Saturday, August 31, 2024

Psalm 63:7 Bird Card

I recently ordered Altenew's Bird of the Mountain layering die set, and I decided to use Altenew's monthly challenge colors to create the bird. I used some pink cardstocks that I did some ink blending on using Altenew's Dried Petals ink family. 

For the background, I did some ink smooshing and then embossed the panel with Altenew's Garden Harmony 3D embossing folder. I then stamped the verse onto coordinating pink cardstock I had done a little ink blending on. I popped up the sentiment and the sweet little bird using foam tape. 






 

Challenges I'm entering:

August 2024 Inspiration Challenge (altenew.com)


Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/10; ends 9/12/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with the optional twist of Summer Vacation (4/4; ends at the end of the month)


Crafty Gals Corner (craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com): ATG with twist of use an embossing folder (3/3; ends 9/9/24)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of diamonds, gold, and pearls (ends at the end of the month) Rising Star Top Pick For the Week 4 of August



Can You Handle The Pressure? (cyhtp.blogspot.com): ATG with a twist of leaves (2/3; ends 9/11/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Add a sentiment or ATG (1/3; ends 9/6/24)

No more challenges. 

Friday, August 30, 2024

Hope in the Lord Fun Fold for Creative Creases #90

It's time for a new challenge on the Creative Creases Challenge blog, and I'm honored to be a guest designer again. Hope you can join us with your fun fold projects! Here's the link: https://wp.me/p4bS0N-bWp

For my fun fold card today, I wanted to do another card for my youngest daughter who is currently deployed in the Middle East. I like to include special cards in all the packages I send her. So far I've sent 8 packages and am working on package number 9 this week. 

For the card design, I followed the instructions from an Altenew YouTube short here: Part 2 of unique card folds you can try! (youtube.com). I used Altenew's Craft-A-Flower: Butterfly Bush layering die set for the front of the card. I die cut the layers out of some watercolor papers I had colored with sprays and watercolors. Then I die cut the layers a second time out of pink fun foam and adhered everything together. I die cut a stem using some watercolor cardstock I had watercolored with distress inks. 

The verse on the front of the card comes from Word Art Wednesday here: Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes - Weeks #655-656. I imported it to my Silhouette Design Studio software, sized it up, changed the color to pink, and did a print and cut of it. 

For the inside of the card, I did some tone-on-tone stamping using SU!'s retired Butterfly Brilliance stamp on a die cut panel. Butterfly Brilliance is my favorite butterfly-themed stamp and die set, and I use it frequently! Once I had stamped the background onto the panel, I added the "love and hugs" sentiment from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Always Sunshine set and adhered the panel to the inside of the card, taking card to line it up inside the framed area. I added a few pink translucent drops to embellish the panel. 

For the back of the card, I added a blue die cut rectangle and then die cut a yellow rectangle that I stamped the Butterfly Brilliance background onto using tone-on-tone stamping again. Then I die cut a small square and stamped the "You are cherished" sentiment from Altenew's Bold Bouquet. 

I want to add a link to my friend Debbie Mageed's list of retired Stampin' Up products here, too. Take a look because she's offering great deals on lovely bundles: My 2024 Secret Sale - Google Docs




Side view:


Back of the card:


Top view:


Inside the card:


Challenges I'm entering: 

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/10; ends 9/12/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with the optional twist of Summer Vacation (3/4; ends at the end of the month)


Crafty Gals Corner (craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com): ATG with twist of use an embossing folder (2/3; ends 9/9/24)


A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of diamonds, gold, and pearls (ends at the end of the month)



Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (3/6; ends 9/12/24)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG with a twist of easy living (ends at the end of the month)

No more challenges. 


 

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Birthday Fishes Card

I recently purchased Altenew's Mighty Waves 3D embossing folder and thought I would try it out on a birthday card for a friend. I used some watercolor paper I had sprayed with Lindy's Magicals Starburst Spray in Tibetan Poppy Teal to emboss the waves. Then I went over the raised parts of the design with a small blue ink pad to add some definition to the waves. I really like how they look! 

