Birthday Mojo

I'm a huge fan of this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #194, and that was my launching point for this card. Engraved Greetings is also on the retiring list, which means we bid farewell to this great stamp set in a few short week.  Since I've recently been caught unprepared for a couple birthdays, I decided to put this stamp through its paces and stock up on some birthday cards.

I started by making the medallion, and then had to flip the sketch because the medallion took up too much space horizontally.  I inked my stamp in Pacific Point and stamped on Whisper White, then used my 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch to cut out the sentiment.  I punched a second scallop from Pacific Point and adhered the two to create the offset look, and then got out my Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Cutting Mat to quickly create a 2-1/2" circle of Rich Razzleberry.  A little ribbon and my medallion was all set.

Next up were the stripes on the card base, which are 3/4" strips of Pacific Point evenly spaced (hint: lay out 7 strips, and then adhere only those you need.  Remover the others for perfect spacing!)  Instead of the card sketch's big scallops, I used the scalloped edge punch on both sides of a strip of Rich Razzleberry, and then layered a piece of Pacific Point punched with the Dotted Ribbon punch.  My finishing touch was a row of Basic Rhinestones, because what birthday card doesn't need a little bling?

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Engraved Greetings
Ink: Pacific Point
Paper: Whisper White, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry
Extras: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Scallop Edge punch,  Dotted Ribbon punch, Basic Rhinestones, Circle Scissors Plus, Glass Cutting Mat, Whisper White 5/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Graphic Birthday

Obviously I'm still having great fun with Engraved Greetings--what a great freebie stamp!  This time, I used my markers to create contrast colors on the stamp image, going with Poppy Parade and Basic Gray.    I used the striped paper from the Designer Series Pack (Hostess Level 1), and turned a piece to create the zig zag through the middle--such a simple way to create a new pattern.

To build my birthday card stock, I also made this card in peacock colors, Garden Green and Concord Crush...just perfect for Kiran, if I still have this card on hand when her birthday rolls around.  The colors aren't true in this photo, but the card definitely pops in person.  To make a double zig zag, I merely cut my contrasting piece of paper in half.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Card 1
Stamps: Engraved Greetings
Ink: Poppy Parade, Basic Gray
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Designer Series Patterns Pack (Poppy Parade)

Card 2
Stamps: Engraved Greetings
Ink: Garden Green, Concord Crush
Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, Designer Series Patterns Pack (Concord Crush)

Birthday Revealed

I've been having a great time with the FREE stamp set Engraved Greetings, and today's card is another much needed birthday card for my stash.  It seems that, no matter how many cards I make, I never have birthday cards when I need them!  This is actually a very simple card to make, and I like the burst through look of the sentiment...makes me think of Superman.  Haha!

The colors here are Basic Gray and Poppy Parade, with Whisper White for the background of the sentiment.  I used the Designer Series In Color paper pack, a hostess freebie, for a sharp graphic look that would coordinate with the sentiment's color and style.  I cut the paper into for rectangles of 2" by 2-5/8"and placed them at even intervals on the 4-1/4" by 5-1/2" base.  For the burst of birthday cheer, I merely folded back the middle corners and adhered them with snail.  Easy and fun!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Engraved Greetings
Ink: Poppy Parade
Paper: Basic Gray, Designer Series In Color Pack (Poppy Parade)

Sale-A-Brate Birthdays!

It's the last day of February, and that means that there is only one month left for Sale-A-Bration.  What are you waiting for?  With every $50 you spend, you can get fantastic stamps and accessories FOR FREE!

For today's card, I used the first set I wanted for sale-a-bration, Engraved Greetings.  I loved this set when I first saw it in the Idea Book and Catalog last summer, but thought "I have enough birthday sentiments."  Free always trumps enough!  For this card, I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment in Rich Razzleberry onto Very Vanilla, then used the Ticket Corner punch before mounting that onto a piece of Rich Razzleberry.  I wanted to have perfect corners for a little birthday bling, thanks to Basic Rhinestones.

The base of the card is Melon Mambo.  To have a full trio of rich, bright colors, I used my Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Mat to cut a 3" circle of Pacific Point, then embossed that using the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  I thought my card needed just a little something more, so my final touch is a strip of Basic Grey that I punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.  I'm ready to sale-a-brate some birthdays now.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Engraved Greetings
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Basic Gray
Extras: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Ticket Corner punch, Basic Rhinestones