Birthday Sprinkles

When I look at stamps, even sentiment stamps, I try to see them for uses outside of their 'intended' season or event. For the main sentiment on this card, I turned a holiday sentiment into a birthday one. I also love the look of colour through a cutout with a hint of mystery.

Challenges

Less Is More: Turquoise and Lilac
AAA Cards: Masking
Crafty Cardmakers: Birthday
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday: Anything Goes
Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes

Supplies

InLinkz.com

Putting It Together

This is actually the second version of the design. On Wednesday, I made the first but with several errors that nagged at me overnight and all day. I remade the design on Thursday with several enhancements. At the end, I'll include some pictures of the original card. I'll be making a blog post on how I made it later, complete with the gaffs.

But on to THIS card :)

For the inside colour panel, I used Peacock Feathers Distress Ink liberally wet with Perfect Pearls Confetti White mixed with water to give the panel a sparkle. I used a cheap dollar store brush to add the colour to a light piece of watercolour paper.

After colouring the panel, I used a heat tool to dry it. I then stamped the distressed diamonds on the panel with fresh Peacock Feathers for a tone on tone effect.

Not entirely sure how the pattern would look behind the cutouts, I dry fit the panel on the inside after die cutting the card base. I like the hint of the darker stamped pattern.

I dry fit the turquoise panel with a silver matting for the inside. This will give the inside a more finished look.

For the purple "birthday", I decided to do a different Distress Ink technique. I smooshed Shaded Lilac on to my work surface (a smooth plastic sheet) and added touches of Wilted Violet.

I liberally wet the ink with Grape Fizz Perfect Pearls mixed with water along with a touch of Confetti White for extra sparkle. I smooshed the thick waterpaper card stock into the ink and dried the panel with the heat tool.

I die cut "birthday" from the lilac panel and the same silver for the inside.

I dry fit the silver shadow for the lilac.

I felt the purple was a bit too light and I wanted to have darker edges so I added more of the darker violet from behind which got on the front as well. I also added more Confetti White for sparkle.

I ran the birthdays through the Xyron which easily makes them into stickers. The small Xyron is handy for small items. I do have the larger Xyron on my wishlist for the future.

For best results, I use a bone folder or toothpick to run along all the edges of the die cut on the sheet. This helps to eliminate adhesive threads.

Leaving the silver birthday on the release paper, I positioned the lilac birthday slightly offset to have the silver slightly visible as a "shadow". I left the stacked birthdays on the release paper until I was ready to place it.

To use just part of a sentiment stamp, you can either cut the stamp or mask the parts you don't want before you ink it (just remember to take the masking off after inking, before you stamp).

I stamped the lower part of the sentiment, below the "Holidays".

I then masked "Holidays" and below to stamp "May Your" from the top of the stamp.

I added the "birthday" stack between the stamping. Even with only 2 thick card stocks, the birthday stack has a low dimension vs the rest of the card even without any dimensional adhesive.

This is the original sentiment that I 'altered' to be a birthday wish.

I added the turquoise and silver panels to the inside of the card. I also stamped a matching sentiment and embossed in silver to tie in with the silver matting and shadow. I like to leave ample space on the inside of the card for personal sentiments.

To finish the card, I added a lavender rhinestone to dot the "i".

The first version of the design

I didn't have a tone on tone stamping on the turquoise. The silver panel, rather than a shadow, is hiding a boo-boo. I forgot to take the masking off after inking before stamping on the first stamping of the sentiment. I put the bottom part of the sentiment too low. To balance how close the bottom stamp is to the silver patch, I put the top part close as well. It looks better with more which space. And, the rhinestone I used for the "i" is too small.

For the inside of the first version, I used a different sentiment "unwrap a special day" stamped in lilac. The plain turquoise panel without any matting feels incomplete. The sentiment doesn't fit the front as well as I would like.

Second version 

So, what do you think? Is the second version an improvement? Do you see the design ideas in the first one that led to the second?