Birthday bows and blowers

I'm squeezing in one more blog post for May, and not surprisingly, it's birthday cards. (I think maybe I should change the name of my blog to "Birthday cards by Andrea" because that seems to be almost all I make lately!) These three cards were all made with the Picture Perfect Birthday stamp set, which is a great set with fun images and sentiments. Unfortunately, this set is retiring this year -- although I just checked, and it is still available in the U.S./Canada while supplies last until June 3, 2019, so if these cards inspire you, go grab it!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Picture Perfect Birthday
Paper: Whisper White, textured Bermuda Bay card stock
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), White Perfect Accents

I will admit that when I first got this stamp set, I didn't think I would use the bow image. It just didn't appeal to me for some reason. But I decided to try it on this card ... and I loved it! The bow is actually made with two separate stamps: the main image of the actual bow (the lighter color) and then a separate image to fill in all the shadows (the darker color). It looks so realistic, and since this is a photopolymer stamp set, it's pretty easy to line up the stamps.

I kept this card very clean and simple with the three bows, a sentiment, and three white enamel dots. To add a little more visual interest I rounded two opposite corners of the white panel before adhering it to a Bermuda Bay card base.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Picture Perfect Birthday
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Pineapple Punch, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flamingo, Lovely Lipstick
Accessories: Sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), foam tape (3M)

Once I had tried stamping a few bows, I decided to make a card with all the bows! For this (almost) one-layer card, I stamped the bows in a rough grid pattern, making sure that no two bows right next to each other were the same color. I also turned the stamp a little for each bow so they don't have the same alignment.

Once all the bows were done, I stamped "celebrate" on a strip of white card stock and trimmed the left end of the strip into points. I used foam tape to adhere the banner to the card front and then added three sequins for a simple embellishment.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Picture Perfect Birthday
Paper: Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Basic Black card stock
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Poppy Parade, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Iridescent shreds (unknown), sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), foam tape (3M)

The party blower is another fun image in this stamp set. Again, it is a multi-stamp image, so it's easy to make the blowers whatever colors you want. I chose a bright, gender-neutral color scheme with red, yellow, green, and blue (although I was aiming toward making this a guy-friendly card).

I used the sentiment "cue the confetti," so I stamped confetti on the Poppy Parade card base from the upper left corner to the lower right. It's a little hard to see behind all the sparkly shreds, but it adds subtle texture and interest to the background. I also added several small sequins on the focal panel, scattering them to look like falling confetti.

To bring everything together, I applied foam tape on the back of the focal panel, stuck some of the sparkly shreds on the tape, and then adhered the panel to the card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

May Christmas card: Retro colorful trees

I realized late last week that I still needed to make and post my Christmas cards for May. Yikes! Luckily I had a craft day planned yesterday, and that was the first task on my list. And here is the finished design:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Holiday Trimmings (WPlus9 Design Studio)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Whisper White card stock; Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Holiday Trimmings dies (WPlus9 Design Studio), Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Metallic Enamel Shapes, Dimensionals

Between all the white space and the acetate, I had a hard time photographing this card. (Not that my photography skills are all that great anyway ... ) In person, it's light and bright, and I love the retro feel of the tree images. (Update: I inserted a new photo of the card. This one is much better!)

To make the trees, I used three non-traditional ink colors: Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green and Calypso Coral. I inked up the solid tree image with one of the colors, stamped on scratch paper and then stamped it on the white card stock, toward the top half of the panel. I used the same color to stamp the detail image onto the tree; I just used the ink "full strength" instead of stamping off first.

I wanted to add some visual interest between the focal layer and the card base, so I tried a few different patterned papers. But they all seemed to pull focus away from the trees. Then I remembered I had a pack of foil-printed acetate that I bought ages ago. I found two sheets with silver polka dots, and it was perfect. It adds a little pattern and a little sparkle without being overpowering. To adhere the acetate, I just put some adhesive in the middle of my card base, where I knew it would be covered by the focal panel.

