Happy 80th Birthday ....

..... Good morning! I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards I've made for my father-in-law, Simon, who is 80 years old today. He's not much for celebrating birthdays, so I decided not to put a number on his cards, but you I think you can tell it's a special birthday! Here's the first card:

Stamps: Impression Obsession - Umpteenth Birthday; Concord & 9th - Yay for Birthdays; Waltzingmouse Stamps - Woodgrain

Inks: Gina K - Sandy Beach, Dark Chocolate, Soft Stone, Barely There; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Memento - Summer Sky, New Sprout

Dies: Spellbinders - Contemporary Squares

Accessories: White Card; Scrap blue and green card

I'm submitting this card to The Male Room - TMR#149 where the theme is wood. I've used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#480 for the layout, and I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#04.

I thought I had some real wood card in my stash, but I couldn't find it, so I stamped a woodgrain image on white card using two shades of brown and a soft grey. I used a Spellbinder die to cut out the swoosh of contemporary squares. I adhered the outline piece to the front of an A2 card. I used some scraps of blue and green card to cut out the 'squares' and adhered them inside the outline. I finished the strip by adding the square of 'wood' card. I completed the front with a fun birthday greeting, which I'm sure Simon will like! On the inside, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the base. I stamped a fun birthday cupcake in soft tones of blue and green and finished with a fun sentiment.

The card above is the one that mum sent to Simon. I also made one for Jonathan and I to send to Simon:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Best of Birthdays; Concord & 9th - Birthday Stacks

Inks: SU - Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow, Daffodil Delight; Versafine - Onyx Black

Accessories: White Card; Visible Image Stencil - Two Tone; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Nuvo - Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#414, Perfectly CAS - PCAS#13, and to Seize the Birthday - STB#211 where the toppings option is Squares.

I started by masking the card to create a central panel onto which I stencilled lots of little squares in burgundy, yellow and green. Next I stamped this cute cake topped with loads of candles and a fun sentiment. I coloured the image with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. I added lots of sparkle to the cake with a clear aqua shimmer brush. I used dimensional pads to adhere it to the front of the card. Inside, I cut another piece of white card, slightly smaller than the card. At the bottom I stamped a line of bold birthday candle which I coloured with Copic markers to match the central panel. I embossed the candles and finished with a bold, simple birthday greeting which finishes off the message.

While travel restrictions have been relaxed in the United Kingdom, it is not possible for us all to get together to celebrate. However, we will be having a Zoom get together for a quiz and to chat later this afternoon. So looking forward to when we can all meet in person!!

That's all from me today - have a good one. See you soon.