I trimmed the panel to 4 1/8 by 5 3/8 and popped it up on a blue A2 card base using foam tape. I then stamped the "Hoping all your birthday fishes come true" sentiment and the whale stamp from SU!'s retired "Whale Done" set using Simon Hurley's Clear Skies ink. I have the coordinating punch for the whale, so I punched him out and added him and the sentiment to the card using foam tape. 






Challenges I'm entering: 

{Cupcake Inspirations}: Happy Birthday (1/4; ends at the end of the month) 



Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/10; ends 9/12/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with the optional twist of Summer Vacation (2/4; ends at the end of the month)


Crafty Gals Corner (craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com): ATG with twist of use an embossing folder (1/3; ends 9/9/24)


A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of diamonds, gold, and pearls (ends at the end of the month) Rising Star Top Pick For the Week 4 of August




No more challenges. 

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Colossians Verses Flourishing Garden Cards

I needed a couple cards for my 2 friends who co-led a Bible study on Colossians this summer. I really enjoyed our time of worship music, fellowship, and Bible study and am so grateful they took the time to coordinate and teach the study. 

For the two cards I made, I decided to use a set I've been playing with recently from Altenew. It's their Craft-Your-Life: Flourishing Garden set, and the floral stamp is large enough to wrap around a mini slimline card to decorate the back as well as the front. There's a coordinating die for this set, and I die cut it twice. Then I stamped the floral focal point in black pigment ink and embossed it with clear powder for the first card and then stamped the image in dark pink dye ink for the second card. Then I used the coordinating stencils in the set to color the flowers and leaves on both die cuts. For the first card, I decided to use a black background on a blue card base, and I took a black Ohuhu alcohol ink marker and colored in the white edge all around the die cut image. This took longer than I had thought it would, but I do like the look. For the second card, I chose a light purple background on a pink card base and left the white edge around the floral focal point. 

For the first card, I chose scripture word art of Colossians 3:12 because the friend who taught on that passage did such a wonderful job explaining about the imagery of "bowels" in Greek and how that was like what we would call the "heart" in our culture. We all had a laugh about that terminology, so when I saw that Word Art Wednesday had done a beautiful word art of that verse, I knew I had to use it for Kelly's card! If you'd like the free word art, here's the link:  Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes - Weeks #653-654. The verse reads: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. I added a few gold sequins for a little shine. 

For the second card, I decided to put the "thank you" on the front and a different verse on the inside (one that Heather had taught on), and I stamped the sentiment (from Altenew's Build-A-Garden: Grand Carnations) in VersaMark embossing ink and heat embossed it with Altenew's Rose Gold embossing powder. I die cut it with the coordinating die and then die cut the same die using pink fun foam and adhered the sentiment to the foam for dimension. 

For the inside of the first card, I stamped the floral image again onto pink cardstock using black ink on one side of the card and then stamped the "thank you" sentiment onto pink cardstock for the other side. 

For the inside of the second card. I used free word art of Colossians 2:6-7 found here: The beautiful word art of Colossians 2: 6-7 is free at this website: 4 Free Scripture Cards - Mommin' From Scratch (momminfromscratch.com). After sizing the free file up in my Silhouette Design Studio software, I did a print and cut of it on white cardstock. The verse reads: As you therefore received Christ Jesus, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. I added the verse to a panel of gold cardstock I had embossed with the 3D embossing folder that comes in the Flourishing Garden set and adhered that to the left side of the inside of the card. I then used the same embossing folder to emboss a piece of white cardstock and adhered that to the right side of the card. 