I used Dimensionals to adhere the stamped and die-cut sentiment below the trees and finished the card with a few silver enamel shapes: a star above the middle tree and three circles around the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fruity puns

It's been pretty rainy around here the last few days. I actually really enjoy the rain, and I know it's good for all the green things that are starting to sprout and bloom. But the constant dreariness can get a little old. (Thank goodness we did get to see the sun yesterday!) To break up all the gray, I wanted to share something with fun colors -- and a couple of fruity puns. Who doesn't like a good pun, right?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Orange You Sweet (Concord & 9th)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Whisper White card stock; Tutti-Frutti Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Soft Suede, white gel pen
Accessories: Orange You Sweet dies (Concord & 9th), Glitter Enamel Dots, Dimensionals

This sentiment just makes me chuckle. And I was pretty pleased with how this card turned out, too.

The Orange You Sweet stamp set is a versatile one, with several different elements (solid circles, outlines, and detail images) that can be combined to make different types of fruit. I wanted to try the kiwifruit first, and I knew I wanted to use it with the kiwifruit-printed paper from the Tutti-Frutti DSP. They work so well together!

I adhered a strip of the DSP along the left edge of a white card base. Then I stamped three kiwifruit images on white card stock, cut them out with the coordinating die, and used Dimensionals to adhere one of them near the middle of the card. I stamped the sentiments and adhered the remaining kiwifruit around the edges of the card base. Three green glitter enamel dots were the perfect finishing touch.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Orange You Sweet (Concord & 9th)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Whisper White card stock; Tutti-Frutti DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Watermelon Wonder, Garden Green
Accessories: Orange You Sweet dies (Concord & 9th), Watermelon Wonder sequin trim, Dimensionals, Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

From kiwifruit to watermelon! For this card, I started by placing a strip of DSP along the bottom of a white card base, and then I added a strip of sequin trim along the top of the DSP. (Watermelon Wonder sequins seemed to perfect to pass up.)

I stamped and die cut the three watermelon images on white card stock and adhered them to the card base with Dimensionals. I wanted to use the die-cut "sweet" -- I love the handwritten style and how thin the letter are -- so I adhered it across two of the watermelon shapes, carefully applying glue to just parts of the die cut.

To finish, I stamped the rest of the sentiment and added a few stamped watermelon seeds around the images.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Orange You Sweet (Concord & 9th), Yippee Critters (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana card stock
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Mango Melody, Pineapple Punch, Lemon Lime Twist, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Orange You Sweet dies (Concord & 9th), washi tape (Handmade Modern), black enamel dots (Eyelet Outlet), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Dimensionals

I was intrigued by the circles and outlines, so I decided to try making a card with just those elements. I selected a fun, tropical color palette: Coastal Cabana, Mango Melody, Pineapple Punch and Lemon Lime Twist. (I have found that I really like the Pineapple Punch and Mango Melody ink, but I cannot figure out how to use the card stock. It is just so bright.)

I stamped a few solid circles in each color on a piece of white card stock. Then I randomly stamped the circle outline in black, overlapping the colored circles. I rounded the corners of the card stock, added a strip of black polka dot washi tape, and adhered it to a Coastal Cabana card base.

For the focal point, I stamped another green circle on white card stock, stamped "happy birthday" over it, and then cut it out. I attached it to the card with Dimensionals and added a few scattered black enamel dots.

Inside the card I continued the theme by stamping one circle in each color on a layer of white card stock. I also rounded the corners on this piece. I didn't, however, stamp any of the black circle outlines because I wanted the black letters of the sentiment to really stand out. (But in looking at it now, I think I should have added a strip of the washi tape along the bottom of the white card stock.)






Thanks for stopping by!

