Good Morning Fellow Stampers ~
We've arrived at the 2nd Wednesday of April!! Spring is definitely here!! And just like last month (yikes, a whole month!), we are being warned of a BIG April/Easter snow this coming weekend. Oh My!! Probably a good thing that we're stuck at home right now!!
And with that being said, it's time to play with the Stampin' Pretty Pals! While the COVID-19 pandemic is adding stress to our lives, we Pals hope this blog hop will help to lift your spirits. Let us inspire you to take a creative break and relax for a little while. This month our theme is “Special Occasions” where we have made a project for just about any occasion you can think of!
You may be starting the hop here or you may be hopping over from Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose. Either way, you’ve come to the right place. When you're done perusing today's project, you’ll find the the full line-up below to help you move or “hop” along your way from Pal-to-Pal.
When I have the time, one of my favorite things to design is a Really Special Birthday card!
From the time I first saw the absolutely stunningly beautiful Grace's Garden stamp set and coordinating Garden Gateway Dies, I knew there was a birthday card just waiting to happen!!
This fabulous stamp and die set creates the most incredible cards. There are a number of options as to how you can stamp or cut the fence/gate, and create the little garden of your dreams (which I'm doing a lot of dreaming about right now with snow in the forecast - LOL).
This card is all about the details.
The card base is cut from thick Whisper White cardstock, 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", scored at 4-1/4".
Then I cut Shimmery White cardstock, on for a background layer to sit behind the garden arch; and one for the brick wall & arch focal.
There is a lot of beautiful sponging on this card - I sponged Seaside Spray, Daffodil Delight & Granny Apple Green on the cardstock that shows through the archway; and also sponged the edges of the card base to blend and match so that it all comes together.
But the brickwork, created by using the Brick & Mortar 3D embossing folder is really fun! I used a combination of Terracotta Tile, Petal Pink, and Soft Suede sponged across the raised bricks for that gorgeous color.
The rest of this card is in the details.
The pretty flowers - all are easily stamped and die cut. The only one that is not is the rose flower spray that I stamped in a "half curve" to match the archway; and then fussy cut. This is easy to do because these are photopolymer stamps. So you can bend and curve them to create this type of effect.
Behind the gate, stamped on the background the garden continues. The sentiment is from the Botanical Bliss stamp set. Perfect little stamp set for so many things (including my Bible journaling I started recently).
The fence was "trimmed/cut" down the center so I could have one gate "open" and the other sitting closed. I love this effect on the front of the card.
The finished brick/gate/archway piece is actually popped with dimensionals to give some nice dimension against the background.
I think my little kitty watching his bird friend is my favorite!
You can even see the clear wink of stella glimmering on the flower petals in this picture.
I also placed Clear Wink of Stella here and there on the brickwork.
This card is so pretty!!
You can't have that pretty of a front of the card, without an inside to match!
The inside of this card is triple matted; and the Shimmery White cardstock has been totally sponged to match the front - Seaside Spray blue, Daffodil Delight yellow, and Granny Apple Green.
The cool thing about this, is that I incorporated the piece that was cut out when I cut the archway for the front of the card.
I sponged and attached it to the center; stamped the sentiment from the Forever Lovely stamp set; and then added flowers and another bird to match the front of the card.
It's like you stepped into the garden 😉😉😉
I hope you enjoyed today's Birthday occasion inspiration!! More inspiration awaits! Use the Blog Hop Line-up below to visit the rest of this month’s Design Team. My fellow Pals are excited to show you what they’ve created! Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 13th, when we will say “Goodbye to the Spring Mini and 2019-2020 Annual Catalog and/or Hello to the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog.” The Design Team will showcase their favorites from the retiring catalogs or new products from the new catalog. Don’t miss the fun! And, until then, please stay safe.
I Love to hear from you. Leave your questions or comments below!!
Until Next Time . . Puppy Hugs, . . .
Pals Blog Hop Line-Up:
- Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty
- Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
- Su Mohr at Aromas And Art
- Mary Hanson at Up North Stampin’
- Debra Simonis at Deb’s Stampin’ Grounds
- Stesha Bloodhart at Stampin’ Hoot!
- Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
- Ann Murray at Murray Stamps, Ink
- Jen Roque at Stamp Camp with Jen
- Rae Harper Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
- Lori Pinto at LollyPop Paper and Ink
- Jeanie Stark at Just Stampin’
- Sue Jackson at Just Peachy Stamping
- Lynn Kolcun at Avery’s Owlery
- Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
- Deb Walker at Deb Stamps Life
- Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
- Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs
- Debbie Mageed at Secrets to Stamping
- Rosanne Mulhern at Heartfelt Stamping
- Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
- Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin’
- Leah O’Brien at Ink, Paper, Stamps, Oh My!
- Peggy Noe at Pretty Paper Cards