SHC - Birthdays

.... Morning. Time for my Seven Hills Craft blog post. Today I've got a couple of birthday cards to share with you. The first is for my father-in-law:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Birthday Stacks; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthday

Inks: Gina K - Applemint, Key Lime, Grass Green, Lucky Clover, Ocean Mist, Turquoise Sea; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Altenew - Just a Number

Accessories: White & Black Card

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#04.

This was fun to make. I used my MISTI to stamp the birthday presents, starting in the middle and moving the card up and down to create a nice background panel. I removed the panel from the MISTI and freehand stamped the parcels with the solid square block. The block lines up easily and it's very quick. I trimmed the panel to 4" x 5¼" and layered it onto a black mat layer and added it to the front of an A2 (US size) notecard. I finished the front by die cutting a scripty birthday greeting - the shadow in black and the text in white. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped a fun sentiment - and who doesn't like cake? In the message I'll add have a glass of wine too!! I finished the inside with a few more of the birthday presents.

Next is a card I made for our son's aunty who lives in the US - so she'll have this card by now:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Birthday Stacks, All the Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthday

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Gina K - Bubblegum Pink; Versamark

Dies: C&9 - Birthday Stacks

Accessories: White & Black Card; Gold Embossing Powder; Nuvo - Midas Aqua Shimmer Brush; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Less is More - LIM#461 where they want us to use pink and gold - done! So glad I've managed to join in with this challenge - it's been a while. I'm also playing along with Perfectly CAS - PCAS#25 where they want us to use Die Cuts and to only use a ⅓ of a page or less.

I used black card to make an A2 side-opening notecard. I cut a piece of white card 4" wide and put it in my MISTI. I stamped the balloons towards the top of the card in a soft grey, removed the panel and coloured the balloons with Copic markers. I replaced the card and restamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold powder. I then went to use the matching die to cut out the balloons and discovered that there is a right way to use the balloon stamps!! So I re-did the balloons, the right way this time, cut them out, stamped the balloon strings and heat embossed them with gold powder and then added the panel to the front of the card. I trimmed it to measure 5¼" from the tallest balloon to the bottom of the panel. I finished the front by adding a simple birthday greeting and adding some gold shimmer to the two plain balloons. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card to be smaller then the note card. I stamped a birthday greeting in the middle and added the spare set of pink balloons to decorate the bottom of the panel.

You can actually see the gold shimmer in the balloons in the photos!! 

I'm busy making these cards in advance - typing this on 28 March - a few days after my first round of chemo. It's been okay - no sickness or nausea, but I am tired. So, I think it's good to get well ahead, just in case the next round isn't as kind!!

That's all from me today. See you again soon.