Card #1 view of the front and back:


Card #1 inside view:


Card #2 view of the front and back:


Card #2 inside view:


Close up of the sentiment:



Challenges I'm entering: 

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (2/6; ends 9/12/24)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): Easy living or ATG (ends at the end of the month)

Stamping Sensations: Summer in the Garden (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

We Love Stamping: Focal sentiment or quote or ATG (3/3; ends at the end of the month) Top 3 Pick for August

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Add a sentiment (3/5; ends 8/21/24)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/10; ends 8/28/24)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): Diamonds, gold and/or pearls or ATG (I used gold sequins on the first card and gold emobssing on the thank you sentiment on the second card) (ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Sparkle and Shine (I used gold sequins on the first card and gold embossing powder on the sentiment of the second card) (4/5; ends 8/19/24)

Triple B (dd-tripleb.blogspot.com): ATG with birds, blooms and/or butterflies (ends at the end of the month)

fourseasons (thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com): Summer (ends at the end of the month)

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (ends 8/23/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Summer Days or ATG (3/3; ends 8/23/24)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (8/24/24)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (1/3; ends 8/25/24)





 

Friday, August 16, 2024

Pop-Up Panel Card for Creative Creases #89

It's time for the start of a new challenge over at the Creative Creases Challenge blog! Hooray! Hope you can join in with a fun-fold project! Here's the link to share your projects with us: https://wp.me/p4bS0N-bUJ

The idea for my Guest Design card this time came from Iced Images in a video here: ๐Ÿ”ด 5" x 7" Gatefold Pop-Up Panel Card | Livestream (youtube.com). I love to try new folds, and this pop-up panel card was a fun project! It's actually quite simple to make, and I plan to create a cut file in my Silhouette Design Studio software so I can make multiples for the group of homebound members of my church I send cards to regularly. I think they would enjoy the surprise inside, and this design can be used with any theme.

I chose a fall theme because I'm going to include this card in my next package to my daughter who is currently deployed on an aircraft carrier. It generally takes about a month for a package to make it to her, so it will be fall by the time she receives the package I plan to send next week. I've been busy making and freeze-drying meals for her so she can have some homecooked meals and healthy snacks while deployed, and I have sent out 5 packages already even though she's only been gone a month๐Ÿ˜‚! I know the other moms out there understand! There's not a lot I can do for her while she's away, but I can pray for her, email her every morning with news of what's happening back home, and cook for her now that we have a freeze dryer. 

After watching the video on how to make this card, I chose some fall-themed papers and coordinating cardstock and got busy with my paper trimmer. This card is quite easy really, it just looks hard because of all the layers/pop-ups, but it's really just about trimming the papers to the correct size and knowing where to put the glue! I followed along with the assembly part of the video for all the layers that just had pattern papers, and then I did some stamping for the side and front layers. I used a few different retired SU! sets: Gathered Wheat, Fond of Autumn, and Autumn Goodness. I also added a sparkly burgundy bow using some metallic thread and adhered 3 gold Open Leaf Trinkets (also from SU!) to finish the card. The double-sided paper I used for the card base has great designs on both sides, so I didn't add anything to the front gatefold sections or the back. The brown side that is on the inside of the card actually has the words: grateful, thankful, blessed printed in tiny script. I have added a close up of the text in my photos of the card. I'm going to include a notecard with my message for my daughter, but in the video I watched, Louise added a white card layer for the sentiment to the back of the card she made. 


Here's a look at the card when fully open:

When the card is closed:

When the card is partially open:


Side view: 


Back of the card:


A look at the pattern paper with the "thankful, grateful, blessed" pattern:


The "Golden leaves, chilly air, autumn beauty everywhere" sentiment and haystack image are from SU!'s Autumn Goodness, and I used a stamp from SU!'s Gathered Wheat set to create some texture by stamping the little spots using a tone-on-tone look:


"Thankful for you" sentiment from SU!'s Autumn Goodness and wheat stalk from SU!'s Gathered Wheat: 


"All good things come from above" sentiment from SU!'s Autumn Goodness. The acorn and leaf I stamped behind the sentiment are from SU!'s Fond of Autumn: 


The pop-ups fold up to flatten the card for mailing:


Challenges I'm entering: 

