Masculine 40th Birthday Card

Hello! Today I'm sharing a card I made to help me through a difficult day. This past Saturday would have been my brother's 40th birthday, but he passed away over 3 years ago. Our birthdays were really close together and growing up we usually had a combined birthday party, so my birthday isn't the same without him. I felt like I needed to do something to recognize his special day, so I made this card. 

Almost all the supplies used on this Masculine 40th Birthday Card are from Stampin' Up!. However, most of them are also very retired. The stamp set is called Number of Years and the patterned paper is from the Cupcakes & Carousels paper stack. The Stitched with Whimsy Die is current and used around the edge of the paper. A few silver glitter punched stars for sparkle and everything was adhered flat. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.✨

Challenges entered:

• Craft Rocket: For the Boys
• Fab 'n' Funky: Special Birthdays
• Make My Monday: Masculine
• Sweet Stampin': Masculine

Birthday Card with Flowers

Good day! The month of May is my birthday month, so I always make myself a card. This Birthday Card with Flowers is this years creation. It features my favorite color, purple, and some lovely embossed flowers. The background stencil and floral cut and emboss folder are both by Pink & Main. Distress inks were used to color the flowers and background. The Happy Birthday sentiment and die cut are from Unity Stamps. Everything was adhered flat and that's it. So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Crafting Happiness: Anything Goes/Flowers
• Crazy is our Fame: Stencils
• Double D: Flowers
• The Sisterhood of Crafters: Flowers
• Unicorn: Flowers

Old Buzzard 70th Birthday Card

Hello! It's been busy at my house and crafting has taken a backseat to other priorities. However, my dad turns 70 in a few days and I needed to make his birthday card. The Old Buzzard stamp set from Whimsy Stamps was perfect for this occasion. Copic markers were used to color the images and then they were die cut with the coordinating dies. The Connected Tile die from Whimsy Stamps was used to give the buzzards a place to perch. The background paper is from the It's a Party paper pad by Pink & Main (it's been in my stash for awhile). To finish off the card the number 70 was stamped using an Echo Park classic numbers stamp set. Then it was punched with a 1" circle and layered with a green scalloped circle. That pretty much sums it up. I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you have a lovely day!

Challenges entered:

• AAA Birthday: Let's Party
• Addicted to Stamps: Any Occasion
• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes/Twist: Hand Coloured Image
• Craft Rocket: Birthday
• Critter Crazy: Anything Goes with a Featured Critter
• Passion for Markers: For the Men/Boys

Hedgie Birthday Card

Hooray for Friday! 😊 Although my hubby had his hair cut on Tuesday and Thursday he got a text from the lady who cut his hair, she tested positive for Covid. They were both wearing masks, but he is now on quarantine at home. We are praying he doesn't get it!

I made another birthday card to play along with the 11th Birthday Bash at Catch The Bug. This Hedgie Birthday Card is for day 4 which is a bingo challenge. I used the middle row across: die cut, Bugaboo image, 3 layers. The papers might look familiar... I used the boy colors on the card posted on Monday. I arranged the papers the same but changed the image shape and sentiment placement. I think it turned out pretty cute! This card is also entered into the Anything Goes challenge at Aud Sentiments. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day.

Mouse Birthday Card

Good day crafty friends! I'm going to let you in on a little secret... I think mice are adorable. There are no shrieks or screams when I see one and as long as they stay outside we live in peaceful harmony. 😊

This Mouse Birthday Card was made to play along at the Day One Catch The Bug 11th Birthday Bash. The theme this year is Woodland Friends, so I used the Mouse Big Balloon digi by Bugaboo. Copic markers were used to color the image and then I used a stitched rectangle die to cut it out. All patterened papers are from the Happy Birthday paper pad by Echo Park (2017). Three red stars were added for detail and the birthday sentiment stamp is from the retired Bonanza Buddies stamp set by Stampin' Up!. That's it and thanks for stopping by.

Sunflower Happy Birthday Card

Happy Friday! We have finally received a brief break from the summer heat and that makes me happy. The start to Fall is only a few days away, so I'm hoping for cooler days to come.

