Showing posts with label Birthday Card. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday Card. Show all posts

Thursday, August 27, 2026

WATERSIDE RETREAT

Today's card was created using one of my favorite techniques -- water coloring.

I created this beach scene with watercolor paper, Water Painters and ink.  If you can "scribble", you can watercolor this scene, also.

Watch the video to see how I did it.  Yours will look different than mine, but it will still be beautiful.   I've never had two "paintings" look exactly the same.  That's part of the fun.  You'll see in the video that my 2nd card has its own vibe.

For today's card I used the two-piece chair.  I've gotten in the habit of using the Adirondack Chair from the Relaxing Waterside bundle so for today's card I wanted to get out of my rut and try this other chair.  I like it, but I think it looks a little more formal than the Adirondack.

In the video I used the Adirondack.  Which do you prefer?

My Seagulls were stamped with Smokey Slate ink.  You may need to stamp a couple of "test" birds -- I did.  My ink pad was pretty juicy, so the birds were darker than I wanted.  I tried stamping-off, but then they were too light.  So I ended up using a plastic spoon to push some ink on my ink pad away from one area so I could ink my stamp in that area.  Watch the video to see how I did that.  It's a good trick to use when you have a very juicy ink pad, or when you want a lighter image, but stamping-off makes it too light.

As I mention in the video leaving white space when you are "painting" a scene is also a tip.  It helps to provide depth to your "painting".  Remember, you can always add more ink, but it is not as easy to lighten the color and even more difficult to get back to white space.  Watch the video for more tips.

Don't forget to add a light color wash with Gray Granite below the seagull to "ground" it.  Unless your bird is flying, you don't want it to look like it is floating in space.

The inside sentiment is from the Banner Sayings Stamp Set.  

Use this link to download a FREE TUTORIAL with all the dimensional information and step-by-step directions.  But be sure to watch the video if you want to learn how I did the water coloring.

A list of the products used is shown below.

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Location: Commerce Township, MI, USA

Thursday, August 13, 2026

BALLOONS AND BIRTHDAYS

I learned this Quadruple Z Fun Fold at the Summer Creativate Retreat.  I've made Z-Folds for years and recently learned how to make a Triple Z-Fold, but I had never seen a Quadruple Z, so this card was fun because I learned something new!  Thank you to Connie Stewart for sharing the idea!


This Splash of Sparkles Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) is one of my favorites.  It just showed up last week on the August Last Chance List.  Things often go quickly on the Last Chance List, and once they are gone, they are gone forever.  So I thought I'd share this fun DSP one last time.  I can't guarantee it is still available, but this fun fold can be made with any of your favorite DSP designs.   


Here is a better photo to show off the Quadruple Z- Fun Fold.  Looks a little difficult right?  That's what I thought when I first say it.   But it's actually quite easy!

Watch this video to see just how easy it is!  




For today's card I used the Balloon Festoon Bundle which is perfect for Birthday cards.  I go through a lot of birthday cards in August, so I need to replenish my stash.

In the video I made a Christmas Card using the same Fun Fold, so this design can be made for any occasion.


My version of the card has very little stamping as all the balloons were die cut from the DSP using the Balloon Festoon Dies.


Since there is no "inside" to the card, the back of the card is used for your message.


Even the balloon "strings" are die cut!  

Both sentiments are from the Balloon Festoon stamp set.
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Location: Commerce Township, MI, USA

Thursday, June 25, 2026

A STADIUM WAVE OF BALLOONS

Have you ever participated in "the WAVE"?  It's fun right?  Well, this Fun Fold mimics that Stadium Wave.  I stumbled across it as I was perusing the internet.  I found several videos from 2 - 3 years ago, and each had a little different take on this fun fold.  The main difference was the number of "waves" and how those waves were constructed.

I found a video by Dawn Griffeth from Dawnsstampingthoughts that was very well done and didn't scare me off.  So, I decided to try it.  

Dawn also scored her card base a little differently which I thought nicely accommodated the "bulky" wave on the inside of the card.

The inside of the card is where the fun begins.  Remove the belly band; lift the front of the card to open it, and the stadium wave rises to greet you.

I made a video showing how I made this card.  I used the designer series paper called Beautiful Ordinary Life.  Combined with the Balloon Festoon balloons it makes a beautiful, happy card.

Check out the video.


Obviously, you can use different DSP, stamps and dies to completely change the "feel" of the card, but no matter what you use, the recipient will be impressed.  

Think about using butterflies, flowers, letters to spell a word, a sports theme or any type of theme you want.

The belly band is a great way to hold the card closed and decorate the simple DSP card front.  But again, this doesn't have to be DSP.  Think of using an embossed layer to add texture.

I used the above Beautiful Ordinary Life DSP design on my card front.  I love it, and it makes a beautiful "sky" for my balloons to float in.

The stretched hexagonal shape on the belly band that provides a backing for the balloon bouquet was made with the Nested Essentials Dies.  The balloons were simply die cut from other patterns from the DSP.

If you want additional space to write a note, you could add Basic White cardstock to the back of the Basic Black card base.  I didn't do that on this card, but I can always add it later if I want.

Use this link to download the PDF Tutorial.  I know you will be focused on making the "waves" but also be sure to note the different scoring for the card base and the resulting cut sizes for the DSP layers on the front and inside.  

It isn't 100% required to score the card base this way, but it does help the card to lay nicer when it is closed.

A list of the products used is shown below.  Click on any image to learn more about that product.

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