Double D Challenges (daranddiane.blogspot.com): Fall Harvest (ends 8/18/24)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Add a sentiment (1/5; ends 8/21/24)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/10; ends 8/28/24)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 8/21/24)

Retro rubber challenge blog: Tic Tac Toe:  last column vertically: Pattern paper, ribbon, and your choice. The stamps I used are: SU! Autumn Goodness (2020), SU! Fond of Autumn (2022) and a rubber stamp from SU!'s Gathered Wheat (2022)


A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): Diamonds, gold and/or pearls or ATG (I used gold leaf trinkets) (ends at the end of the month)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges********** (pammiesinkypinkieschallenges.blogspot.com): ATG (1/3; ends 8/19/24) C10

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Sparkle and Shine (I used metallic ribbon and gold leaf trinkets) (2/5; ends 19/24)

Inspiration Station (inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com): Photo inspiration (My card has some pattern paper in the front that has apples on it like the apples in the photo) (1/8; ends at the end of the month)


613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG or twist of Easy Living (ends at the end of the month) Top Rocker August 11-17, 2024

No more challenges. 

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Hope in the Lord Card with Altenew's Flourishing Garden

I recently had the chance to spend an afternoon with a dear friend I rarely get to see, and it was such a time of encouragement in the Lord. She is a sister in Christ, and she's going through a challenging time right now that she was able to talk with me about during our time together. I wanted to make a special card to encourage her, and this verse from Psalm 31:24 seemed perfect: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. The word art of the verse was free on the Word Art Wednesday website here: Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes - Weeks #655-656

To create this card, I used Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Flourishing Garden set. I used the die that die cuts the floral focal point to create a jig in my Sizzix Stencil and Stamp Tool. I did this by simply die cutting the die from the center of a sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 inch cardstock. Then I put that the negative (the frame around the die cut) in my stamping tool and lined up the stamp on the top of the platform to fit inside the frame. Then I die cut several of the die cuts, placed them in the "frame" one at a time, and stamped them. The one for the front of this card was stamped with VersaMark embossing ink and then heat embossed with Altenew's Rose Gold embossing powder. I used the coordinating stencils and Altenew dye inks to color in the stamped image. This one is huge, so it requires 6 stencils to color it in. You have to be committed with this one! But it's worth it! 

After I had finished the floral for the front of the card, I stamped the one for the inside of the card using and left it with just the pink outline of the stamp. I later trimmed it to fit under the hinge of the card base.

To make the card base, I wanted there to be a bit of pink around the stamped image, so I scored a piece of 12x12 cardstock in the center and then traced a border around the edge of the Flourishing Garden stamped focal point. I've included some pictures to show the process. After tracing around the border, I then fussy cut the shape leaving a hinge at the top where the paper was folded. Then I glued the front piece to the card base and the inner piece inside the card base. 

For the scripture verse, I imported the word art into my Silhouette Design Studio program and changed the color of the words to pink. Then I sized it up and did a print and cut of the verse and adhered that to a piece of rose gold mirror cardstock just slightly larger. 

I stamped "big hugs" from the same Flourishing Garden set in VersaMark embossing ink and again used Altenew's Rose Gold embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment. I die cut it with the coordinating die in the set and then used the die to cut out a piece of pink fun foam to add behind the sentiment for more dimension. I added 5 gold Nuvo drops to complete the card. I really love this set and how I can create shaped cards with it that are top folding or side folding (for the side fold version, see this post: Carrie's Custom Cards: Flourishing Garden Shaped Engagement Card (carriescustomcards.blogspot.com)). 










