Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday & Anniversary

Time for some more 'family' birthday celebrations.

 

We meet up in October to celebrate September & October birthdays.

 

October is niece Lauren's birthday & wedding anniversary - I usually do a combined card. 

 

Background was stamped with Couture Creations 'sunburst' and Clear Heat Embossed, then a selection of ink blended rainbow colours were added. Sentiment  'happy' was die cut 3 times - 1 from rainbow foil cardstock & 2 from white, then layered together for dimension and added to front of card with Foam strip.  Sentiment 'birthday' and 'anniversary' stamped directly onto cardfront.   Fishishing with a few stripes of Stickles.

 

Next up is a card for Great-Nephew, Lucas (11)

 

 

Background was stenciled  with Blue Distress Ink, '11' was stamped & clear heat embossed, 'birthday' was stamped - all directly onto cardfront.  'happy' was die cut from 'gold' mirror cardstock.

 

 

Next up is a card for Archie (9)  - I had some fun with this card!

 

 

 

I have had this set of Uniquely Creative Stamps & Dies (Summer) for a little while now (since August 2024), but have never used them before.  So I set about stamping out some elements and colouring in with Copics, then die cutting several times and mounting in layers to create dimension.  'happy' was die cut from Gold mirror card, layered and added to cardfront with foam.   

 

I played around with the different placements for a little while.  I decided to add a layer of DP from my stash, and a 'white' frame layer to help make the elements stand out a bit better, and once I was happy, stuck everything down. 

 

I really enjoyed the way this card came together and can see some more coming using this stamp set in the future.

 

Linking above card with the following challenges:

NBUS #79 

Cut it Up Challenge #341 - add embellishments 

Addicted to Stamps & More #504 - Any Occasion 

Seize the Birthday #316 - Anything Goes 

Neglected Stuff Challenge 10/25 

 

  

Items Used:

Stamps & dies:	Uniquely Creative – Summer, Hero Arts Stamp & Cut - Happy
Dies:	Waffle Flower A6 Layers
Ink:	Versamark Embossing Ink, Ranger Distress inks, Copic Markers
Card stock:	Blue Edge Crafts 300 gsm cardbase, Blue Edge Crafts 210 gsm cardfront, Mirror cardstock, rainbow foil cardstock
DP:
Tools:	Cuttlebug, Print Blocks Emboss It Heat Tool, Couture Creations Precision Stamp Press, Couture Creations Mini Guillotine Trimmer, Couture Creations Mini Score Board,
Embellishments:	Stickles/Kindy Glitz

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy Birthday Liam!

Another family birthday, this one for the Nephew, Liam.

 

I made the card using his favourite football team colours - Port Adelaide (Black, White & Teal)

 

I have wanted to try the 'split circle' technique for quite some time and I figure now was a good time to try.

 

I made a background using Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and splattered with Distress Inks, then cut the cardfront with Waffle Flower A6 layers die.  I diecut several different size Spellbinders circles from offcuts of black, white & teal cardstock and set out having a play.  I discovered that cutting a circle in half is not as easy as it sounds  LOL but I managed. 

 

Circles were cut, glued together then arranged accordingly, but I made a mess with the ink somehow, hence the 'extra' bit to the left of the 'Happy Birthday' to cover up a blob.  Happy Birthday sentiment is from Stampin' Up, Voila! stamped onto another circle, then positioned accordingly.

 

Birthday balloons were cut from teal and placed on the cardfront. (unknown brand, bought at an Op Shop)

 

Cardfront was then attached to a 300gsm white card base.

 

I was not completely happy with the card, but time was against me.  I think I will have another play with these split circles at some stage in the future and see what I can come up with.

 

 

Linking with the following challenges:

 

 

 

AAA Birthday #76 - Sports (Fave Sports team colours)  Not sure if this qualifies or not, but will give it a shot!

Seize the Birthday #311 - no flowers

Snippets Playground #513 -  offcuts of black, teal & White

All Sorts Challenge #830 - I Spy with a "B" - Balloons 

 

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy Birthday

On a roll with these coneflowers!!!  This is the last one (for a little while LOL)

 

As per my previous cards, I die cut the flowers from some small left-over scraps of white cardstock (snippets), then ink-blended using Altenew Inks.  These flowers were added to cardfront using foam tabs for added dimension.

 

I found the most perfect background in my 'handmade' stash which was made by 'smooshing' various Inks, then inking around the outer edges with the darker colour from the flowers for definition and mounted onto a 300 gsm cardbase.

 

 

 

The Happy Birthday Sentiment is from a set of stickers I have had for I don't know how long ... the gorgeous gold on the white background was layered onto a circle of vellum cut with Spellbinders Circles Dies, then attached to cardfront using foam tabs to add dimension.

 

Items Used

Inks – Altenew Inks, Distress Inks
Dies – Amazon coneflower, Spellbinders Circle Die
Cardstock - 200 gsm white (cardfront), 300 gsm white (cardbase)
Tools - Cuttlebug, Blending Brush
Extras - Glue, double sided tape, foam tabs, peel-off stickers
Papers - Vellum

 

Linking with the following Challenges:

Seize the Birthday #284 – Anything Goes/Use Metallics

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Another Year Flies By

Birthdays are thick & fast this time of year.

