More Birthday Wishes

My boy who just turned 16 is not into cards, so I didn't make him one. But if I had, this would probably be what I would've been going for. Something eye-catching, but not too over the top. Something short and sweet and to the point. I love that, once I figured out what I wanted to do, this card took less than 10 minutes to execute.

The layout was inspired by a door decoration I saw while driving through our neighborhood yesterday. The stars dangled vertically, attached to each other in a purposely haphazard manner. Immediately I thought of my Stars #2 Originals die for the Big Shot. It has four different sizes of the shape, and they all layer inside each other. I used some scraps to get stars in Real Red, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, and Pacific Point.

I pulled out my new Celebrations Designer Series Paper, and the 4" x 5.25" piece made the perfect background for my stars. Check out the link to see all the patterns offered! Really, go ahead; I'll wait. I like that the numbers pattern can stand for a birthday year or the number of wishes available for the recipient!

The base is Old Olive, which coordinates with the colors featured in the paper and the stars. The sentiment, stamped in Pacific Point, is from Heard from the Heart, and I like that it's a less than predictable way to say "Happy Birthday". I made a little banner, because birthdays are about proclamations.

Need a good birthday card for a male in your life? I can't think of one who wouldn't like this. Want to shop right now for the materials? Here's a quick list of what you'll need:

Celebrations Designer Series Paper
Heard from the Heart stamp set
Old Olive card stock
Pacific Point classic ink
Stars #2 Originals die for Big Shot
Big Shot

Here's the link to my online shopping site. Everything will come right to your doorstep.

Birthday Wishes like Falling Stars

I saw a beautiful card on Nichole Heady's blog (scroll to the bottom past all the Halloween stuff to view it), and I wanted to try to create something similar. I chose the stars stamp from Extreme Elements and inked it in rainbow colors from the Brights Collection. In order to include all the colors of the spectrum, the strip ended up being just over 6" long. Well, that wouldn't do for a standard card, but I have a stash of 5"x7" white card bases from another project and grabbed one from the closet.

My next thought was, "What am I going to do with all that white space?" It's always a struggle for me to create a sparse look, even though I really like it when others do it. I mounted the start strip on Basic Black card stock and chose a silver metallic Sharpie to hand draw a border around it. The silver prompted me to pull out some leftover strips of Square Lattice textured foil that I'd saved from this project.

It added some great sparkle and dimension and grounded everything in the design. I stamped the birthday wish sentiment from Heard from the Heart and still felt something was lacking. This was when I wished for black ribbon, but I don't have that, so I made do.

Andrea Walford showed this grouping of ribbon on a card this week, and I really liked how it looked. It's easy to do and refreshingly different.

I know I've been very erratic in my posts lately. I'm sure you know how life can impede progress to the craft room door! Thanks for your patience. I'll have another post Monday using Extreme Elements. It's a complete departure from this look, and a great guy card. Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

I'm sure my friends Cookie or Robin could tell me who the author is of this saying, but whoever he was, he spoke prophetically and correctly about my day! As I stare at the clutter on the dining room table, the dog hair tumbleweeds on the carpet, the folded, but as yet not put away laundry on the bed, the untidied kitchen, and the disastrous state of my crafting space, I can tell I've been on a tear for too long.

All that will need to be done and more card stock will need to be cut before tomorrow's SAS. I did get 4 cards made yesterday, but I'm growing weary, friends.

Okay, here's what I made yesterday. This first card is a CASE of Wendy Janson's layout, and I used Manchester Designer Series Paper. The color scheme for these patterned papers is Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Kraft, and Very Vanilla. I found her work perusing through the SAS gallery for cards made using the Party Hearty set. I hope you can see how versatile this set is, now that I've posted a few cards using it! I wrestled a bit with this color combination, but I like this card for a guy. Very masculine and quick and easy. The circle with "celebrate you" is heat embossed, which is a nice subtle detail. I contemplated using twine for some sort of embellishment, but it was too much. Simple is better!

The next card is a reprise of an origami shirt card we made at the June SAS. Here's the link to the instructions I found online. Once I refreshed my memory on how to make it, it went together fairly quickly, and I'm pleased with the results. Do you like the little pocket? There's a piece of Baja Breeze card stock inside for writing a little message. The sleeves have to be folded in in order for it to fit in the envelope, but I put instructions regarding that inside the card for whoever purchases it.

So, that covers the two masculine birthday cards, leaving the female ones. Should be easy, right? Fatigue is effecting my creativity, but I soldiered on last night. I have to tell you, though, that the temptation to plop down on the couch beside Bob and veg out in front of the TV was great. I resisted, though.

Here's another example of incognito retired InColors showing up in current papers. The Haiku Designer Series Paper has two sheets of borders, meant mainly for scrapbookers, I believe. This one seems to use Wild Wasabi. Perhaps these DPs are carryovers from last year or something. I don't care; they allow me to put this stash of card stock into play! With the base of WW decided and the panel large enough to serve as focal image, all that needed to be added was an appropriate sentiment. It's from Heard from the Heart (which always makes me think of sheep... as in "herd of"). The border picks up the colors of So Saffron and More Mustard that are in the panel.

I was uninspired to complete the female birthday category, so I picked up Baroque Motifs and made a bridal card. I don't have much experience with brides or weddings of late, so I did a little poking around online to find out what colors are popular in weddings these days. I read that jewel tones, which I used in my wedding, are making a comeback, but the author of the article quickly advised not to make the 'maids wear a dress in said colors. That's what I did, and I'm sure my 'maids weren't happy about it almost 20 years ago, so the advice is best heeded.

All that said, I went with Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip, since BB is the closest thing I have to Tiffany Blue that is all the rage. I really hope this card does not become popular, as it was a pain in the butt to make, but since I invested the better part of an hour on it, it's going in the pile! It's not a traditional card, but a postcard with an envelope. Found this beautiful sheer ribbon that matches perfectly at Michael's.

Well, that's the blow by blow from last night. I have 40 min. before I need to leave for work, so I'm going to try to go tackle something on the domestic front before I depart. We have corporate visitors today, so there'll be a little more than the usual level of stress at work today. I'm hoping it's over before I get there, but I probably won't be so fortunate. Happy FRIDAY!!