busy background.

Supplies:
Stamps: Wish Big Peek-a-Boo Parts, Mini Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper: Granny Apple Green, thick Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Granny Apple Green (Stampin' Up!); Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Blends markers - Granny Apple Green, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!); Stardust Gelli Roll pen (Sakura)
Accessories: Peek-a-Boo Doors die (Hero Arts), twine (Stampin' Up!), rhinestones (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

Finally I pulled out the Peek-a-Boo Doors die to use with this stamp set. I wanted the front of this card to be monochromatic, so the images and words behind the doors really pop when you open them. I stamped the background image on a piece green card stock using the same color ink. Then I ran the panel through my die-cutting machine with the Peek-a-Boo Doors die (that creates all the little flaps) and set it aside to make the card base.

There are a couple of tricks you can do to make sure you are stamping the images in the right places on the card base. One option is to use the die with a piece of scratch card stock to make a template. Just cut off the flaps, place it over your card base (use a bit of temporary adhesive if desired) and stamp in the openings. What I did was to open the card base, place the die on the card front and then run it through your die-cutting machine with an embossing plate instead of a cutting plate. That will create little indentations where the doors would normally be, and you can just stamp in the boxes. You will, however, be able to see the indentations on the back of the card front, so if that will bother you, I'd go with a template. Either way, be sure you have the right orientation of the template or die, so that when you adhere the panel to the card base, the flaps line up with the images. And be sure not to glue the flaps closed!

The front of the card looked a little too plain to me, so I used a Stardust Gelli Roll pen to color in the stars on the front of the card. I also placed a rhinestone on each of the gift images and added a small twine bow.

There you have it - five cards using different layouts or techniques with the same stamp set. (I did a similar post a few weeks ago: A taste of the tropics.) If you like this format, let me know and I'll try to do more posts like this in the future.

Thanks for stopping by today and being part of my nine years blogging! I'll have to plan something special (and remember it!) for next year.