This time of year in Oklahoma you can see Sunflowers along the side of the road. I think they are a happy flowers! When Newton's Nook released this Sunflower Days stamp set I knew it was a must have. Copic markers were used to color the image and the coordinating die to cut it out. Last week the lever on my Fiskar's grass punch broke, so I replaced it with the Land Borders Die Set by Newton's Nook. The blue paper strip was made with mixed media paper along with Distress Oxide inks in Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean. Some water was sprayed onto the panel and lifted with a paper towel, then it was then sprayed with white Dylusions ink. The birthday sentiment is from the Newton Loves Cake stamp set by Newton's Nook. That's it! Wishing you a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered:

• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes + Sentiment
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday: Dies and Punches!
• Dragonfly Dreams: Happy Birthday
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Rainbow Colored Birthday Card

Good day crafty friends! This morning I was up much earlier than usual, so I seized the extra time to make this Rainbow Colored Birthday Card. The colors were inspired by the Inky Paws challenge and you can never have too many birthday cards. Copic markers were used to color the Newton's Birthday Trio image and then it was die cut with the coordinating die both by Newton's Nook. Sitting on my craft desk was the little yellow bird/chick leftover from making Easter Cards, so I added it next to the birthday word bubble. The candle and striped paper are by Doodlebug Designs from the So Much Pun paper pad and the orange polka dot paper is by Bo Bunny. Three green sequins finish it off and that's it. Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges entered:

• Addicted to Stamps and More: Birthday
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Inky Paws: Rainbow Theme
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Birthday Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: Occasions

Cupcake Birthday Card

Hello! I have a quick post to share my latest card. My birthday stash is still really low, so I seized an opportunity to make this Cupcake Birthday Card using the Inky Paws challenge colors to use: white, gray, black and pink. Color challenges help push me out of my comfort zone. Pink is one of those colors I don't gravitate to and I don't use it that often. Both of my nieces like pink so I decided to think of them when making this card. When celebrating birthdays I think cupcakes are fun, so I used the cupcake image from the Newton Loves Cake stamp set. The image was colored with Copic markers and then fussy cut. Some diamond Stickles was added to the cupcake icing for some sparkle. The gray patterned paper is from Stampin' Up! and the pink was a piece of scrap that was still fairly large. To add some detail I stamped the heart banner by Crate Paper with Berry Burst ink by Stampin' Up!. The happy birthday sentiment from the Newton Loves Cake stamp set was stamped with Memento black ink and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Dragonfly Dreams: Include a Heart
• Inky Paws: Color
• Pile It On: Pink and/or Blue
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin': Love Your Pet

Fairy Birthday Card - TMS #489

Good day and happy Tuesday! Today at Tuesday Morning Sketches we have LJ's favorite sketch from 2018 and she picked sketch #480 from last November. You can see the original post HERE. This sketch really is perfectly made to use scraps. When using paper from a 6x6 paper pad I always have strips leftover from cutting background paper. It didn't take me long to find three pieces that coordinated from the same paper pad. All the design team inspiration and challenge details can be found HERE. You have until Sunday at 8 pm EST to link your creation. I hope to see your card in the gallery!

The last time I used this sketch I made a card for Thanksgiving. This time I wanted something with hints of Spring. After deciding on the Brentwood Owl Fairy image by Jessica Lynn Original I searched for the right papers in my stash. The three strips used came from the Dear Lizzy Stay Colorful paper pad by American Crafts (2017). The papers were adhered to a piece of Soft Sky cardstock by Stampin' Up!. Copic markers were used to color the image and the image was fussy-cut and adhered flat to a die cut circle. The birthday sentiment comes with the stamp set and I cut the stamp between the words so it would fit inside the circle. A gold metallic twine bow finishes off the card and that's it.

Challenges entered:

• Alphabet Challenge: W is for Wings
• Love To Craft: Anything Goes
• The Crafter's Cafe: Fairy Tale/Begins with F

Sketch:

Happy Birthday Card - TMS #478

Hello and happy Tuesday! A few weeks ago I was invited to join the Tuesday Morning Sketches design team and today is my first share as part of the team. Sketch challenges have been a favorite of mine since I started making cards. It was Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge #184 when I started playing along back in February 2013. When I looked back through I noticed several sketches that I've used more than once. A good sketch saves time and makes my creative process much quicker. I sure hope you will join us this week and link your creation using sketch #478. For all the challenge details and design team inspiration click HERE.

To start this Happy Birthday Card I was determined to use the circle mini garland by Doodlebug Designs for the pennant detail. The hardest part was deciding what color to use for the background paper. After playing around for awhile, the gray stripes by Stampin' Up! became my choice. The Birthday Puppies image is by Bugaboo Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. Using Memento black ink the Happy Birthday sentiment by Lawn Fawn was stamped and matted with Crushed Curry cardstock to match the twine. That's it! So glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Always Happy Birthday: Birthday Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals: Anything with Animals
• Dragonfly Dreams: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

Sketch:

Fab Flowers Birthday Card

Hello and happy Wednesday! Today would have been my sister's 42nd birthday and although she has passed on I made this card in honor of her birthday. I had just started making cards before she passed away in 2011. The only handmade card I gave her was for Valentine's Day the month before she passed. Making cards became a form of therapy after she passed away and it continues to help me cope with everyday stresses.

