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Crazy Birds Happy Birthday

May is an especially busy birthday month in our family. Three of my five children were born in May. So I'm getting a lot of stamping done! 

My 4th child gave me this Tim Holtz Crazy Birds set a few years ago and I just love it. Such a fun set that I don't play with nearly enough. I was inspired by the style of this card which I saw on Pinterest. I had an idea that an open window to the inside would be a fun way to display the birds. The birds represent my daughter's 3 roommates and her youngest sister who will soon become a roommate, as well. When my youngest daughter saw the card, she immediately chose the bottom right (red) bird to represent herself. 😜

I went pretty simple with the background and just used the old Stampin' Up! Paisley Print background stamp. It looks so cool in Versamark ink on the SU Not Quite Navy cardstock and the Papertrey Ink Ripe Avocados cardstock. Makes them really pop. I also used the Cuttlebug Floral Screen embossing folder on the green area.

Here's how the card looks open. I put a Velcro coin inside to keep the card closed when lying down. 

For the backs of the birds I die-cut 2 extra copies in black cardstock and sandwiched them with the front image using Tombow Mono Multi glue. Had my Xyron sticker maker not been out of commission, I would've used it instead, and it would've been much less messy.

Afer sandwiching the birds together, I used my black Copic marker (#110) around the edges to make them blend with the black backs.

I do not have measurements for this card. It was kind of a cut as you go kind of thing. I just decided what size the frame for the window would be and then measured the inside and cut.

I matched the black frame with the white inside part. I was going to frame the inside as well, but decided to leave it as is.

Here's a close-up of the "birthday girl". I used the wings to hold the balloon and the present. 

Well, that's about it. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz) Mini Bird Crazy and Things, Stampin' Up! Birthday Balloons, Stampin' Up! Paisley Print (background)

CS: SU Not Quite Navy, Papertrey Ink Ripe Avocados, White, Black

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black for birds, Versafine Onyx Black for sentiment, Versamark clear embossing ink for background, Copics for coloring birds

Other: Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz) Mini Bird Crazy and Things dies, Cuttlebug Floral Screen embossing folder, white gel pen for eyes, Micron pen for eyelids, lashes, and to decorate the present,  Stamp-a-Ma-Jig for centering sentiment, Tombow Mono Multi glue, foam tape, black Velcro coin to hold card closed

Silly Whale Birthday

Hello! Another sea-themed card. This time I'm using my old Stampin' Up! Silly Sealife set. The card sketch I'm using is Mojo Monday 560. 

I chose two papers from the Basic Grey Archaic collection because they are "wavy" like the sea. And one of them has a "bubbly" look that made me think of being under water. The one behind the sentiment wasn't "wavy" or "bubbly", but I liked how it went with the other two. 

I thought the Stampin' Up! Cheery Chat birthday greeting would go very well with the whole look on the front, and I used the matching birthday saying inside. I love the whimsy of the font.

I used the Nestabilities Labels Three die to frame the sentiment, but I'm not sure it was the best choice. Maybe a tad too wide for the look? I dunno.

And, of course, I gave in to using my Tiny Bubbles embossing folder because this card has a water theme...and...bubbles.

My happy little whale is spouting glittery water. 

It's probably hard to see, but I used the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder to create "waves" on the lower bubbly-looking paper. 

And here's the inside. Aren't those sea creatures adorable? This is such a versatile stamp set, I tell ya!

Close-up of the inside.

So, yet another sea card. I think that's my last one for awhile though. Hope you're having a good week! Take care and thanks for coming by!

Stamps: SU Silly Sealife, SU Cheery Chat

CS: Black, Ivory, SU Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey Archaic designer paper

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black

Copic Markers for whale: B0000, B00, B21, BG11, E11, E13, E15

Other: Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles and D'Vine Swirls embossing folders, Nestabilities Standard Circle Large and Labels Three dies, hole punching tool, foam tape, large brown eyelets, Frosted Lace Stickles glitter gel

Snappy Birthday - Seaside/Beach Theme

Happy Saturday! This card is a bit old school. I actually stamped everything on it (no relying on digital images or designer paper), and no use of Copic markers. I used actual ink pads and regular Stampin' Up! markers like in the olden days. It was a lot of fun. And I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself and used the Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder AGAIN. I love that thing too much, I'm afraid. Maybe I should try doing some cards without relying on my embossing folders for once? I just love the textures they create. It's an addiction. A very hard habit to break.