Another Birthday card inspired by the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

 

I started with stamping some Butterflies from Kaisercraft on white cardstock.  I heat embossed the central butterfly and coloured with some Distress Ink using a waterbrush.

I then cut them out with circle dies - layering them twice to give dimension and mounting with foam dots.  Sentiment was stamped directly on the cardfront.

 

 

 

While playing with placement, I realised that just a plain white background was not working for me, so I grabbed a stencil I have had for a while, but not used before and using the same Distress Ink used to colour the central butterfly, I stenciled the background lightly.  That was the little 'something' I was looking for!

 

The cardfront was trimmed then placed on some old Stampin' Up Cardstock - I think the colour is either More Mustard or Pumpkin Pie ..... perfect!

 

Linking with the following challenges:

 

Addicted to Stamps & More #460 - Die Cut/Stencil

Seize the Birthday #276 - Anything Goes

Freshly Made Sketches #621

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Hope your birthday is a hit!

It's time for some more birthday cards.  Making cards for friends & family always makes me happy!

 

Inspired by some of the Challenge Blogs, I have made a few birthday cards.

 

The 'records' were die cut from black cardstock twice, metallic cardstock for the lables, layered together and attached to the cardfront with foam dots.  The black cardstock is some left over 'snippets' from a heat embossing experiment that did not work - I kept it as I figured I could always use the other side ..... waste not, want not!

 

Die Cut musical elements cut from other 'left over' snippets added to front of records.  Sentiment was stamped using Versa Fine Black Onyx and die cut with a 'tag' die and attached to the cardfront with foam dots.

 

The layout of my card was inspired by the Freshly Made Sketch #620

 

Linking with the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches #620

Addicted to Stamps & More - #460 Die Cut/Stencil

Seize the Birthday  #276- Anything goes

Cut it Up Challenge #296 - this makes me happy

I made my own background by stamping a musical notes stamp several times with Versamark and heat embossing with clear powder.  I then ink blended with some blue inks, leaving a lighter centre area and darker around the edges.

The 'records' were die cut from black cardstock twice, metallic cardstock for the lables, layered together and attached to the cardfront with foam dots.  The black cardstock is some left over 'snippets' from a heat embossing experiment that did not work - I kept it as I figured I could always use the other side ..... waste not, want not!  and not having too much wastage makes me happy!

 

Die Cut musical elements cut from other 'left over' snippets added to front of records.  Sentiment was stamped using Versa Fine Black Onyx and die cut with a 'tag' die and attached to the cardfront with foam dots.

Linking with the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #513 - lots of layers

Snippets Playground #472

Cut it Up Challenge #296 - this makes me happy

 

 

The above cards have been inspired by the same sketch layout  - the first one being a VERY CAS card, the second card with a bit 'more' added.   I struggle with CAS cards, I can't help but feel they are 'incomplete'  LOL

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

just roll with it

Happy Birthday ..... LOL

 

LOVE this stamp & die set from Altenew, I stamped the skates and die cut them out

 

 

DP from Kassazz (Little Wisdom) was trimmed to suit cardfront using the sketch as a guide.

Edges were roughed up with Edge Distresser tool, then attached to cardbase with 3D foam.

Skates were attached for the front with 3D foam.

Sentiment was stamped directly onto cardfront using Stamping Tool.

Inspired by a sketch at Freshly Made Sketches

   

Linking With the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches #588

Happy Little Stampers - June Birthday Challenge

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy Birthday

This s my first time playing with new stamps purchased from Auzz Trinklets Crafts - Altenew BAF Coneflower (Stamps & matching dies).

 

 

I wasn't actually intending to make up a card .... I just wanted to have a play so I used the first inks I could put my hands on. 

 

I even forgot about 'conditioning' the stamps first, so the stamping is a bit 'iffy', but I think it actually works on this card.  Flowers were stamped with Versafine Black Onyx & clear heat embossed.  Then the various layers were completed using different shades of orange/brown and then die cut.  In the end I chose to layer 3 flowers at different levels using 3D foam dots.

 

The background was 'handmade' by 'smooching' black/silver/gold inks to bring out the texture of the white cardstock.  The background was trimmed & layered onto a black card, then placed onto white cardbase (300gsm).

 

The step-by-step instructions that came with the stamp set were great.  I made a slight mis-alignment on some of the petals, but for a first attempt, I am happy.  I just love the way the leaf at the bottom of the flower turned out. 

The foiled birthday sentiment has been in my stash for quite a while - it was one of those pre-cut A4 sheets which I think I got at one of the craft shows many years ago.  See, I never throw anything away!

I am really looking forward to having another play with this stamp set - I have been searching the internet for 'colours of echinacea flowers' for inspiration!  There are pinks, purples and yellows and there is even a white one!

--oo0oo--

Fitting with the Seize the Birthday Challenge, I made this a birthday card, and it will most probably go to the Sister-in-Law :)

The As You Like it Challenge asks us to nominate which card we like to send and why.  For me, it would be Birthday Cards, as I usually make them with a specific person in mind so that each card is unique.

