Monday, July 31, 2023

Pretty Party Decor

The next pair of cards I'm sharing from my craft day are made with the Pretty Party Decor stamp set (Trinity Stamps). I'm always looking for fun birthday images, and I love that the party lanterns in this set are a change from the usual balloons.


For my two cards I decided to make one that was really lively and colorful and one with a more clean and restrained layout.


For the first card, I used the Date Night collection of inks (Catherine Pooler). I chose six colors and stamped each style of lantern in two different colors. The lanterns are two-step stamps: there is a solid stamp and a detail stamp for each image. I didn't have coordinating ink colors, so I used the same ink to stamp both images. For each lantern, I first inked the solid image, stamped off on scratch paper, and then stamped on the white panel. Then I inked the detail stamp with the same color and stamped directly over the solid image.

I love that there are different styles of streamers and confetti images in this set, too. I stamped each of the little confetti pieces individually, but if you wanted to have them all in the same color, you could put all the images on a large clear block and stamp them all at the same time. Once the colorful background was done, I stamped the streamers and sentiment in black ink and added a few sequins. A fun, one-layer card that would be great for mailing.


For the second card I wanted to make something a little more subdued and maybe a little more masculine looking. I started by stamping the sentiment using black ink on a white card base. Then I used three colors from the Life of the Party collection of inks (Catherine Pooler) to stamp three lanterns in the upper left quadrant of the card. I drew a string for each lantern with a black pen and a ruler and glued a narrow black die-cut frame on the card front. I know some people are hesitant to use embellishments like sequins on masculine cards, but I still added a few on this card. They're clear, so I don't think they look too "girly," and a little sparkle is ok for any birthday card!

Thanks for stopping by!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! These are fun cards Andrea! That was a great idea to use Lanterns instead of balloons! I really like what you have created! What black ink did you use? It looks really "black", if you know what I mean! I know it sounds funny, but some black inks just don't seem black enough. I like the more masculine one, and yes, you can use clear sequins on masculine cards, I do it all the time!! Not too girlie at all, I think!
Sunshine.

Andrea said...

Thanks, Sunshine! I can’t remember for sure, but I think I used Taylored Expressions Oreo black ink. Either that or Memento Tuxedo Black. I did use a stamp positioner with the sentiments so I could stamp them a few times and make them extra dark.

Anonymous said...

Great cards! I can't quite put my finger on it, but the second one looks kind of retro to me, (it's a good thing!) Maybe the colors? or reminding me of vintage lamp shades? Both perfect for wishing anyone a happy birthday.
Judy

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Judy! Now that you mention it, that second card does have a retro feel to it. I think it’s the oval lanterns.