A Few Simple Birthday Cards

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards by lisababitz

I enjoy making cards with fancy folds, interactive elements or some other creative technique. Sometimes, however, it’s fun to get back to basics and focus on the stamps and ink. Here are a few simple cards I made with some stamp sets that I had purchased a few months ago but hadn’t used yet.

Gorgeous Grunge Birthday Card

(Inside: Wishing you all the best today and throughout the coming year)

This card was made with various stamps from the “Gorgeous Grunge” set from Stampin’ Up and the “Celebrate” stamp from Hampton Art. Stampin’ Up Soft Suede and Mint Macaron ink was used. Card stock was SU Mint Macaron, Gina K Dark Chocolate, and white. The inside sentiment was from the “Happy Birthday to You” set by Gina K Designs.

I don’t think I’ve ever created such a “grungy” card before. It was fun, and really liked the way it came out. I got mixed reviews from my family though. Oh well….

Happy Birthday with Swishes of Color

(Inside: Sending you Warmest Wishes on your special day.)

This next card features an embossing folder from the Sizzix/Stampin’ Up “Celebrations Duo” set. The “Happy” is debossed so when the swishes of color are stamped over it, the ink stays on the flat portion of the card but does not get into the indented portion. I used a stamp from the “Tiny Textures” set from Gina K Designs to create the swishes of color. The “Birthday” stamp is from the Gina K “Winter Block” set. The stamp on the inside is called “Sending Wishes” by Stampendous. Papertrey Ink Soft Stone and Gina K Blue Denim ink was used with white and Blue Denim card stock. (For some reason, my camera can’t see that the blue ink and paper are the same color. Hmmm….)

Cake Crazy Birthday Card

(Inside: May your birthday be filled with love, laughter and everything that makes you happy)

This final card was made with stamps from the “Cake Crazy” set from Stampin’ Up. The set contains a number of angled stamps in a variety of shapes and words (along with multi-step layers) so lots of different crazy cakes can be created in all kinds of color combinations. Gina K Blue Denim and white card stock was used as well as a few sheets from “The Birthday Wishes Stack” paper pad by DCWV. For ink, I used Gina K Wild Dandelion, Blue Denim, and Blue Raspberry.

Thanks for checking out my card projects!

11Sep2017

Center Easel Birthday Card

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards, Creative Folds by lisababitz

Center Easel Birthday Card

(Inside: wishing you a day filled with good things)

I know it’s September, and I’m feeling like fall colors and patterns are more appropriate, but as I mentioned in my last post, I am “a bit” (big time understatement!) behind with posting so I have a card to share today (finally!!) that I made in the spring….

This card has a panel that props up like an easel to reveal the greeting. It’s a great design for showing off beautiful printed paper (either store bought or handmade). The card is flat when “closed” for easy mailing.

My card features printed paper called “Blossom” by American Crafts (#340303) along with Stampin’ Up Mint Macaron and white card stock. The flowers were cut with a Sizzix Originals die called “Flower Layers #3” and embellished with some thin, white ribbon and some pieces of a small pearl spray I purchased at Hobby Lobby (DIY Wedding Department).

The greeting stamp is from the “Frame & Flowers 2” set by Gina K Designs. The inside sentiment is by Hero Arts and was stamped on a panel cut with the EK Success “Real Estate Sign” label punch. Both were stamped with Stampin’ Up Mint Macaron ink.

Here is a template for a 5×7 card base. (Click on diagram to make it bigger.) You can adapt the measurements to make an A2 sized card if desired.

You can see a tutorial HERE on You Tube.

Thanks for checking out my card project!

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28Mar2017

Happy Birthday Puzzle Card

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards by lisababitz

Happy Birthday Puzzle Card

This card features a piece of patterned paper (either store bought or hand-made) and a greeting stamp. I saw a tutorial for this type of card HERE and realized that it was a great way to use patterned paper that is too pretty to cover up. Random, non-repeating patterns or scenes work best for this technique. Basically, you start with a piece of the patterned paper that you cut apart into several pieces, mat each piece, and then arrange them so the pattern looks the way it did before it was cut. One of the panels is left off so a greeting could be added in the open space. (The remaining piece was attached to the inside of the card on the sample I saw.)

My card above was cut and arranged similarly to the sample in the tutorial. After I finished that card, I decided to try a few different layouts with different colors, cuts and arrangements….

The possibilities are endless!

All of these cards were made with a piece of The Paper Studio “Watercolor Floral” patterned paper (#230094 from Hobby Lobby) and a stamp from the “Made With Love” set by Gina K Designs. Either Gina K Blue Lagoon or Lipstick card stock and ink was used.

Thanks for checking out my card project!

26Mar2017

Pop-up Birthday Wishes

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards, Interactive by lisababitz

Pop-up Birthday Wishes

I made 3 interactive birthday cards inspired by THIS card that Karen Hasheck posted on her blog and THIS video tutorial posted by Maymay that shows how to make the pop-up feature. What’s fun about these cards is that when they are closed, the are flat and look like ordinary cards…

…but when they open, the animals’ arms pop out.

These cards were for my triplets who celebrated their birthday several weeks ago. I know they are not babies anymore (this was their 18th birthday – YIKES!!), but they are good sports and humor me when they know I am trying out a new card design. (And they actually seemed to get a kick out of them – opening and closing them repeatedly!)

Here are the other two designs…

and

and their fronts…

The animal designs were adapted from files I purchased in the Silhouette Store. I had the most trouble making the elephant work because the head, with the big ears, was either too big for the card (the trunk got in the way of the center folds and the ears extended too far over the sides) or too small for the rest of his body. An elephant’s body is also pretty plain so I struggled with an idea to jazz him up a bit. The overalls finally helped him come together.

I kept my card fronts super simple by just using the designer paper I used on the insides, but obviously, you can make them as elaborate as you want.

Over at the Die Cut Divas this month, the challenge theme is “for the love of animals/pets” where our projects must include an animal and must also include at least one die cut or embossing folder. (Die cuts made from electronic die cutting machines are permitted.)

Here are the supplies used for each of the designs:

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22Mar2017

Corner Flip Birthday Card

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards by lisababitz

Corner Flip Birthday Card

I saw this video for a “Corner Flip” card HERE and thought I’d give it a try! I love the interesting angle created behind the simple stamped panel, and I also love how the inside panel is visible and offsets the stamped panel so nicely. Here’s another angle of the corner.

The stamps I used for this card are from the “Avant-Garden” stamp set by Stampin’ Up. It was a free set with a $50 purchase (and retired after March 31, 2017). The inks I used are SU Crisp Cantaloupe and Tip Top Taupe and Gina K Kraft and Fresh Asparagus. I did generation stamping (stamping off) to get the two shades of peach and did some masking to keep my layers clean. Card stock used is Gina K Peach Bellini, Kraft, and white.

I made repeating diagonal score lines on my corner before flipping. I’d like to say I came up with the idea as part of my design plan, but the truth is, I had made a mistake trying to score the corner before flipping it. I either had to keep scoring or get a new piece of card stock and start over. I kind of like the way my mistake turned out! (It’s not really even necessary to score before folding; it folds pretty easily without a score line.)

Thanks for checking out my card project!