This is my 2nd card linking with AAA Birthday Game #45 - Anything Goes

Linking With the following challenges:

Seize the Birthday #253 - Anything Goes

As You Like it Challenge - Fave reason to send a card

AAA Birthday #45 - Anything Birthday Goes

ITEMS USED

Stamps/Dies:  Altenew BAF Coneflower

Inks: Versafine Onyx, Ranger Distress Inks, SU inks

Tools: Cuttlebug

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy Birthday Shaker

Slowly getting my cardmaking mojo back again :)

I started making a birthday card for my nephew, but I think this one turned out a bit girly, so it will go in my stash.

I used up another one of my handmade backgrounds .... ink smooshed & dabbed with water.  The cardstock has a texture to it, so it made for an interesting result.

Spellbinders Circle die used to cut out centre, clear acetate placed behind opening.  Various sequins & scatters added.  I love the cheeky smiley face!

Happy Birthday sentiment stamped with Distress Ink, Mowed Lawn & die cut 3 times, then layered and placed over aperture.

Linking with:

Addicted to Stamps & More #434 - Any occasion

Happy Little Stampers - AG with Dies

Seize the Birthday #243 - Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy Birthday x 2

Two more cards for you today :)

Our oldest, dearest and closest friends celebrate birthdays close together, just like my hubby and myself!

Chris' birthday was on 26th January and his wife, Cathy (yes same as me) her birthday is on 4th February.  Our birthdays are September & October, and we have similar food tastes!

We had a lovely catchup last Friday, wherein we sat around the table eating, drinking (only a little) and solving the problems with the world ...... as you do!

Anyway, here are the cards I made for them.  I'll start with the birthday card for Chris.

For a change, I went with a DL size card, in portrait mode.  I have been having a lot of fun with a new way of making my own backgrounds lately, so I used this lovely green & gold combination.  Inks 'smooshed' onto a surface, spayed with water, then place the cardstock over the inks.  The edges were inked with Dark Green to define the outer edge.  'happy birthday' sentiment stamped in Black Staz On and die cut layered with 3 layers to give it substance.  Balloon die cut from a scrap piece of Holographic foil cardstock, all mounted on a DL size card.  Die Cuts layered with 3D foam.  The string on the balloon was hand drawn with black fineliner.

Over all, I was quite pleased with the card and Chris loved it!

Now, onto the card for the Birthday Girl (which was the main reason for our get together).  Cathy is celebrating a 'big one' ....... 60!

I stuck with the DL size card in portrait mode, and used another handmade background.  For the balloons I created some text in Word, prnted on purple cardstock (Cathy's favourite colour) and foiled with gold, then die cut the balloons and actually tied up the balloons with black cotton.  Balloons placed in staggered layers, then Penny Black Hedgehog from 'Party Time' stamped and hand coloured in with Copics, cut out and positioned with 3D foam.  Little butterfly with a present stamped directly onto the front, hand coloured with Copics & Kindy Glitz added.  A final bit of bling added with some sequins.

I am quite pleased with the foiling and the bonus is that Cathy loved the card!

I am linking the above cards with the following Challenges:

Happy Little Stampers: Anything Goes (backgrounds were made with inks & water)

Penny Black Saturday Challenge:  Anything goes/Something New  (new technique)

Seize the Birthday: Anything goes as long as it is birthday (oops, too late for linky)

Happy Birthday x 2 & Happy Anniversary

It's getting to the pointy end of the year, LOL

November .......... it will be Christmas in a matter of weeks ....... where does the time go?

My Sister In-Law & Brother In-Law celebrate birthdays and their wedding anniversary in November & December, so we all usually get together for the triple celebration!

I am still playing with my Mini Minc and getting to know the various different settings to use when using the different cardstock.

So, first up, we have a birthday card for my Sister In-Law, inspired by a card I saw in a Newsagency ....
I had a play in Photoshop and came up with this ....

A mix of digital graphics printed on an ink jet, and shapes & text printed on a Laser, then foiled.  Layered onto patterned scrapbook paper, on white 300gsm card.  There are a few minor spots, but overall, I am pleased with the result.

Linking this card with:   Addicted to CAS: #21 - colourful

Next, we have a birthday card for my Brother In-Law, inspired by a card I saw online ....
I had another play in Photoshop and came up with this ...

Another mix of graphics printed on an ink jet, and shapes & text printed on a Laser, then foiled.  The foil finish is much nicer on this one!  Layered onto 300gsm cardstock with patterned paper as a background.

Linking with:

 Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes/Hobbies & pastimes

Then, after reading some more, and watching a few videos on YouTube ......

I tried something different ......

Anniversary card printed on Glossy Photo paper using an inkjet, then put through the laser printer for the text

Look at that foil finish!  just beautiful!

I tried all sorts of backgrounds for this card, then settled on gold foil cardstock - looks very speccy!

Linking with:  Inspired by Challenge: Photo&Colour

I think I am going to play more with this idea ..... it can still do with a bit of fine tuning!

Now to work on my Christmas Card stash.

Cheers everyone, stay safe, stay healthy!
Cathy