Birthday collection

This week was spring break for me, which I haven't had in about twenty-five years (one of the perks of working at a school). I didn't do any traveling, but I did enjoy time relaxing and card-making. I even was able to have a craft day with a friend -- something we haven't done in about three years. I have a bunch of cards to share from the week, but before I do that I want to share a little collection of birthday cards that I made several weeks ago.

This image is from a long-retired Stampin' Up! stamp set, but I love it and still go back to it. And once it's colored it makes a really fun, festive focal point, which means the rest of the card can be clean and simple. For the card base I used dark blue card stock and wrapped yellow-and-white twine around the card front three times. I tied the twine in a knot and used foam tape to adhere the focal image (matted with a layer of turquoise card stock) over the knot. I used a sentiment strip to add a greeting to the card and finished it off with three yellow enamel dots.

Candles are always a classic image for birthday cards, and I love the size of these candles. For this card, I stamped a row of candles on white card stock using bright colors. I stamped the flames in yellow ink, but it seemed like they needed "something," so I used a Viva Décor Pearl Pen to give the flames a little dimension. I layered the panel on black card stock so there was a thin border of black on the top and bottom and then used foam tape to add a sentiment strip.

To create the card base I stamped two different background images on yellow card stock using the same color ink; there are streamers at the top of the card and burst images near the bottom. I glued the focal panel about an inch or so above the bottom of the bottom of the card and finished it off with a few sequins.

These cards started out as quick cards, which naturally meant they took me forever to make. I started with a pack of patterned paper and the big, graphic "happy birthday" image. Easy, right? But then I couldn't decide which papers or colors to use, how to do the layouts, how to embellish them, etc., etc. So after a lot of hemming and hawing I finally put together these four cad designs. I'm still not crazy about them, so I may go back and redo them later, but for now they'll go in my card box.

Thanks for stopping by!

'Gnome' one like you

I usually gravitate toward clean and simple cards, but every once in awhile I like to make more elaborate cards. The three cards I have to share today definitely fit that bill -- and they're pretty cute, too, if I do say so myself.

OK, I'll admit it would be pretty hard to make cards that aren't cute with these gnome stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn. It definitely takes time to do all the coloring, die cutting, and layering, but it's worth it. 

I think these cards are pretty self-explanatory, but here are a few notes:

- I added clouds to the background with cloud stencils (Taylored Expressions), white ink, and blender brushes. I wish the clouds showed up a little better on the lighter blue card stock.

- For the large mushroom houses, I very lightly sponged Crumb Cake ink on the white bases to give them a little depth. I also used Glossy Accents on the white spots on the mushroom tops.

- I chose a few colors for the gnomes' clothes and mixed and matched them on the different figures. (I used the same colors for the presents, too.) That way they looked good together however I combined them on the different cards.

Inside the two birthday cards I added a stamped sentiment and a couple of mushrooms. For the third card, I left the panel blank (I wrote out my own thank-you message) and added a mushroom and a gnome holding a flower.

Thanks for stopping by!

Waiting for spring

I am very ready for spring. We had a rainy day here today, but the rain is supposed to change to sleet/snow tonight, and then we have a blizzard warning. Boo. Since spring weather isn't here yet, I'll share a couple of spring-y cards instead.

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers, and they always make me think of spring, so I pulled out the Mondo Tulip stamp set from Ellen Hutson. (I bought this set a couple of years ago and hadn't used it yet. Oops.) And since I'm still in need of birthday cards, I added birthday sentiments to both of these cards.

For my first card I decided to color the tulips. I used light yellow and pink alcohol markers to make two-tone flowers. (I think they turned out pretty well considering I don't do a lot of coloring.) I cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die, matted it with black card stock, and adhered it to a light pink card base. I finished the card with a few clear droplets.

