Fall Butterfly Birthday Card

Good day crafty friends! There are still a few butterflies fluttering around my flowers, but a hard freeze is expected in the next few days. The freeze will definitely put and end to the remaining annuals that have been trying to hang on. So, I was inspired to use a butterfly on this Fall Butterfly Birthday Card. The floral patterned paper is by Bo Bunny (Stay Awhile Collection) and the Granny Apple Green polka dots is by Stampin' Up!. Using Memento black ink the butterfly from the Beautiful Day stamp set by Stampin' Up! was stamped and then colored with a mix of Stampin' Blends and Copic markers. The butterfly was fussy-cut and adhered flat to the card. To finish the card the Happy Birthday Wishes sentiment from the retired Avant-Garden stamp set by Stampin' Up! was matted to a Granny Apple Green scalloped oval and adhered flat for easy shipping. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Addicted to Stamps: Make Your Mark
• Crafts Galore Encore: Anything Goes
• Creative Moments: Anything Goes
• Love To Craft: Anything Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: Feminine Anything Goes

Birthday Card with Flowers

Good day crafty friends! Today I want to share this Birthday Card with Flowers I made following the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. To make this card I decided to use already stamped flowers from the stash I started back in 2011 of extras. Sometimes I'll just stamp a bunch of additional flowers to use later but then I forget to use them. So, after sorting through the flowers I found three that were stamped with the same ink color and selected them to use on this card. The Pear Pizzazz and Soft Suede leaves were stamped using the Fab Flowers stamp set by Lawn Fawn and die cut with the coordinating dies. Following the sketch I took the literal approach and used polka dots and stripes as shown using paper by Stampin' Up!. The damask background paper is from the Double Dot Damask paper pad by Bo Bunny. The Happy Birthday sentiment is by Print Works Collection and some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Chocolate Fondue was added to the center of the flowers. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Addicted to Stamps: Anything Goes
• Die Cuttin Divas: Anything Goes
• Simon Says: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch #477
• Watercooler Wednesday: Anything Goes

Sketch:

Stash of stamped flowers

Pastel Birthday Wishes Card

Hello and happy Labor Day! Before my craft room turns completely Fall I decided to make this Pastel Birthday Wishes Card using the Bo Bunny Early Bird patterned paper collection. I found a great deal on the 6 x 6 pads last week and I bought a couple extras to giveaway! So, if you're a follower of my blog and you comment on this post, two lucky winners will receive the Bo Bunny paper pad from me. Winners to be announced in a couple of weeks.

The image on this card is by Bugaboo Stamps and it's called Flower Teapot. It was already printed and die cut, just waiting on my craft desk to be used. I thought the teapot goes well with the patterned papers, so I colored it with Copic markers and made it the focal image. A little Blushing Bride stamped butterfly was added along with the birthday sentiment both retired by Stampin' Up!. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the Labor Day holiday!

This Pastel Birthday Wishes Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Cute N Crafty: Anything Goes
• Dragonfly Dreams: Anything Goes
• Hiding in My Craft Room: Pastels
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Summer Birthday Party

Bo Bunny paper pad giveaway!

Birthday Card with Elephant

Good day! Did you know last Sunday, August 12th was World Elephant Day? I had no idea until late that night when I saw a post from the Tulsa Zoo. It was too late to make a card for the occasion but I did print out this image and laid it on my craft desk. The image is called Peaches Balloons by Bugaboo Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. Marker colors were selected to coordinate with the retired Cherry On Top patterned paper by Stampin' Up!. I really love the bright colors in this paper! Warm Grays were used to color the elephant and neutral grays for the little mouse. A cross stitched oval die by My Favorite Things was used to die cut the image. To cut the mat a pair of deckle Fiskars scissors were used. The Happy Birthday sentiment was a freebie from Lawn Fawn that I received when I placed my birthday order. A punched circle was matted to a scalloped punched circle and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Always Fun: Going Around in Circles 
• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments Designs: Animals
• Cute N Crafty: Animals

Falling Flowers Birthday Card

Happy Thursday! Lately a lot of my cards have featured critters on them, so I decided to make a floral card. This Falling Flowers Birthday Card features one of my favorite stamp sets by Stampin' Up! called Falling Flowers along with the May Flowers Framelit Dies. The images were stamped with Memento black ink and then colored with a mix of Stampin' Blend and Copic markers. The birthday sentiment is from the retired Watercolor Wishes stamp set and it was heat embossed with white embossing powder. For the background panel I did a subtle version of the Faux Patina technique using an embossing folder along with Crumb Cake cardstock, Crumb Cake ink, Whisper White Craft ink and clear embossing powder. If the Faux Patina technique is new to you here is a link to a great video tutorial. If you want to see all the cards I've made using the technique click HERE. The layout for this card comes from a couple others I found on Pinterest. Sometimes the hardest part of making a die cut floral card is arranging the flowers and I really like how the others were done. One of the cards was by Sue Miller and the other by Tina's Creative Studio. It's amazing to see how color changes the look of the card. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Dragonfly Journeys: Flower Power
• Inspire.Create: Floral
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations: Favourite Stamp
• Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: All About Occasions

Birthday Pug Card

Hello! My birthday card stash is really low, so I made this Birthday Pug Card. Although I was thinking masculine when I made it, I really think it works for male or female.

