Birthday Cheers

.... Hello again! Somehow, I seem to be managing to make a card a day (well, almost). Today's card is for Shane, my niece's partner, who has his birthday next Saturday:

Stamps: Taylored Expressions - Argyle Stamp; Concord & 9th - All the Birthdays; Apple Blossom - Bubbles & Fizz (free with craft magazine); Gina K - Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Kraft, Key Lime, Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stax #5; Winnie & Walter - Cheers Cutaway; Apple Blossom - Bubbles & Fizz (free with craft magazine)

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Taylored Expressions - Argyle Layering Stencils; Copics; WF Grip Mat

I'm submitting this card to Cardz 4 Guyz - C4G#338 where they want us to use something new from our stash; Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#58 - it's in the name, and to Inkspirational - INK#307 where they want us to use 'stencils'.

The somethings new on this card is the argyle background, made with Taylored Expressions stamp and layering stencils - which will come out again soon, and the beer mugs - which I've had for sometime (they came free with a UK crafting magazine), but they are 'new' as this is the first time they've been used. I've also gone back to some older stash - the stitched die from My Favourite Things and the Cheers word from Winnie & Walter (sadly closed). My Waffle Flower grip mat is getting a workout this week, as I used it again to hold the stencils in place while I made this lovely bright background. Once cut out I stamped a simple birthday greeting in black, added the beer mugs which I'd stamped, coloured with Copics and cut out with the matching die. I finished the front with a bold word 'cheers' in green card.

On the white panel inside the card, I simply stamped a birthday greeting in black ink, added the beer mugs in kraft ink and lightly edged the panel with lime green ink. 

I do like the argyle background, it's perfect for a guy card, but I can see it working on so many cards. Anyhow, that's all from me today. See you soon.

SHC - More Birthday Cards

.... Morning! I'm here with my Seven Hills Craft blog post. January is a busy month for birthdays - there are ten in total. I spent the weekend making cards for three of them!! Here's the first card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Happy Rays Turnabout, All the Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthdays

Inks: Versafine Clair - Verdant, Warm Breeze, Paradise, Nocturne; Stampin' Up! - Pineapple Punch

Dies: C&9 - Happy Rays Dies

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Pacific Blue; Silver Holographic Mirri Card

I'm submitting this card to AAA Birthday - AAAB#45 where it's anything birthday goes.

I used my MISTI to stamp the turnabout image in bold, vibrant colours. I used the sunray die, from the co-ordinating die set, to cut the dotty pattern on the image. I then trimmed the panel and layered it on silver holographic card. I adhered the whole piece to the front of an A2 landscape note card. I finished the front by die cutting a circle of blue card and stamping a simple black birthday greeting on it. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card onto which I glued the left-over piece of the turnabout image. I completed the panel by adding a birthday greeting. This card is for our son, Ben, he is 27 years old today!! I can't work out how he got to be 27 so quickly 😊.

My next card is for our niece, who had her birthday last Wednesday:

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

Inks: Gina K - Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose, Bubblegum Pink, Passionate Pink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: C&9 - Kaleidoscope Dies

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Petal Pink; Gold Vellum

I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#55 - such pretty colours!

I stamped the turnabout image in four shades of pink and used the matching dies to cut out sections. I used the dies to cut out several plain white layers too. I layered each section up to give depth to the finished card. I used the circle dies to cut the gold vellum frame too. I finished the front of the card by stamping a birthday greeting. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer from gold vellum. On the white panel I stamped a birthday greeting. I took a side view photo to show the depth from the layers.

Next is a card for my friend Annette:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Kaleidoscope Turnabout, Yay for Birthdays, All the Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry, Tranquil Teal; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Granny Apple Green

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#46 - this is a site to showcase stash that you've not used before!!

I used cool colours to stamp the Kaleidoscope pattern this time and added a bold birthday greeting right across the centre of the image. I adhered the panel to a green A2 notecard. I cut a piece of white card for the inside, stamped a fun greeting and added some smaller images for decortion.

My final card is for Ben - this one is from his Nanna:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Happy Rays Turnabout, All the Birthdays, Yay for Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Lemon Drop, Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango; Stampin' Up! - Pineapple Punch

Dies: C&9 - Happy Rays Dies

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Mango Melody; Gold Vellum

I know the stamp is called happy rays, but they remind me of sunrays, so this time I stamped in bright, sunny colours.  I trimmed the stamped panel to 5" x 3¾", being sure to keep the panel symmetrical, and adhered the panel a gold vellum mat measuring 5¼" x 4". I glued the whole piece to the front of an orange A2 note card. I finished the front by using the matching dies to cut to circles - one in gold vellum and one white. On the white circle I stamped a birthday greeting. For the inside, I cut a piece of white card to 5¼" x 4" and stamped a greeting along with some confetti decoration.

I had so much fun making these cards. I posted them early - just in case they get caught up in the postal backlog. That's all from me for today. See you again soon.

SHC - Birthday Wreaths

.... Good Morning!! I can hardly believe it's already 1st June!! Time is flying by. It does mean, however, that it's time for my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I've got three birthday cards to share with you. I've been doing the Spring Card Camp from Online Card Classes, and these cards are based on Laura Bassen's wreath technique. I'll start with the large square card:

Stamps: Altenew - Hello Sunshine, Beautiful Inside; C&9 - All the Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Powder Blue, Lovely Lavender, Innocent Pink, Lipstick, Peach Bellini, Slate; Versafine - Onyx Black

Accessories: White & Black Card; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#593 where they have a tic-tac-toe grid - I've picked the diagonal - birthday, floral & circle. I'm also playing along with Fusion Card Challenge - FUSION#1122 - I've used the rainbow colours from the photo.

