I make a lot of cards but I never seem to have enough birthday cards on hand. I love stamp sets like Simon Says Stamp's Birthday Borders .... gender friendly and crosses all age groups! This stamp set includes a number of very fun ... and a couple of 'snarky' ... sentiments (I know a few people who would get a good laugh if they received a birthday card that poked fun at their age! Then again, I know a couple of people who would not ... lol!).
When I make multiple cards, I like to work in pairs using the principle of negative and positive design. All of the cards include Distress Oxide ink blending on Strathmore's Bristol Smooth card stock. The stamping was done using a 'stamping tool' ... I used a Misti. The last four cards are 'TWO FOR ONE' .... gotta love those!!!
For the first pair of cards, I ink blended two panels masked using Post It Tape with Abandoned Coral, Dried Marigold and Scattered Straw. The panels were die cut with the largest die in My Favorite Thing's Stitched Rectangle Stax 2 nesting set. The card with the white background was stamped with the solid candles image with Versafine black ink twice. For the second card, the same candle stamp was used but stamped using the blended background colours. All the candles were stamped in yellow and then, using just the corner of the ink pad, the middle and last few candles were inked separately with the other two colours. The sentiments for both cards were stamped with the Versafine ink. The panels were mounted on black cardstock cut just shy of an A2 size before adhering them to a card base. To finish up, the cards were embellished with Nuvo drops; English Mustard and Ripened Pumpkin. White Blizzard glitter drops give the flames a sparkly and dimensional appearance.
One panel for this pair of cards was ink blended with Pine Needles, Iced Spruce and Old Paper. The panel and a piece of white card stock were die cut with the largest die in Simon Says Stamp's A2 Thin Frames nesting set. The outline candles were embossed with silver on the small white panel. The candles were painted with the inks used on the background. The blended small panel was stamped with the solid candles and embossed with the silver embossing powder twice. The sentiments for both cards were stamped with Versafine ink. The thin frames were embossed in silver and held in place with a little bit of tape to the background 'border panel' before being adhered to black card stock that was sized slightly smaller than an A2 sized card. The small panels were mounted on white sheet foam and also adhered to the card. These cards were embellished with green sequins topped up with Nuvo Morning Dew drops. The flames on the card with the outline candles were coated with Nuvo White Blizzard.
One panel was inked creating a rainbow with Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass and Shaded Lilac. The panel, another piece of white card stock and white sheet foam were die cut using the second largest die in Simon Says Stamp's Balloons nesting die set. The balloons were embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and mounted on the foam die cuts. The blended background was adhered to an A2 sized card base. Before glueing the balloons to the card base, string was tied around each one. The main sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder on the blended background. Using just the corner of each ink pad, the sentiment on the card with the white background was inked with all five background colours. The secondary sentiment for both cards was stamped with Versafine ink. These sentiments and sheet foam were die cut using the thinnest of the Simon Says Stamp's Sentiment Labels dies. The sentiment strip was stacked on the foam and adhered to the cards leaving room for a single candle. One candle was stamped with black ink and the other inked with all the background candles. The candles and foam were die cut, mounted and adhered to the card.
For a Video Tutorial, please visit YouTube.
What I Used to Make These Cards
Simon Says Stamp: Birthday Borders, Balloons, A2 Thin Frames, Sentiment Labels
My Favorite Things: Stitched Rectangle Stax 2
Distress Oxide Inks: Abandoned Coral, Dried Marigold, Scattered Straw, Pine Needles, Iced Spruce, Old Paper, Spiced Marmalade, Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac
Strathmore's Bristol Smooth Card Stock
WOW! Embossing Powder: Silver Metallic, Opaque Bright White
Nuvo Crystal Drops: English Mustard, Ripened Pumpkin, Morning Dew, White
Nuvo Glitter Drops: White Blizzard