So this card used the retired Stampin' Up! Crab & Company set which I purchased awhile back on eBay, but had never used. I saw some really cute cards made with it on Pinterest which made me want to own it. Such a fun set! I also used another old Stampin' Up! set called Beautiful Batik. Anyone remember that one? I hardly ever used it, but I thought it would go well with my seaside/beach theme, especially using beachy colors. I colored the stamps with SU markers and then huffed on the stamps to moisten the ink and stamped different images from the set all over the white cardstock. I also used some of the smaller images from Crab & Company here and there around them. And last, but not least, I took one of the splatter stamps from ye olde SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds and stamped it here and there to fill in.

I used no die cuts either. Rebel me! I just did what I used to do (before die-cutting took the stamping world by storm) and cut the rectangles with my paper trimmer. I did use a hole punch to get the oval shape around the outside sentiment.

I have to say that I enjoyed doing things mostly old school for a change. I don't own any die cuts that have the dotted borders. Someday I'll get around to buying some. Until then I'll just punch my own holes, uneven though they may be. It's actually very therapeutic doing it by hand and is one of my favorite ways to embellish my cards. 

One last stamp set I used was Stampendous Sushi Bowl Party. I stamped the tiny swimming fish stamps from the set using Versamark clear embossing ink on the turquoise background to imitate them swimming in the ocean in schools. They're so cute!

Inside, I used a sentiment from an old The Angel Company set that I don't know the name of. You can get a better look at the cardstock I used on the front of the card inside where nothing is laying over it.

This was a fun card to make using so many old school ways. I do need to lay off the embossing folders a bit, I think. I have so many of them that I don't even use. I keep grabbing my favorites. This must change.

Thanks for coming by for a look! Have a great day!

Stamps: SU Crab & Company, SU Beautiful Batik, SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Stampendous Sushi Bowl Party, inside sentiment by The Angel Company

CS: SU Tempting Turquoise, SU Yoyo Yellow, White, Black

Inks: SU Tempting Turquoise pad and marker, SU Yoyo Yellow pad and marker, SU Glorious Green marker, SU Certainly Celery pad and marker, Versamark clear embossing ink, Versafine Onyx Black

Other: Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder, water brush, yellow zigzag ribbon, turquoise gems, foam tape, jumbo oval punch, hole punching tool, googly eyes

Another Mother's Day Card - Iris Flower

Hello! I have another Mother's Day card to share. I know it's a bit late, but I'm getting it up here, nonetheless. 

I started with some pretty lavender polka-dotted paper I've had for eons and did my usual texturizing to it using the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder. Then I mounted it on black cardstock. I kept the card fairly simple otherwise.

I used the gatefold technique, which is one of my favorite card styles. I nipped all the corners with a corner punch, except for the center backs, which I cut out in half circles with a 1/2" circle punch.

You can't see it, but I used a black Velcro self-adhesive circle to help keep the card closed. I usually glue the Velcro halves on the cardstock even though the Velcro adhesive is very strong. That way it won't come loose or rip the cardstock after it has been opened a few times. I usually put both halves together on one side (usually behind the main decorative element), gluing the parts that touch the cardstock with Tombow Mono Multi glue, and then close the card and leave it overnight to dry. 

I added a bit of  black gingham ribbon inside to jazz it up a bit, and I did use a sentiment inside, but I hadn't added it yet when I took the pics. I seem to be doing that a lot lately for some reason.

I stamped the iris image from The Angel Company (long since retired) in Memento Tuxedo Black on white cardstock and colored with Copics. I added some lavender, yellow, and lime green Stickles glitter gels here and there.

I mounted the outside saying with foam tape. What would I do without my foam tape, I wonder?

I hope you enjoyed this card. Thanks for coming by!

Stamps: Iris from The Angel Company, saying from Hero Arts

CS: Black, lavender (interior), lavender polka dot (exterior), White

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (saying), Copics for coloring

Other: Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes, Nestabilities Lacey Ovals and Classic Ovals Small, black gingham ribbon, corner punch, 1/2" circle punch, foam tape, black Velcro self-adhesive circles, lavender, yellow, and lime green Stickles glitter gel, Tombow Mono Multi glue

My Mom's Mother's Day Card

Good morning! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Georgia. Sunny days just make all the difference, don't they? While I'm sitting here typing this I'm enjoying the birds at my bird feeders, watching them busily flitting about. It's so therapeutic.