The cute little pug image is from the Pug Hugs stamp set by Newton's Nook, it was colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating dies. To make the background distress inks in: Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Salty Ocean were used along with the Bubbly stencil by Newton's Nook. A little black and white paper along the edge and the panel was matted to Tempting Turquoise cardstock by Stampin' Up!. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Cards in Envy: Feeling Blue and "Distressed"
• Cute Card Thursday: Circles
• Inky Paws: Cute Animals
• The Cutie Pie: Spots & Dots

Happy 21st Birthday Card

Hello and happy Friday! This weekend we are having a birthday party for my oldest niece who recently turned 21. I remember the anticipation of turning 21 and then when the day arrived it wasn't a big deal. When I went to the store to make my first purchase the clerk didn't even ask for my ID. I was a little shocked and disappointed at the same time. That was so long ago and hopefully things are different now.

This Happy 21st Birthday Card features my niece's favorite colors: Hot Pink (Melon Mambo and Turquoise (Bermuda Bay). The plaid paper is by Lawn Fawn and unfortunately all the stamps are retired by Stampin' Up!. I was really sad the see the Number of Years stamp set and Large Number framelits retire. They make wonderful milestone cards. The layout is copied from an anniversary card I made last year. When I made the card last year (click here) it took forever to get the placement of the flowers right. It was much easier to duplicate the design! Even though the cards have the same layout the colors and background paper make a big difference. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Challenges entered:

• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes + Sentiment
• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes/Beautiful Blooms
• Crafting With Friends: Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts: For the Girls
• Seize the Birthday: Birthday Anything Goes

Dinosaur Birthday Card

Happy Friday! Last week I printed out the sketch for the Stella Says Sketch challenge at Catch The Bug and I finally made this Dinosaur Birthday Card to play along. The hardest part was deciding on the patterned papers. In the end I decided on the Lawn Fawn plaid with blue and orange watercolor papers from ms. sparkle & co., luckily the colors matched well. The image is called Dino Birthday by Bugaboo Digi Stamps and it was hand colored with Copic markers. To finish the card three yellow candy dots and the Happy Birthday sentiment were added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.

This Dinosaur Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Catch The Bug: Stella Says Sketch #610
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday: Birthday w/ Patterned Paper
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Hey Birthday Chick Card

Happy Friday! Today kicks off the start to my birthday weekend. So I made this Hey Birthday Chick Card to celebrate. The layout design for this card was inspired by a card I found while searching online for a fun layout and you can see it HERE. I was immediately drawn to the purple and green colors she used, which are my favorites, but I wanted mine to look different. It's been awhile since I got a little fussy with a card, so this one has several layers, stitching and a single flower embellishment. I contemplated several color combinations but decided the pinks and greens looked pretty with the yellow chick from the Hey Birthday Chick stamp set by Unity Stamps. The image was colored with Copic makers and most of the patterned papers are from the Spring Fling paper pad by Pebbles (2015). Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies: Anything Goes w/ a Critter
• Always Happy Birthday: Anything Goes w/ Flower Option
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Birthday Goes w/ Number Option
• Sweet Stampers: Birthday
• That's Crafty: Stitching

Here is my red velvet birthday cake from the hubby, he can be sweet sometimes.

Birthday Card with a Unicorn

Hello! My youngest niece is turning fourteen this month. I wanted to make her a fun bright card, so I decided to use a unicorn image by Bugaboo with rainbow paper by Lawn Fawn. There is a challenge at Catch The Bug to use Unicorns and Rainbows and I was inspired by the design team to make my own Birthday Card with a Unicorn. The image was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a pierced oval die by Avery Elle. To cut the green matting I traced the oval onto a piece of Lime Crush cardstock by Bazzill and cut it out with deckle scissors by Fiskars. The birthday sentiment is by Hero Arts and three sequins for the finishing touch. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Birthday Card with a Unicorn is entered into the following challenges:

• Catch The Bug: Unicorns and Rainbows
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes
• Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper: April
• Digistamps 4 Joy: Anything Goes/Bright Colours
• Fab 'n' Funky: Fantasy and Fairytales

Six Year Blogiversary

Hello and welcome to my Six Year Blogiversary celebration! It was today six years ago that I started this handmade card blog and I'm still having fun. I didn't make a new card today but I wanted to share a few of my past favorites. To celebrate please leave a comment and share a link with one of your personal favorite cards you've made. At the end of the month I will give away a prize to a randomly selected commenter who shared a link to their card. I want to say thank you for my crafty friends who leave comments and follow my blog on a regular basis. It's nice to share the love of card making with others all over the world. I'm still amazed every day by the talent and creations of other crafters/artists. I hope you enjoy a little walk down memory lane with the following photos of my past cards.

Card from February 2018, click here.

Card from August 2017, click here.

Card from September 2016, click here.

Card from June 2015, click here.

Card from July 2014, click here:

Card from April 2013, click here.

Card from August 2012, click here.

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

Cute Manly Birthday Card

Well... it seems my seasonal part-time job may have turned into a permanent part-time job. They had someone give notice and that opened up a permanent position. It would give me extra dollars for stamps and crafting supplies which is nice, but I'm still dealing with the bone spur on my hip. So, I'm not sure what I want to do!

I'm still making birthday cards and this Cute Manly Birthday Card was made with my dad in mind. It features a digital image called Charlie Birthday by Bugaboo Stamps. The image was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with a stitched rectangle die. All patterned papers are from the Snippets collection by Studio Calico. The layout came from a sketch from Paper Play Sketches #017. I added the sentiment by Hero Arts and three glitter (dot) stickers by Sticko. That's it, thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Watercooler Wednesday: Masculine Anything Goes
• Catch the Bug: Bingo (die cut/player's choice/dots & stripes)
• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes/Male Birthday
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

Birthday Card with Turtle

Today is day 6 of the Bugaboo Birthday Bash at the Catch the Bug Blog. The challenge is a recipe challenge to use: Kraft, Ribbon & Bold Colors. I chose some fun bright bold colors using patterned papers from the Hello Sunshine paper pad by Doodlebug Designs. The turtle image has been in my stash since 2013 (click here for another turtle birthday card). Copic markers were used to color the image and then it was die cut with a stitched circle die. The ribbon was adhered flush to the card behind the image. I'm not good with bows, so I avoid making them whenever possible. Five larger sequins were added for sparkle and the Happy Birthday sentiment is from the new Perennial Birthday stamp set by Stampin' Up!. That's it, thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Catch the Bug: Recipe
• Cute Card Thursday: Something Fun
• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes
• Crafting with an Attitude: Anything Goes

Cake Time Card

Hello crafty friends! This week Bugaboo Stamps is celebrating their 8th birthday at the Catch the Bug blog and I made this Cake Time Card using the sketch challenge (day2). My birthday stash is really low, so this was the perfect time to play along.

Looking back on my blog I first used this image in February 2013 (click here for card). At that time, it had only been a year since I started making cards. That also seems to be the only time I used this image called Birthday Monkey - Cake. Copic markers were used to color the image and then it was die cut with a stitched circle die. All patterned paper are from the Party Time paper pad by Echo Park. I kept the colors neutral so it could be sent to males or females. The Cake Time sentiment is retired by Stampin' Up! from the Party Pants stamp set. Five small sequins add some sparkle and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Catch the Bug: Sketch
• Naughty or Nice: It's a Celebration!
• Dragonfly Journeys: Hooray for Birthdays!
• 2 Crafty Critters: Anything Goes with a Critter
• Bugaboo Crafty: Anything Goes with Bugaboo Image

Bright Birthday Bird Card

It's been pretty cold the last couple of days, so I was happy to see a challenge for something bright. I like making cheerful cards and I think the image and colors on this Bright Birthday Bird Card will be perfect for my youngest niece. Her birthday is in April, so nice spring colors are perfect. I also want to wish a happy 8th birthday to Bugaboo Digi Stamps! My very first digital image came from Bugaboo and they continue to be one of my favorites. Wishing them many more years of creative success.