Top views:



Here's a look at the jig I made (with a die cut inserted and ready to stamp)





Challenges I'm entering: 
 

August 2024 Inspiration Challenge (altenew.com): Winner of $30 gift card 9/10/24

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (1/6; ends 9/12/24) Top Pick 9/15/24

Creations in Pink: ATG in mainly pink (ends 9/12/24)

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): Wet or dry embossing (I embossed the front image and sentiment with Rose Gold embossing powder) (2/4; ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): Easy living or ATG (ends at the end of the month)

Stamping Sensations: Summer in the Garden (2/3; ends at the end of the month) Top 3 Pick for August

We Love Stamping: Focal sentiment or quote or ATG (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Add a sentiment (2/5; ends 8/21/24)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/10; ends 8/28/24)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (2/2; ends 8/21/24)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG or twist of Easy Living (ends at the end of the month)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): Diamonds, gold and/or pearls or ATG (I used gold leaf trinkets) (ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Sparkle and Shine (I used metallic ribbon and gold leaf trinkets) (3/5; ends 8/19/24)

Triple B (dd-tripleb.blogspot.com): ATG with birds, blooms and/or butterflies (ends at the end of the month)

fourseasons (thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com): Summer (ends at the end of the month)

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (ends 8/23/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Summer Days or ATG (2/3; ends 8/23/24)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (8/23/24)

Monday, August 12, 2024

Flourishing Garden Shaped Engagement Card

I needed a special engagement card for a friend and decided to pull out Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Flourishing Garden set to make it. The floral stamp in the set is quite large (too big for an A2 card), so I thought I'd see if I could turn it into a shaped card using the coordinating die from the set. I scored a piece of white 8 1/2 by 11 cardstock in half and taped the die in place so that there was a "hinge" on the left side. I used a lightweight cardstock and didn't have any trouble cutting through the double layer of cardstock to create the card base.

Then I die cut 3 more panels using the same outline die. I stamped one with pink pigment ink and heat set with clear embossing powder, one I left plain, and one I stamped with VersaFine embossing ink and heat set with white embossing powder. The one with the pink ink I added to the right side of the inside of the card, and I added my "congratulations" sentiment (from the same Flourishing Garden stamp set) layered on some gold mirror cardstock. The plain one I turned backwards to match up to the back of the front panel so that it covered that side of the card base and the small area on one of the flowers that got cut off because an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of cardstock folded in half was just a little too short for this die even with cutting a bit off the side for the hinge. 

Now the white embossed panel was the most fun part of this card! I used the coordinating stencils and chose some soft and pretty ink colors I thought would be lovely for an engagement card. I used an old Silhouette Cameo mat to hold the panel and stencils in place while I worked. There are 6 stencils in this set, so it takes a little time to do all the layers, but it's definitely worth it! I love how it turned out, and more importantly, the bride-to-be loved it as well! 

To finish off the card, I stamped the "Forever is composed of nows" sentiment from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Bewitching Rose set onto clear sticker paper and trimmed it to fit on the card front. I adhered it to the stenciled panel and then adhered the panel to the card base. I love how well this card stands up, too! All in all, there are 5 layers of cardstock to this card, so it's nice and sturdy. 



Front view when the card is standing up:




View from the top:


A view of the "hinge" on the inside:


Folded flat:


Close up of the sentiment:


Another view of the card:


The inks I used and the stencil guide Altenew provides for their 
Craft-Your-Life project kits. I often use Altenew's grip mat for stenciling, but this time
I used an old Silhouette cutting mat that still has enough stick to it for
stenciling and keping my inks in place while I'm using them:


 Challenges I'm entering: 

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with florals as the focal point (ends 8/12/24)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Sparkle and Shine (I used white embossing powder on the front image and clear embossing powder on the inside image for some nice shine) (1/5; ends 8/19/24)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (ends 8/13/24)

Creatalicious Challenges: ATG (ends 8/14/24)

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): Wet or dry embossing (1/4; ends at the end of the month)

Double Trouble Paper Crafting (doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com): Thing 1: be happy (this card features happy colors and a happy occasion) Thing 3: Enter If You Give A Crafter A Cookie Challenge

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie...: Be Happy (this is a card for a very happy occasion: an engagement!) (2/5; ends at the end of the month)

Triple B (dd-tripleb.blogspot.com): ATG with blooms, butterflies, and/or birds (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (1/3; ends 8/24/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Summer Days or ATG (1/3; ends 8/16/24)