For this Fab Flowers Birthday Card I selected colors I thought my sister would like for the flowers and used the Fab Flowers stamp set by Lawn Fawn. The Happy Birthday die cut is by Stampin' Up! and Blueberry Bushel cardstock was used. It took awhile to get the die cuts positioned and everything was adhered flat. The background paper is a subtle gray woodgrain and frayed burlap distress ink was sponged along the edges. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Always Happy Birthday: Anything Birthday Goes
• City Crafter: Into the Woods
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Any Card
• Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes
• The Cutie Pie: Going Girly
• Watercooler Wednesday: All About Occasions

Happy 70th Birthday Card

Happy Friday! Today is the start of a new challenge at Simply Create Too and we would love to see Die Cuts on your creations. The design team created a wonderful variety of inspiration and you can see them HERE. We would love for you to play along! You have until April 27, 2018 to link your creation.

This Happy 70th Birthday Card was made for a family friend who is turning 70 this month. The Number of Years stamp set and Large Number Framelits by Stampin' Up! were used to create this card. Colors include: Perfect Plum, Mint Macaroon, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo and Soft Sky. A die cut stitched circle by My Favorite Things was used behind the 70 numbers. To finish it off a little blue butterfly was added with rhinestones for detail. That's it!

Challenges entered:

• 4 Crafty Chicks: Flowers
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes
• Craftaholics R Us: Birthday Cards
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes/Birds
• Simon Says Stamp: Happy Birthday!
• Watercooler Wednesday: Feminine Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Happy Birthday Card

This year is flying by super fast, I can't believe it's already April! Although the weather can't decide if it wants to be warm or cold. It was really nice for a couple of days and now if feels like January again. That's okay, I use these cold days as an excuse to play indoors in my craft room.

Since I spent the majority of March making Easter cards I was happy to see a couple of birthday challenges this morning. The colors for this Happy Birthday Card were inspired by the photo inspiration at the Inky Paws Challenge. It was also clear I needed to use the Newton Loves Cake stamp set by Newton's Nook. The image was colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut (don't look too close, I don't excel at fussy-cutting). Mixed media paper and distress oxide inks were used to make the yellow background. Oxide colors include: Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber. When I sprayed the paper with water and heat set with the heat gun it really didn't "spot" like I was hoping. So, I tried splattering white acrylic paint and you really can't see it. Then I decided to spray gold glimmer mist but the bottle was clogged, so I used a paint brush and painted the gold glimmer liquid around the edges of the yellow background. It did add a really nice shimmer that doesn't photograph well, but it looks really pretty in person. The plaid scalloped border was made using a Taylored Expressions cutting plate and patterned paper from the Hello Easter paper pad by Echo Park. To add a little more color three glimmer dots by Jolee's were added and that's it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Inky Paws: Birthday 
• Always Fun: Happy Birthday
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Cupcake Birthday Card

Well... I never went outside today! It's still really cold and I decided just to stay home, do laundry and make a card. The hubby is picking up a pizza on his way home and the plan is to take it easy this evening. I hope you can do the same!

When I was searching for the image to use I decided to look through my already printed images and I found this cupcake. I'm playing along with Day 4 of the Bugaboo Birthday Bash and it's a Bingo challenge, my selections are middle row down using Cake/Cupcakes, Bugaboo Image and Bold Colors. Looking back to see when I used this image last it was January 2014 for Bugaboo's 4th Birthday Bingo Challenge. How funny is that? Click here to see that post. I decided to make my cupcake similar to the first one with a paper pieced liner and puffy paint for icing. All patterned paper are by The Paper Studio and the sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts. Three sequins for sparkle and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Cupcake Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Catch the Bug: Bingo
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Goes
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes

Blue and Red Birthday Card

Hello! Today was my first day off since last Thursday and I definitely needed the break. It's been awhile since I've stood for long periods of time working in retail. Hopefully I'll get used to it again soon. It has been nice getting out of the house and visiting with other humans for a change.

My goal today was to make a card for my Mother's birthday and this Blue and Red Birthday Card is what I made for her. Blue is her favorite color and this red flower has been sitting on my craft desk just waiting to be used. The patterned papers are from the Americana paper pad by Pebbles (2013). I love how the little flowers have red centers, it really helped to tie everything together. To finish the card I added some twine and a butterfly charm. The finished size is 4.50" x 6.25". Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

This Blue and Red Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Watercolor Wednesday: Anything Goes
• Pattie's Creations: Birthdays
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Goes
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes
• Retarte: Anything Goes

Floral Happy Birthday Card

Hello and happy Monday! It was a busy weekend at my house but I did manage to make this Floral Happy Birthday Card. My birthday stash is really low and my family has several birthdays in the coming months, so it was a good time to make a birthday card.

