Celebrate is the theme for Amy’s Inkin Krew Team Blog Hop

Gracious! Here it is almost the middle of December and time once again for our monthly team blog hop. I know I sound like a broken record, but, really! Time FLIES!

Our team hop this month is working around the theme “celebrate” which can be about celebrating almost anything. I used the opportunity to make a belated birthday card for a teen.

I had seen a You Tube Video by Jennifer McGuire where she inked up a background then heat embossed a design over it and stacked her sentiment over that. That video was my inspiration, though I didn’t do any embossing.

Here is my card.

Though I am an independent Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, sometimes SU doesn’t have what I need for a card. As a result I use a few other products from other companies. In this case, I wanted a frame I could layer and I don’t have such a critter in my Stampin’ Up! stash.

I began by sponging a sheet of Whisper White card stock pretty heavily with Tranquil Tide, Blueberry Bushel and Bermuda Bay inks, using Stampin’ Sponges cut into quarters. I set this aside to dry while I did my die cutting.

The sentiment uses the Celebrate You Thinlits. I cut four of the word Celebrate from Pool Party card stock and stacked them together with Liquid Glue.

While these dried I cut three of the frames from Whisper White Thick card stock and stacked them together, also with Liquid Glue.

After my sponged background was dry, I made small pencil marks using the inner side of the frame die to know how large to cut my background. With this die, there was only about 1/16″ leeway between too small and too large. Too small and the edges would show; too large and it would interfere with the cutouts on the frame. Tricky business, but it worked okay. I used Liquid Glue to adhere this to the frame, then turned it upside down and put a heavy weight on it for a few minutes.

Small dots of Liquid Glue around the inside and outside edges of the frame as well as on the background, adhere this to the Whisper White Thick card stock base.

Stampin’ Dimensionals were used to attach the sentiment to the background. I cut small strips from the edge of the Dimensionals to put on the long strokes of each letter.

I thought about some embellishments, but everything I had was too….well, fussy, for this card. So, it is rather plain.

On the inside, The balloon and sentiments are from Happy Birthday Gorgeous. I first stamped the Happy in Tranquil Tide, on a panel of Whisper White card stock. To do this I masked off the word birthday, inked the stamp, then removed the mask and stamped Happy on my panel.

Belated was stamped in Pool Party, then I reversed the mask to stamp just the word Birthday, again in Tranquil Tide.

The balloon was stamped in Bermuda Bay and I used my Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write Marker to make the string.

This panel was adhered to a mat of Pool Party and into the card base. Card done!

For the envelope, I had to make it! Because it is a square card, I had no envelopes to fit. Making envelopes is so easy with the Stampin’ Up! Envelope Board.

I measured the size of the card (5″ x 5″), looked it up on the handy chart on the board, then cut my Designer Series Paper the size it told me I would need. The DSP for the envelope is from the Tranquil Textures package. Using the Envelope Board I scored and rounded the corners. Then it was a simple matter to fold and Liquid Glue it all together.

To finish it, I stamped a couple of balloons on the flap and one on the front. My Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write Marker again made the strings.

I hope you like this card. I think I will try another of this type, and do some heat embossing on it as well, perhaps making a more feminine one. This one fills the bill today, however, for the card I needed to send.

Now, click on the previous or next buttons to take you to another blog, or just click on any name. I am sure you will find plenty to inspire you! Enjoy the hop!

1. Julie Johnston – you are here
2. Jaimie Babarczy
3. Karen Ksenzakovic
4. Shirley Gentry
5. Sue Prather
6. Mary Deatherage
7. Karen Finkle
8. Amy Koenders

CARD CUTS: Whisper White Thick Card Stock: card base 5″ x 10″, scored at 5″, frame 2 pieces each 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″;  Whisper White card stock: inside panel 4-1/2″ x 4-1/2″; panel for sponging background 5″ x 5″; Pool Party: sentiment 4 scraps 1-1/2″ x 4″ or one piece 4″ x 7″, inside mat 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″, Tranquil Tide Designer Series Paper; envelope 8-1/2″ x 8-1/2″

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