For all my cards I used my MISTI stamp position, although Laura says you can do this technique with blocks!! I cut a piece of white card 5¼" and drew diagonal, horizontal and vertical pencil lines on the card - with all lines crossing in the centre. I placed the card into the MISTI and put my first flower image on the top most vertical pencil line and stamped in yellow ink. I turned the card 90° and repeated the process, and continued until I had the horizontal and vertical flowers stamps. I returned the card to the MISTI with the yellow flower at the top, repositioned the flower image onto the diagonal pencil line between the yellow and teal flowers and stamped in lime green. I repeated the process above until I have a complete wreath. I repeated the process to add some more smaller star flowers. Next, I stamped a bold 'happy' in dark grey ink. I heat set all the ink before stamping the scripty 'birthday' in Versafine ink and heat embossing with clear powder. I adhered the finished panel to a black mat layer and added the whole lot to the front of a 5¾" square white card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I created a birthday greeting and finished by adding a couple of flowers.

My next card has a more masculine feel:

Stamps: Altenew - Parrot Paradise, Happy Dreams, Floral Sprig, Beautiful Inside

Inks: Gina K - Prickly Pear, Honey Mustard, Jelly Bean Green, Fresh Asparagus, Blue Lagoon; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White & Black Card

I'm submitting this card to Seize the Birthday - STB#239 - I'm playing along with the Anything Goes option.

I used the same technique as outline above, but this time I made an A2 side-opening card. I cut the white card to 3¼" × 4½", drew in the pencil lines and then picked leaves and darker colours for a masculine feel. I finished the front with a birthday greeting in black - love this font. I layered the panel onto a black mat and added to the front of the card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel stamped a birthday greeting and another fun leaf.

My final card is another rainbow card:

Stamps: Altenew - Beautiful Inside; C&9 - All the Birthdays, Lucky

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Powder Blue, Lovely Lavender, Innocent Pink, Lipstick, Sweet Mango; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White & Black Card

I'm submitting this card to Less Is More - LIM#465 where they have a rainbow colour challenge.

I used the same technique as outline above. I kept this card reasonably simple - I picked a group of stars, stamped them in rainbow order and finished with a bold black birthday greeting. As before, inside has a black mat layer and a greeting and decoration on the white panel.

For me June is a busy birthday month and I realised that I'm almost out of birthday cards in my stash, so it's been good to make a few. I still need more!! That's all for today. See you again soon.

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.

SHC - Kids Cards

..... Morning! I'm here with my weekly post for Seven Hills Craft blog. Yesterday was my great-nephew's 10th birthday. I made a couple of cards for him - one from me and one from my mum. Here's the first card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Make Some Noise, Out of This World, All the Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Electro Pop - Raging Red, Orange Glow, Blaring Blue, Screamin' Green, Hello Yellow; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Hero Arts - Unicorn White

Dies: C&9 - Out of This World

Accessories: White & Black Card; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Clear & Midas Aqua Shimmer Brushes

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#36 - two new sets from Concord & 9th, and also to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#67 where it's anything goes.

I stamped the two-step birthday greeting directly onto the note card using bright neon inks. It was reasonably easy to ink the letters are they are widely spaced. The focal image is CASED directly from the packing for the dies I used. I changed the starry background by stamping the stars on black card. I could have used my colour scraps, but I was lazy and just used white card which I coloured with Copic markers and then die cut. I adhered the starry background to the card and added the rocket and planet on top. I finished the front by stamping a few bright stars. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped a bold red greeting and smaller birthday greeting in black ink, along with some more stars.

My next card uses Birthday Stacks - one of my favourite stamp and die sets:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Birthday Stacks, All the Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Red Hot, Wild Dandelion, Tangerine Twist, Lucky Clover, Bubblegum Pink, Blue Raspberry, Black Onyx

Dies: C&9 - Birthday Stacks

Accessories: White & Black Card; Felt Pens; Nuvo - Clear & Midas Aqua Shimmer Brushes

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#03.

I started by cutting three piece of white card to the following measurements: 6¾" x 4¼" for the background layer, 5⅜" x 2½" for the candle layer, and 5⅜" x 1½" for the presents layer. I also cut a black layer at 5⅜" x 3" for the celebrate layer. Concord and 9th have an excellent video on their blog to show how to attach the layers. 

I stamped the balloons directly onto the background layer and used the solid circle to quickly add colour to the balloons, and then added some strings. I stamped the candles on the next layer, added colour and used the matching die to cut out the candles. I repeated this process for the presents. For the black layer I used the 'celebrate' die and cut out the word. All the dies cut little notches either side of the main images which is where you score the card. I added ¼" sticky tape to the tabs by the score lines and trimmed off the excess card. At this point I made sure all the layers were the correct depth and trimmed away any excess card. I added some extra detail with felt pens, and some sparkle to the candle flames and all the presents. On the back of the 3D card, I added a birthday greeting. I cut another of the background layers, used the shaped die to cut the curved dotted pattern, cut off the side pieces and trimmed the panel to be slightly smaller then the actual card. I stamped a greeting and added a balloon.

I took a photo looking down on the card so that you can see the 3D effect - it's a super card as it fits inside a standard A2 (US size) envelope.

You'll be seeing more cards featuring Birthday Stacks in next week's post - I made them earlier this week as I go for my first round of chemotherapy tomorrow afternoon. I'm not too worried about the actual process, but I'm not looking forward to the after effects - I'm a rubbish patient. I decided it would be a good idea to get ahead with my cards just in case I feel awful this coming weekend!!

That's all from me today - see you soon.