Polkadoodles Cardmaking, Craft & Scrapbooking Challenge: ATG (1/2; ends 8/16/24)

A Cut Above (craftingacutabove.blogspot.com): ATG with die cuts (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): ATG (ends at the end of the month)

Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! (stencilfun.blogspot.com): Use stencils with optional theme of Summer (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge: ATG (1/3; ends 8/13/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG (1/4; ends at the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; ends 8/14/24)

The Paper Shelter: ATG (2/2; ends at the end of the month)

Art Impressions Blog (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com): Never Have I Ever (new supplies) This is a set I just recently bought and hadn't used before (2/2; ends 8/15/24)

Tic Tac Toe Challenge - Inspiring creativity 8-ways each week: Flowers, Scoring (for the hinged base of the card), and Die Cuts (ends8/15/24)


613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): Easy living or ATG (ends at the end of the month) Top Rocker August 11-17, 2024

Stamping Sensations: Summer in the Garden (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

We Love Stamping: Focal sentiment or quote or ATG (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Friday, August 2, 2024

Double Side Flap Card for Creative Creases #88

It's time for a new challenge over on the Creative Creases Challenge blog, and I'm back as a Guest Designer with a card design I saw in the Silhouette Card Making & Paper Crafts FB group. The designer of the cut file I used is Sabine Harris. Thanks, Sabine! 

If you'd like to join the fun over at Creative Creases, please share your fun fold creations here: https://wp.me/p4bS0N-bTl.

Once I had the card design chosen, I picked out some birthday-themed card stock for the layers and coordinating card stock for the base and set to work cutting all the pieces with my Silhouette Cameo 4. Then I assembled all the layers and glued everything down before stamping the "Let's celebrate" sentiment (from SU!'s retired Splendid Thoughts set) and die cutting it using a Gina Marie Designs stitched oval die. If you are interested in finding a great deal on retired Stampin' Up! bundles, check out my friend Debbie's sale here: My 2024 Secret Sale - Google Docs

For the back of the card, I die cut the "happy birthday" with retired Papertrey Ink dies and glued them down along with a balloon die cut for decoration. I liked the look of the balloon and decided to die cut more balloons for the inside of the card. I used some black metallic thread for the balloon strings. 

I then decided I wanted to add just a little something more, so I did some fussy cutting of the raccoon's hat and the monkey's heart balloon from another scrap of the card stock. I adhered those with foam tape to give a little dimension to the front of the card. 

This card is great for showing off several patterns of card stock as there's a lot of areas to decorate. I feel like the Echo Park and Photo Play card stock did the hard work for this card and I just added a few touches to finish it off. It's going to be my husband's birthday card later this month, so I want it to be extra special ๐Ÿ˜Š. 







Top view:


The back of the card:



Close up of the fussy cut balloon:


Close up of the fussy cut hat:


The back with the flaps closed:



A look at how the card unfolds inside:







All the flaps:





Challenges I'm entering:

Art Impressions Blog: Never Have I Ever Challenge #384 Week #1 (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com): Never Have I Ever (Use a stamp or die you haven't used before): I have had these balloon dies in my stash for AGES but hadn't used them before this card! (1/2; ends 8/14/24)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (1/5 for the week; ends 8/13/24)


The Paper Shelter: ATG (1/2; ends 8/20/24)



Double Trouble Paper Crafting (doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com): Thing 1: let your happiness shine by creating your project using cheerful images, happy colors, and sweet sentiments. Be sure to tell us in your post what item you believe most contributed to the happiness vibe of your card.  My card features a "happy birthday" theme and uses bright, cheerful colors. Thing 3: Entered the If You Give A Crafter A Cooke challenge (1/3; ends 8/16/24)

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie...: Be Happy (ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/ 4-legged friends (1/5; ends 8/6/24)

Allsorts challenge blog: Season's Delights or ATG (1/3; ends 8/9/24)

Crafty Catz (craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com): ATG with optional twist of hot colors (1/3; ends 8/8/24)