Seize The Birthday - Retro

Hello peeps, we've got a fun challenge for you at Seize The Birthday - Retro, chosen by Jules.  I think we were on the same wavelength when we made our cards!  My girls look like they've just stepped out of her campervan and are headed into town :)

The background is Distress Inks, and the ray stencil and groovy chicks stencil are by Sheena Douglass.  The sentiment is from my Groovy Shoes set by STAMPlorations.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog to find out how our team, and our surprise party guests, have interpreted this fun challenge, then join us in the gallery.  If Retro isn't your thing, you can still play along with any birthday card in our Anything Goes theme.

Visible Image - Butterfly Ink Mini

Hello, did you catch the Visible Image 20th birthday celebrations and launch of new products?  Alongside a fabulous limited edition cat stamp set, there are 18 new-sized mini stencils and three MDF products.

For my design team project today I've used the gorgeous Butterfly Ink Mini stencil and a sentiment from the Lilies With Love stamp set.

I used a combination of Distress Mica Stain sprays and ink blending for my grungy background.  I love the blue drips!

Once I'd stencilled the butterfly with Cosmic Shimmer Gold Pearl, I sprinkled on some Finnabair loose glitter before the paste had chance to dry.

I wanted a general sentiment so I chose 'Sending love' from the Lilies With Love' stamp set.  I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black onto white card, then trimmed and matted the card onto black, leaving a narrow margin all round.

The blue glitter picks up on the blue drips of the background.  Here's another angle:

And, of course, in real life the glitter looks even better!

The stencils are sized perfectly for card making, at 4x4 inches square.  They're also great for home decor as you saw in the launch samples.

Pop on over to the Visible Image website and snag a few now!

Seize The Birthday - Cute Critters

Hey, Seize The Birthday fans!  We've got an irresistible challenge for you this week, chosen by JoAnn - Cute Critters.

I couldn't resist using this Anita Jeram image from Colorado Craft Company.  Originally I sponged the grass area, but it all looked a bit meh, and this gelli print piece from my scraps was saying, "Look at me,  I match, I'll jazz it up!"  And it did.  And I like it much better now :)

Pop along to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and play along with our Cute Critters challenge.  If cute critters aren't your thing, you can still play along with any birthday project.

Visible Image - Just Hit Play

Hello peeps!  For my Visible Image Design Team project today I've got a retro card for you using the fun Just Hit Play stamp set.

I rarely plan and mock up a card, but I needed to for this one.  I started by stamping out the main elements on scrap copy paper with Versafine Smoky Grey, cut them out and placed them onto my slimline card base to determine the layout.

Then I chose my colours for my cassette tapes, stamped them and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

I used Memento Desert sand to stamp the unspooled tape.  I didn't want to fully cover the background so again I positioned the stamped pieces as I went, checking for balance in my composition.

I used my magnetic art station to anchor everything in place ready for adhering.

Once everything was stuck down, I trimmed the two overhanging cassettes.  The style of the sentiment made it easy to slice and chop into individual words.

And those of us from the cassette era all know why the pencil's in the photo, don't we?

Pop on over to the Visible Image site for these and more fabulous goodies, and lots more inspiration!

Seize The Birthday - Tic Tac Toe

Hello!  We've got a fab new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday - Tic Tac Toe, chosen by Glenda.

I went for the middle row - watercolour, clean and simple, dots/circles.  The flower stamp is from Carabelle Studio, and although there are some dots on the image around the flowers, I added a few more with my paintbrush.  The sentiment is from MFT.

There are so many options with this challenge, but if that's too erm, challenging, you can play along with any birthday theme.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more gorgeous inspiration from the team and our surprise party guests, and play along.

Visible Image - Wings of Change

 

Hey, Visible Image fans!  For my DT blog post today I've chosen the beautiful Wings of Change stamp set.

I stamped all the butterfly images on white card and watercoloured them with Salvaged Patina and Wild Honey Distress inks, then fussy cut them.  I also smooshed some card in the same colours, using mainly the Salvaged Patina.

Using the smooshed panel and some linen-effect card, I diecut the background frames using an Aall And Create die.

For my base card, I used the Ripped Fishnet stencil as a stamp by inking it with Lost Shadow Distress ink, then laying it onto my base card and pressing down with a paper towel to give a subtle background.

I stamped the sentiment on a piece of white card, matted onto black card, highlighted the words 'begin' and 'again', and adhered the smallest butterfly in the top left corner.

Originally I was going to use the two large and one medium butterfly, but I preferred the impact of just one large butterfly placed on the large pool of colour.

I love the grunge detail on this butterfly:

The use of the blue on the words highlights them without clashing with the design.

And I've still got some butterflies left over for future card makes - win, win!

Pop on over to the Visible Image website for these and other incredible stamps, dies and stencils.

Seize The Birthday - Fruits

Hello, we've got a new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday, and this time our host Colleen has gone for fruit.  All of my fruit is either drink related or cake related, so seeing as Monday's post was drinks, I've gone for cake today.

This is another card that was thrown together from bits on my desk.  The background was in my stash.  It had been there for a while, a bit lurid, and I wasn't sure how I would use it.  It was a mop-up piece, and I wasn't really impressed with the colours. So I dry-embossed it with a linen folder, even less impressed.  Then I rubbed Inca gold over it.  A bit better, but still a bit hard on the eyes.  And there it had lain for months, neglected.

Meanwhile, I'd already decided on the cupcake from Colorado Craft Company Big and Bold Sweet Friend, and sloshed a bit of colour on it and trimmed it.  Then I set about looking for a background, tried this, and they just went together.  And this is why I can't throw stuff away!  The sentiments were also retrieved from my stash.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and our guest designer Julia, and join the party.  If fruit isn't your thing, just play along with any birthday project.