My Oldest Son's Birthday is Coming!

My oldest son's birthday is in the early days of March, so I should have been thinking about making his card last week, but alas my calendar was cluttered.  When this happens, I have a difficult time getting myself to my craft table because my mojo has gone out the window, and I have the dickens of a time getting it back! 

Not to fear. . .I went to a cardmaking event hosted by the dynamic duo, Dar Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum, and as I viewed one of the inspiration cards, some ideas flew into my head that I thought would be great additions to an already very cute card (thanks to Luci Kirschbaum).  I decided to complete only a portion of my card and take the pieces home to finish.  Now, I'm thinking it's time to finish it, because it will make the perfect birthday card for my son.

To the original design, I added embossing to the white background layer.  I thought that would be a nice touch, and I knew I had just the right embossing folder for this job!  Then, I decided I wanted to stagger my green color panel instead of stacking all three panels one on top of another.  The embossing texture turned out especially nice...I just LOVE that "Happy Birthday" embossing folder!

Now, I was ready to finalize my card by creating an inside design and verse that was complimentary to the card front design and for the birthday occasion.  Take a peek at the finished product below.

Ingredients:   Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Emerald Envy, Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, and Whisper White.  Ink--Basic Black; Emerald Envy.  Ribbon--Emerald Envy 3/8" Ruched.  SU-2017 Occasions:  Pattern dsp--Party Animal (2017 Occasions).  Stamps--That's the Tag.  Dies--Timeless Tags Thinlits.  Other:  Cuttlebug EF: Happy Birthday.  EK punch: Zig Zag.  Computer verse.  Size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2."  (a CASE card...thanks Luci Kirschbaum for original inspiration).

Valentine for My Hubby!

MORE HAPPINESS!  ANOTHER CARD NAMED AS

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS FAVORITE OF THE

WEEK ENDING - FEBRUARY 19, 2017!!

Valentine's Day is in a few days, and I finally finished my husband's card.  He is getting a second hot air balloon card in a matter of just a few weeks to make sure this Bucket List item is complete.  I made his first air balloon card for his birthday just a few week's, which shows just how versatile this new stamp/die bundle, "Lift Me Up," from Stampin' Up is. 

I wanted my color combination to be black, red, and white.  I had in mind to make my night sky in black, and I also wanted it to be a bit glossy so I tired something I was not sure was going to work, but it worked wonderfully.  I covered the entire black cardstock layer with Versamark ink, making sure is was thoroughly and evenly cover by pressing the stamp pad down over the entire area of the cardstock and then wiping the pad in long strokes over the entire surface again..  I sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and heat set it, making it glossy.  I pressed it overnight in a cardstock paper stack with several few books on top to make sure it was flat and level.

I envisioned puffy clouds in my night sky and decided to use the retired SU embossing folder Cloudy Day, because it has tiny embossing dots that make the cloud forms.  For some reason, this folder has the clouds positioned vertically rather than horizontally on the folder.  As I wanted to cover the entire paper with clouds, I placed the paper in the folder so the clouds would cover from side to side.  This left the bottom half of the paper outside the folder, so I made sure it didn't run all the way through the rollers and over the edge of the folder, which would cause the folder edge to crease my paper midway cross.  Next, I turned my black paper and re-positioned the unembossed side into the folder.  I tried to match the cloud impressions as closely as I could to those already embossed, and then I ran it through the Big Shop, again, just to the edge of the folder, but not over it to prevent a crease.  It turned out surprisingly well, and as my air balloon would cover a great deal of the mid-section of the embossed clouds, I did not feel it would show at all where the clouds were not formed quite right!

I decided on a patterned paper for my red color.  I chose a white mini dot on a red background, and I decided on Shimmery White for my card base.  I dressed up the corners with rounded corners and used the eyelet Curvy Corners punch on my black glossy top piece for the red to peek through.  I used the same papers for the balloon colors under the black patterned balloon die-cut overlay.  I colored the black balloon die-cut with Black Wink of Stella to give it a bit of sparkle. 

 

After roughly laying out my pieces, I decided to add some vellum clouds.  With my chosen sentiment being "love is in the air," I thought a large red glitter heart on my air balloon and smaller ones on each vellum cloud would finish off my card very nicely.

Take a peek below at my finished Valentine air balloon card, both inside and out.  I think my husband will be well pleased.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Shimmery White (cardbase), Basic Black, Real Red, Vellum.  DSP Stack-Brights.  Stamps-Lift Me Up (front sentiment), Sealed with Love (inside sentiment), Valentine's Love (hearts-inside/ retired).  Die:  Up & Away framelits (balloon, clouds). Punch: Curvy Corners (retired). Embossing Folder: Cloudy Day (retired). Embossing Powder: Real Red Glitter.  Other:  Zutter Corner Rounder punch.  Recollections: Foam Glitter Hearts; Charcoal Anthracite Embossing Powder,  Dies:  Papertrey Ink-Clouds/ Hero Arts-Cloud.