This Bright Birthday Bird Card design started with the selection of the bird image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps. Copic markers were used to color the image. The fun striped paper is by Doodlebug Designs and it was matted to a piece of black and white chevron. A black die cut frame was used along with a die cut happy birthday sentiment. To add a little sparkle, three sequins were added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Catch the Bug: Bold & Bright Birthday
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp: Patterned Paper
• Brown Sugar: Birthday
• A Gem of a Challenge: Happy Anything 

Cake and Cat Birthday Card

Hello!!! I couldn't let National Cat Day go by without posting a card with a cat. My stash is very low on birthday cards so I made the Cake and Cat Birthday Card using the sketch from the Inky Paws Challenge. The main image and sentiment are from the Newton Loves Cake stamp set and the word bubble is from the Newton's Day Dream set. Copic markers were used to color the image. I decided to color Newton like a flame point siamese... if we ever adopt another kitty I would love to have a flame point. When I was digging for patterned paper I found the Party Time paper pad by Echo Park and decided it would make a nice gender neutral card. I'm hoping this card would work for a man or woman... what do you think? Cardstock colors are Emerald Envy and Pumpkin Pie both by Stampin' Up! and the final touch were three sequins. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Cake and Cat Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Inky Paws: Sketch
• Just Add Ink: Just Add Cake
• Craft Rocket: Birthday or Pretty Pinks

Cute Puppy Birthday Card

Hello and happy Friday! My nephew will turn two later this year, so I thought I would go ahead and make his birthday card. The image is from the Birthday Puppies set by Bugaboo Digi Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. I used some fun bright papers from the Playlist paper pad by Hampton Arts (2013). A scalloped die cut from by Taylored Expressions frames the image. The sentiment is by Hero Arts and some sequins were added for sparkle. That's it! I'm glad you stopped by my blog and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!!!

This Cute Puppy Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Cute Card Thursday: Bright Colours!
• As You Like It: Fur of Feathers*
• Die Cuttin' Divas: Birthday Celebration
• Crafting Circle: Bugaboo Image 

* When it comes to choosing between fur or feathers that's a hard choice for me. I love them both, but I guess I love the furry animals more than our feathered friends. 

Feminine 40th Birthday Card

Hello and happy Friday! We enjoyed a nice rain storm last night and it brought cooler weather for today and into the weekend. This will make it much more tempting to get outside and get a few chores done. The windows off my back porch really needs washing.... but I am the queen at procraftinating!

One of my cousins is turning forty tomorrow and this is the card I made her. It's fussier than I usually make but I wanted it to be something special for her to keep. All supplies used are by Stampin' Up!, all the stamps are current but the Twitterpated dsp is long retired. Stamp sets include: Flower Shop, Number of Years and Watercolor Wings. Two of the ink colors are retired and include: Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red. Island Indigo was used and is current. Other dsp colors include: Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz. I've been trying to use up some of my retired stash before my ink pads run dry. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Feminine 40th Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• SU! Only: Happy Birthday
• Crafty Gals Corner: Celebrate
• Making Memories Crafing: Anything Goes

Happy Cake Day Card

Mmmm... CAKE!!! Although cats don't need sugar, Newton certainly looks interested in this yummy purple birthday cake. My cats would probably do the same thing if given the chance. This Happy Cake Day Card was created with the following challenges in mind: Newton's Inky Paws (color challenge), Watercooler Wednesday (Judy's All About Birthdays) and Come and Get It (Make Your Own Background).

The background was created using the challenge colors and a burplap stencil by Tim Holtz. Ink colors include: Peekaboo Peach and Melon Mambo by Stampin' Up! and Dusty Concord distress ink by Tim Holtz. It was matted to a piece of black cardstock with zig zag die cut edges. The cake image is from the Newton Loves Cake stamp set by Newton's Nook and it was colored with Copic markers. Warm Gray tones were used to color Newton and Blue Violet colors for the cake. After the image was colored I fussy cut it and adhered it to the cross stitched die cut oval by My Favorite Things. To break up the background a little, I added some black patterned paper and then decided to add an embossed strip of Peekaboo Peach. The Happy Cake Day sentiment was punched with a 1-3/8" circle and matted to a 1-1/2" circle. A few sequins for some sparkle and that's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Inky Paws Challenge Colors:

Kick Ass Birthday Card

My brother's birthday is this weekend, so I made him this Kick Ass Birthday Card. If you knew my brother you would understand it's also very appropriate. Hopefully he will see the humor! The stamp set is from Unity Stamp Company and it's called Jack {ass} and I used this weeks sketch at Mojo Monday for the layout. Finding the right papers with the right colors was the hardest part. I finally settled on papers from the Snippets collection by Studio Calico (2012). The image was colored with Copic markers using warm gray tones. Then I decided to add the party hat from a Newton's Nook stamp set. The final touch was the addition of four pastel glimmer dot stickers by Sticko and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

This Kick Ass Birthday Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Mojo Monday: Sketch #497
• Seize the Birthday: Creatures or Animals
• Stampvie and More: Man or Boy
• Creative Moments: Anything Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: Masculine Anything Goes
• Addicted to Stamps and More: Make Your Mark