A Couple Birthday Cards

My aide asked me to make cards for her two daughters celebrating their birthdays this month, so I rolled up my sleeves yesterday and had at it.

The first is a traditional birthday card, and the only suggestion I had to work with was that her favorite color is red. For some reason I was drawn to Riding Hood Red, which further led me to use some Candy Lane DSP (retired but still quite pretty!). I've been seeing this card layout around a lot lately, and thought I'd try my hand at it. The card turned out to have more layers than I've ever used: nine! I like how it turned out, though -- simple, but classy! I think the sentiment from the Well Scripted set was the perfect choice.


The second daughter's birthday is on the 31st, so she traditionally gets a Halloween themed birthday card. I started by running Basic Black cardstock through my Big Shot using Stampin' Up!'s Spider Web embossing folder. I then polished over the embossing first with some white Smooch, then used a dauber with the Frost White shimmer paint to give it a hazy, spooky effect. The rest of the card front came together using some Ghostly Greetings DSP (retired) in Only Orange, and a Kiwi Kiss scallop.


On the inside I put a panel of Kiwi Kiss, then merged sentiments from Haunted House and On Your Birthday. The skeleton is from the set Bats About You, and the grouping of three bats are eyelets from my stash. The colorful bats on the right are from SU!'s wonderful new Bat punch. I used a sponge to grunge the edges a bit:


And the envelope, complete with skeleton from the Scary Skeleton set:


*** Happy Birthday, Tiffany and Kimberly!! ***

Fun with Owls

I'm smitten by the Two-Step Owl Extra Large punch new to this year's Idea Book & Catalog! It is SO much fun to play with, and I've barely scratched the surface of what can be done! I kept the owls on the following three cards pretty simple, but I've seen them made with their wings outstretched, in Bride and Groom outfits, in hats of all types, as silhouettes against a full moon -- and the pieces can be used to make ghosts, penguins, and flowers, too! The eyes can be done as I have by using the circles on the punch, or they can be two-layered, have eyelids, or even be done with googly eyes. What a hoot! (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun!)

Since the cards are pretty straightforward, I'll leave you with the ingredient list below. If you have any questions at all about the cards, please email or leave a comment and I will get back to you. Enjoy the cards!




Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Confetti
Cardstock/Ink Colors: Pacific Point, Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Old Olive, Whisper White
DSP: Blueberry Crisp
Punches: Two-Step Owl, Two-Step Bird (for branches on the third card), Word Window, Modern Label, Decorative Label (from the Holiday Mini Catalog), Trio Flower
And: Basic Pearls, Victoria Crochet Trim, Stampin' Dimensionals (of course), Not Quite Navy brads, retired Pacific Point ribbon

A Birthday Card!

I just finished (and mailed!) the first of a bunch of birthday cards I'll be making -- some of them over this coming weekend, I hope!

This card is for one of my dearest friends. Can you guess her favorite color? I broke into my new Cherry Cobbler cardstock and ink just for the occasion, and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE this shade of red! I have a feeling I'll be using a lot of it!

The card itself is pretty straight-forward. I pulled out my Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, and the rest of the card just sort of happened. The candles and flowers on the cake have Smooch Pearlized top coat on them to fancy them up a bit. The card inside is a bit different, but I had fun using my new uber-large scallop punch and the even bigger circle to make layers for both the inside sentiment and the signature section.

I'm counting on the recipient not checking my blog over the weekend, but just in case she stops by and gets a sneak peek at her card, I'll say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CATHY!



Stamps: Happy Moments, Whimsical Words
Colors: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point
Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, 2-1/2" Circle, 2-3/8 Scallop Circle
And: Smooch Pearlized Top Coat
(and yes, I CAN make a card without using Stampin' Dimensionals!)

Smiles,
Joyce Spear a.k.a. StamperJoyce