For the second card I wanted to see if I could use the tulip stamp without coloring the flowers. I used the same basic layout as the first card, but this time I stamped the flowers using Crumb Cake ink. I stamped a large "happy birthday" across the flower stems using dark purple ink. Then I mounted the panel on dark purple card stock and attached it to an amethyst card base. I finished the card with a few sparkly sequins and a dimensional butterfly sticker (I used the butterfly to choose my colors).

I love flower stamps, but I can't wait to see some real spring flowers around here! Thanks for stopping by!

Brilliant Butterflies card set

Later this spring, the school where I work is having a carnival, complete with silent auction, to raise money for different school programs. I asked if they would like a set of handmade cards for the auction, and the answer was "yes," so I got to work.

I wanted to make a set of cards that was fairly versatile, so after much debate I settled on a clean and simple layout with bright butterflies. I made ten cards total, two each of five designs. Four of the designs have sentiments ("happy birthday," "thinking of you," "thanks," and "happy thoughts"), and the fifth is blank.

I chose five butterfly images from the Brilliant Butterflies stamp set (My Favorite Things) and assigned each one a color: pink, orange, yellow, green, and teal. Then I mixed and matched the butterflies so I used each of them three times, and no two card designs have the same combination of colors/butterflies. Then I chose a sentiment for each design from the Totally Random Sayings Vol. 3 stamp set (Essentials by Ellen).

I love these images, but they do take a little time to stamp because each butterfly is actually four stamps: the top wings, the bottom wings, the detail wings, and the body/antennae. I used my MISTI and stamped each layer on a scratch paper first to make sure everything was lined up before I stamped the card bases. For the teal butterfly I used Taylored Expressions inks (Confetti Cake and Cookie Monster); the other ink colors are Color Fuse inks from Rubbernecker Stamps -- they're perfect because each set includes four shades of the same color. 

Once all the stamping was done I added a very narrow strip of glossy black card stock along the bottom of each card. (It's difficult to see it in the picture, but I think it's a nice detail.) I finished the cards with several sequins, which I tried to arrange in a pathway going up each card.

I'm happy with how these cards turned out, and I hope they do well in the silent auction. Thanks for stopping by!

March Christmas cards: Watercolor wishes

My Christmas cards are a little different this month. I wanted to do a little bit of (easy) watercolor painting, so instead of creating a bunch of cards that are all the same, I made four cards, each with a different layout.

For the first card, with the gold star, I made lines of watercolor paint radiating from the center of the paper to the outside edges. When the paint was dry I cut out the panel with a stitched rectangle die and then splattered it with gold paint. I tried a few different options for the focal panel, but I finally decided on a large star cut from gold foil card stock, black "merry" die-cut, and "and bright" sentiment strip. I layered the panel on a black card base and finished with three gold sequins.

For the Christmas lights card, I first cut the watercolor paper with the stitched rectangle die. Then to make the lights, I painted oval or egg shapes around the paper, changing the direction of the shapes. When the paint was dry I used a Micron pen to draw the ends of the lightbulbs and the string connecting them. I attached the panel to a blue card base and added a few sequins and a "merry and bright" sentiment strip.

For the Christmas tree card, I did a watercolor wash with green, aqua, blue, and navy in a triangle shape. When that was dry I die cut the panel and added small dots of gold paint, a few gold sequins, and a gold star to the tree. I adhered the panel to a green card base and added a gold die-cut "merry" along the bottom of the panel.

The ornament card was the one I was most nervous about since I wanted a more realistic look. I started by die cutting the panel and painting the pine branches across the top. (In retrospect, I think I should have added a few more branches to make it fuller.) Then I painted the three basic ornament shapes and let them dry.

Next I used a small brush and gold paint to add the details and tops on the ornaments. (I think I may have held my breath during that step!) I used a ruler and a Micron pen to create the strings, and stamped "merry & bright" in the lower left corner. I attached the panel to a red card base and finished the card with a few gold sequins.

It was fun to do something a little different for my March Christmas cards, but I'll probably be back to something more usual next month -- I think it would take me forever to make all my Christmas cards this way!

Thanks for stopping by!