80th Birthday Celebration

.... Hello, good morning!!! It's been almost two months since I posted on my blog - we've had a busy summer and, while I've not made many cards, I have been busy in my craft room doing a bit of reorganisation and working in my dyalogs. However, today, I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards that I made for my uncle Ian, who celebrated his 80th birthday last weekend. Here's the first card I made:

Stamps: Simon Hurley - Candles; Cas-ual Friday Stamps - Shenanigans

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango, Applemint, Key Lime, Jelly Bean Green, Grass Green, Christmas Pine; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Green Oasis

Dies: Stampin' Up! - Large Numbers

Accessories: White & Black Card; Glossy Black Card; Sakura Stardust Pens; Clear Embossing Powder; Simon Hurley - Layering Candles; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge - HLSSC#09 where is Anything Goes.

I used my MISTI to stamp the candles in Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I added colour by ink blending through the matching layering stencils. I checked with my uncle to find out his favourite colour - green!! Yea, mine too!! I started at the top of the panel with light, bright greens and shaded down to darker greens at the bottom of the stencil. I used the next stencil to colour the flames. Next, I added sparkle to the candles and flames with Sakura Stardust pens in co-ordinating colour giving a subtle shimmer. I trimmed the panel to size, layered it onto a black mat layer and added the panel to the front of a 5¾" square white card. I cut the numbers from black glossy card and white card; I layered them together for dimension and stability and adhered them to the card. I finished the front with a bold sentiment stamped on white card. I used dimensional tape to add this to the card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel, I added a fun birthday greeting, stamped the candles at the bottom and coloured them with Copic markers. This is the card Jonathan and I gave to Ian.

Next up is the card that I made for my mum to give to Ian, her baby brother:

Stamps: Visible Image - Brother Definition; C&9 - Beautiful Words; Winnie & Walter - The Big, The Bold, and The Happy; Stampin' Up! - Made with Love; Uniko - Classic Numbers

Inks: Gina K - Powder Blue; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: SU - Word Bubbles; Gina K - Today & Shadow

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Blueberry Bushel; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Happy Birthday

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#09.

There's a story behind the design of this card. Ian's, mum's brother, always teases her by calling her "his older sister". So, when I asked what she'd like on Ian's card - mum smiled and said "the words 'baby brother'". I went one step further by adding a cute blue babygro with the number 80 on the front 😁. I made the note card from dark blue cardstock. I used a very old, but perfect for the theme, embossing folder from Cuttlebug, I lightly inked the edge and glued it to the front of the note card. I stamped the babygro and number on white card, embossed with clear powder, coloured it with Copic markers and then fussy cut it out and glued it to the card. I die cut the word bubble from white card and made the sentiment by mixing words from several stamp sets. I finished the front by adding the die cut word 'today'. Inside, I cut a piece of white card onto which I stamp the brother definition - absolutely perfect. I kept the 'baby brother' theme going by adding a cute duck and teddy, along with a row of alphabet letters in pale blue ink.

I am happy to report that Ian thought that both cards were just brilliant. Mind, he wasn't too keen on the thought of 80 candles on his cake!!! This is the birthday cake that my aunt had made for him:

It was a good birthday party with all the family there to celebrate - including some very distant cousins that I hadn't seen in years!! 

That's all for now. I'm going to publish this post and then go down for a cool glass of water. The weather this week has been nuts!! July and August were not the best summer, and then the first week of September is blazing hot!! See you soon.