Whimsical birthday wishes

I've been having a hard time getting back to a regular blogging schedule -- life just seems to always get in the way. But I wanted to do at least one post this week, so I'm popping in with a quick, colorful birthday card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Wishes on a Wire Birthday (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Pineapple Punch, Granny Apple Green, textured Bermuda Bay card stock
Ink: Alcohol markers: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Pineapple Punch, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Smoky Slate (Stampin' Up!) and C1, W1, R81 (Copic); Memento Tuxedo Black; journaling pen; Stardust Gelly Roll pen (Sakura)
Accessories: Bitty Banner punch, 1/16" hole punch, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), black and white baker's twine, rhinestones, Dimensionals

Isn't this a cute little image? Who wouldn't like little critters holding birthday balloons? I love the whimsical style, because that meant I could color it however I wanted without worrying about whether or not it looked "right."

After I was done coloring, I doodled a little frame around the image and rounded the corners. I punched tiny banners out of four coordinating card stock colors and adhered them behind the right edge of the focal image so just a bit of color peeks out. Then I used Dimensionals to attach the whole panel to a Bermuda Bay card stock. I embellished with a few rhinestones and a simple baker's twine bow.



Thanks for stopping by!

Cut out to be friends

My best crafty friend, Lisa, had her birthday in April, so naturally I had to make her a card using the Crafty Turnabout stamp set from Concord & 9th.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Crafty Turnabout (Concord & 9th)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Lovely Lipstick, Crushed Curry, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda, Soft Suede card stock; Galvanized Metallic paper
Ink: Lovely Lipstick, Crushed Curry, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Crafty dies (Concord & 9th), Turnabout jig (Concord & 9th), white crochet thread (DMC), Dimensionals

Lisa likes jewel tones, so for the background stamping I chose four bold ink colors and stamped the turnabout stamp four times, rotating the paper each time. I love all the fun multi-colored crafty images it creates! Once that was done, I cut the card stock with a stitched rectangle die and mounted it on an A2-sized white card base.

I stamped the sentiment on white card stock using two ink colors and then cut it out with a stitched postage stamp-style die. I also cut that same shape out of Lovely Lipstick card stock to layer behind the sentiment piece.

For the rest of the embellishments, I die cut a paintbrush, scissors, and buttons out of coordinating card stock and added them around the sentiment. The buttons get lost a bit on the colorful background, so I added crochet thread to the centers and attached them with Dimensionals to help them stand out just a bit more. I probably should have used a larger panel for the sentiment to tone down the busy-ness, but I didn't want to cover up the background. Oh, well. It's definitely a bright, fun card!

Thanks for stopping by!

You’re so fly

It’s been busy couple of weeks, and I haven’t been doing a very good job keeping up with my blog posts. The rest of the week isn’t going to be much better, so I’m squeezing in a quick post while I’m on my break at work. I don’t have my list of supplies with me, so I’ll do my best to remember what I used.

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: January 2019 Paper Pumpkin kit
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, Thick Whisper White
Ink: Colored pencils (Prismacolor), Memento Tuxedo Black, Stardust gelly roll pen (Sakura)
Accessories: Gamsol blending kit (Taylored Expressions), clear droplets (Pretty Pink Posh), Art Glitter  Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Dimensionals, google eye (Inkadinkadoo)

I wanted to make a quick card to send to a crafty friend who need a little extra cheer. Of course, as usually happens with me, this quick card took a lot longer than I thought it would.

I pulled out the stamp set from the January 2019 Paper Pumpkin kit and knew I wanted to use the chameleon image and “You’re so fly” sentiment. But I couldn’t decide how I wanted to color the chameleon. I tried alcohol markers, paper piecing and finally settled on making him rainbow-y with my colored pencils. And I used Gamsol for the first time to blend the color - I loved it! I added a little sparkle to the chameleon with a Stardust gelly roll pen and gave him a google eye for good measure. He makes you smile, right?

The rest of the card is very clean and simple. I stamped the diagonal lines image three times to give the chameleon a place to stand. I cut him out by hand and attached him with Dimensionals. Then I stamped the sentiment and added three clear droplets for a little embellishment.

Well, it’s back to work for me! I’ll try to get back to regular blog posts soon. Thanks for stopping by!