This card was inspired by the following challenges:

• The Paper Players: Autumn Floral
• SU! Only: Shape Up!
• Gem of a Challenes: Birthday

All supplies are by Stampin' Up! and include:

• Paper: Crumb Cake, Fresh Fig, Sweet Sugarplum, Crushed Curry, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso and Whisper White cardstock along with Wood Textures designer series paper stack.
• Stamps: Oh So Eclectic (florals) and retired Tin of Cards (sentiment).
• Inks: Crumb Cake, Fresh Fig, Crushed Curry and Old Olive.
• Other Stuff: Eclectic Layers Thinlit dies, dimensionals and retired old olive sequins.

That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Yellow Butterfly Birthday Card

One of my favorite parts about summer is seeing the butterflies flutter around the yard. We typically have several little yellow/orange butterflies called Orange Sulfur in late summer. I've seen monarchs, black swallowtails and red admirals but the Orange Sulfur are one of the easiest to spot.

The butterfly was my inspiration for this Yellow Butterfly Birthday Card. It gave me another opportunity to use two of my favorite stamp sets: Watercolor Wings and Butterfly Basics both by Stampin' Up!. The dsp is retired but it's still one of my favorites,  Affectionately Yours by Stampin' Up!. Colors used on the butterfly include: Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry and Crumb Cake. Then I heat embossed the Crumb Cake area with retired Iridescent Ice embossing powder. Other colors match the dsp and include: Watermelon Wonder, Night of Navy, Cucumber Crush and Crumb Cake. That's it! Thanks for stopping by my blog and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• SU! Only: Happy Birthday
• Little Red Wagon: Favourite Products
• Watercooler Wednesday: Feminine Anything Goes
• Mod Squad: Wings as Focal Point

Best Birds Giveaway

It might be a couple of days late but Happy December! This time of year I know our schedules get crazy but I hope you still find time to craft and unwind. In the spirit of the giving season and to show my appreciation for my loyal followers I'm having a giveaway for a new Best Birds stamp set by Stampin' Up!. This stamp set is one of my favorites and I want to share this favorite with one lucky winner. To win you need to be a follower of my blog and link your blog to this post with the linky tool at the bottom of this post, that's it. The winner will be announced on Saturday, December 17th, 2016.

The month of December includes many birthdays and my hubby's mother is one of them. I made this birthday card for her using the Best Birds Stamp Set, the sketch from Just Add Ink and colors from Color Throwdown. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Sweet Hedgehog Birthday Card

Today we welcome the month of June and the launch of the new Stampin' Up! catatlog!!! Have you found your new favorite product yet? There are lots of wonderful new items to choose from! Click here to check out the new catalog.

To make this Sweet Hedgehog Birthday Card I've used the new Affectionately Yours dsp and the sweet hedgehogs from the hostess stamp set called Love You Lots and they were colored using Copic markers. The layout is from Paper Play Sketches and I combined it with the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge at The Paper Players. I used the top row across for Yellow, Twine and Birthday. The yellow panel was embossed using the decorative dots embossing folder. For a little more detail I added a butterfly charm and three yellow sequins. The green really overpowers the yellow but hopefully there is enough yellow on this card for the challenge. I'm also entering this card in the Ooh La La Creations challenge for Critters with 4 Legs.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Circles with Bling Birthday Card

This morning when I saw the new Tuesday Morning Sketch created by Jessi Fogan, I knew I had to play along. My favorite basic shape is circles, so I took the sketch as it was created and used circles. For the background I decided to use some aqua Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist that I bought several years ago and have hardly used. It was sprayed onto a piece of Soft Sky cardstock  and dried with a heat gun. Then I stamped the circles from the So Many Smiles stamp set by Close to my Heart with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed with Basic Black and Melon Mambo embossing powders. The Happy Birthday sentiment is by Hero Arts and was also heat embossed with Melon Mambo. This card will be given to my teenage niece, so I had to add some bling. All bling is from Recollections. That's pretty much it!

This Circles with Bling Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch
• Where The HeART is: Sparkle/Bling Anything Goes
• Eureka Stamps: Add Some Bling
• Shopping Our Stash: Think Ink (no coloring)

Thanks for stopping by and come back again soon!