I wanted to honor my mother this year with a homemade card. Some years I buy her a card, some years I make one. 

I was seeing a number of cards I liked on Pinterest that were using an old Stampin' Up! set called Garden Collage, so I bought it on eBay. I rarely buy stamps these days, but I bought this set because I thought I would get a lot of use out of it. It really is a pretty set.

Per my usual, I wanted lots of texture on my card. I just think it adds so much visual interest. For the designer papers I went with Basic Grey Wisteria. I used the Cuttlebug Traffic Jam embossing folder. But before embossing the lower piece I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black ink using the Purple Onion Designs Girls Are Weird small alpha font set. I wasn't totally happy with that part, but oh, well. One "p" is a bit over-stamped, and a couple others are under-stamped. I didn't have another piece of that paper, so I let it be. I added some pearl bling on one corner and used some ribbon to blend the papers together.

I stamped the main image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink since I was going to color it with Copics. Then after coloring it I dry-embossed it with the Cuttlebug Mesh folder. I made an extra butterfly to add dimension, and used foam tape to pop it out. I used some Orange Peel Stickles glitter gel on the flower center to add more oomph to the look. I mounted it on some black cardstock that was cut using the Nestabilities Blossom die.

Inside the card I carried the theme of the green polka-dotted paper and the Traffic Jam embossing folder. I used another image from Garden Collage and colored it similarly to the outside image. The sentiment is from Penny Black's Bubbly stamp set. I blinged a bit with the pearls inside, as well.

I'm happy to say she loved it. That makes me happy. Take care.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Garden Collage, Purple Onion Designs Girls Are Weird small alpha, Penny Black Bubbly

CS: SU Eggplant Envy, Papertrey Ink white, Black, Basic Grey Wisteria designer papers

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Copic markers

Other: Cuttlebug Traffic Jam and Mesh embossing folders. Nestabilities Blossom and Standard Circle Small dies, foam tape, pearl gems, Stickles Orange Peel glitter gel, black zigzag ribbon

Under the Bonnet Masculine Birthday Card MM#558

Hello there! Happy Saturday!

My grown son's birthday is coming up soon and he loves to work on cars. When he was a teenager he would buy an old car, fix it up and make it pretty. Then he'd sell it and buy another one. The driveway looked like a used car lot at times! Now he's married with a child and finds he has less free time to tinker. But he really does enjoy it when he can.

I wanted to use a stamp that was car-related that I hadn't already used before, and I found the cutest digital stamp by Lili of the Valley called Under the Bonnet. I found the shop on Etsy and I love their stamps! So adorable! This stamp fit perfectly for the theme I was going for. 

And I just noticed that all throughout May they are running a 50% off sale! Oh my! That's dangerous! 

I also needed some serious stamping mojo. So I went with Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #558. Her sketches always motivate me. 

(Btw, everything on this card except the digital stamp is likely retired by now. I don't buy much new these days. Part of my attempt at being more "minimalish".) 

I chose some Basic Grey Cupcake designer papers from my stash, and an olive green background for the cardstock. I stamped on the olive green edges with a Stampin' Up! Making Tracks wheel. Although you can't really tell, it's the image of tire tracks. 😜

To oomph up the car I used large silver eyelets for the body of the headlights, and I put small clear gems behind them to mimic real glass lamps. I also used tiny clear gems for the lowlights.

You can kind of see the shine I put on the red part of the car and the window. I used Inkssentials clear Glossy Accents for that.

I made the designer cardstock pop by using the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder for the biggest piece and the Tiny Bubbles folder for the middle-sized piece.

All coloring was done with Copic markers. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this card I made for my son, and I thank you for coming by for a visit! Take care!

P.S. I redid the original pics because I had forgotten to put the sentiment on the card. 

Stamp: Lili of the Valley digital stamp "Under the Bonnet", Stampin' Up! Making Tracks wheel (for background edges), Savvy Stamps Happy Birthday image

CS: olive green cardstock by Papertrey Ink , Basic Grey Cupcake designer paper, Black

Inks: Copic markers, VersaMark clear embossing ink

Other: Cuttlebug Spots and Dots and Tiny Bubbles embossing folders, Nestabilities Large Pinking Circles, and Standard Circles Large, corner punch, small oval punch, medium oval punch, paper piecing tool, foam tape, large silver eyelets, tiny clear gems for behind eyelet headlights and lowlights, Inkssentials Glossy Accents clear dimensional medium to add shine to car