January Stamp Camp: Birthday Cards

Anytime I create with bright colors, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, but I love to do it because it adds variety to my card stash.  Plus, the bright colors can be the happiest colors!  What I love about this card are all of the "stand-out" elements.  Those tiny butterflies couldn't be more adorable!  They are the best thing to come out of my Big Shot (die-cutting machine) since embossed backgrounds, like the one it made for this card  And it was fun to crank up the crimping tool for the Pink Pirouette strip as an alternative to ribbon.  Lastly, my Stampin' Write markers came in handy for the coloring in of the "i" in Birthday, and for coloring the word "HAPPY" using the omitting technique (the words "Happy Birthday" are all part of the same stamp).  I made sure to make several extra copies of this card (as well as the following ones) for my own personal birthday card stash for 2012!

This new dinosaur set really caught my eye; I am really excited to have it and use it, a lot.  I'll definitely be pulling it out again for my "Cards for Men and Boys" camp in May, if not sooner...but I couldn't pass it up for the Birthday Cards camp.  I loved the connection between the diamonds in this Big Shot embossed background and the pattern on the dinosaur's back : ), which we enhanced with the rubber brayer and a little Crumb Cake ink.  One of the most fun features of this card though was getting to use the Stampin' Pastels (the chalks) to add the dinosaur's color.  Very soft and subtle against the bold and fun patterns, don't you think?

I love this fold pattern!

You gotta love the cute sayings that come with this stamp set.  The other word stamp included says "I dig you."  Love it.

We didn't make this card at this month's camp; it was made at one of my camps in Oregon.  I just wanted to show it to you here because it is what I used as a model for the folds and the layout of my dinosaur card above.  It's fun to showcase two very different looks for the same layout. 

The greens used in this card (Wild Wasabi ink and card stock) are almost identical in real life, but my camera didn't pick them up equally (not sure why)...so just pretend that they look the same here too, k?  : )  This card's focal point was brightened up with the emboss-resist technique;  we used sponges to add the color on top of the clear embossing.  The Big Shot supplied the Polka-dot background, a Stampin' Write marker helped again to make the little flowers under the focal point, and the Scallop Edge Punch and the sparkly rhinestone added the finishing touches.  I like the "classy" feel of this design.  

Is your card stash full enough to get you through the year?  Don't forget that through the end of March we're having our Sale-a-bration special, which is the best time of the year to stock up on any supplies you might need!  And...if you have supplies but you just need a little motivation to get creating again, please drop me an email and we will put our heads together to see how I can help you get some cards made...even if it means me designing some cards and sending you the pre-cut card stock!  I would love to help you be prepared for your special occasions this year, so please stay in touch!  Inky hugs to all of my favorite stamping friends!!   -Jenna