Happy Birthday Photographer

... Good afternoon! I'm here to share another birthday card for my hubby, Jonathan. This is the one that I've made for my mum to give him. Jonathan's main hobby is photography and I have a few photography stamp sets which always come out to play for Jonathan's card. Here it is:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Oh, Snap!; Uniko - Simply Said, Simply Said Birthday; There She Goes - Oh Snap; Gina K - Birthday Cheer Mini

Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Fresh Asparagus, Ocean Mist, Moonlit Fog

Dies: Concord & 9th - Oh, Snap!; Memory Box - Distressed Windham Collage

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Costal Cabana; Clear Embossing Powder; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to The Male Room - TMR#185 where they want to see embossing, Color Throwdown - CTD#790, and to Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#633.

This is a US A6 card which measures 4½" x 6¼". I cut a piece of aqua card to be slightly smaller than the note card and used a Memory Box die to cut the patterned corners (it's been ages since I used this die). I coloured some scraps of white card with a bright yellow Copic marker and glued them behind the die cut corners. I used Versamark ink to randomly stamp cameras, film, and pins on the card to create a subtle background. I used my MISTI to stamp the Polaroid camera and photo on white card, removed them from the MISTI and coloured with Copic markers. I used the matching dies to cut out the images. I stamped a greeting on the photo along with instructions to 'pull here'. I put the photo through the slot on the camera, and used dimensional pads to adhere it to the card.

For the inside, I cut a mat layer of aqua card. On the white panel I stamped a row of polaroid photos and stamped the word 'click' inside each one. I finished the panel with a bold, black birthday greeting.

That's it for today. See you soon.

Birthday Dots

...  Hello, good afternoon. I've had a fun morning in my craft room making birthday cards for my father-in-law. This is the card my Mum is sending to Simon:

Stamps: Gina K - Birthday Cheer Mini, Stuck on You

Inks: Gina K - Sea Glass, Jelly Bean Green, Tranquil Teal; Versafine Claire - Nocturne; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: Gina K - Stuck on You

Accessories: White & Black Card; Taylored Expressions Stencil - Big Circles; Clear Embossing Powder; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Color Throwdown - CTD#787 - love these colours, Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#465 - die cuts and/or stencils, and to The Male Room - TMR#185 - embossing.

I placed the big circles stencil on white card and used blending brushes to add colour to the circles. I trimmed the panel to be slightly smaller than a US A2 size note card. I edged the panel with a dark grey marker and stamped a bold birthday greeting in black ink, which I embossed with clear powder. I added the panel to the front of the note card. I finished the front with a fun die cut cactus, which I'd stamped, coloured with Copic markers, re-stamped and heat embossed with clear powder. 

Inside the card, I cut a piece of black card for the mat layer. On the white panel I stamped a greeting and added another cute cactus.

That's all for today - I'm off to make dinner. We're having duck for a special treat. See you soon.

February Florals

... Morning! I'm here today to share a birthday card I've made for a friend of ours, she has her 60th birthday this weekend:

Stamps: Gina K - Birthday Cheer Mini, Filled with Sunshine

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango, Red Hot, Key Lime, Lucky Clover, Soft Stone; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Master Layout 1, Sentiment Strips, Fancy Florals

Accessories: White & Black Card; Gina K Stencils - Fancy Florals Layering Stencils, Masks & Fillers; Taylored Expressions Stencils - Bokeh, Masking Ovals; Gina K - Pre-printed Sentiments; Gems; Waffle Flower - Grip Mat

I'm submitting this card to several challenges. First challenge is Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#460 to use Die cuts and Stencils, next to Time Out Challenge - TOC#256 - to CASE Sarah Grey, to Seize the Birthday - STB#276 - Birthday Anything Goes, and finally to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#59. In CASEing Sarah's card - I used a stencil to make a diagonal background, placed the focal image in the bottom right corner and a greeting in the top left - to echo Sarah's layout.

Inspiration for this card came from the Tag Team Techniques video with Gina K and Jennifer McGuire that I watched yesterday. I started by die cutting the Fancy Floral die - I cut several. Using my Waffle Flower grip mat, I one of the white die cut floral clusters in the centre of the mat. I used the matching layering stencils to add colour. They are very easy to use. Using the first stencil I inked yellow petals, I inked the next stencil with pale orange ink and leaving it in place, I put over the top a stencil with tiny holes and I added red ink to the petals - resulting in dotty petals on the flowers. I then used the leaf stencils with green and yellow inks. I made the top leaves into flower buds by inking the last bit of the leaf yellow instead of green. I layered together the three die cut floral clusters with the inked one on top. Next, I put a piece of white card on the grip mat and, using the Bokeh stencil diagonally across the panel, added soft grey to make a background. I cut the panel with MLO1 and layered it onto a black mat and added to the front of an A2 white note card. I adhered the floral cluster towards the bottom right of the panel and added a die cut birthday greeting in the top left corner. Finally, I added a few clear gems.

Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel, I stamped a simple birthday greeting. I used an oval mask and the left-over yellow ink on the brush to add a subtle oval around the verse. I finished with a simple leaf silhouette.

That's all for today. See you again soon.