Birthday Cards

 Hello my friends! Today's post will be all about birthday cards. My birthday cards to be specific. I received so many gorgeous homemade cards from friends this year that I just have to share them with all of you. Nothing makes a card maker happier than receiving a beautiful homemade card! I am just guessing at the techniques that were used on the cards so if I get something wrong, forgive me.

This first card is from my friend Susanne. I love all of the layers of flowers. Some are attached with dimensionals and some are attached directly making a fun variety. There are some beautiful sparkly sequins to add some interest to the card as well. The background is fun as well. Su has put splatters of purples and blues so the card is not stark white. It balances the spray of flowers perfectly. I love this colour combination. It's not one I have used before but it is very pretty. I definitely need to make something with this combination.

The second card is from my friend Cathy. I love how she used the embossing folder but used the debossed side rather than the embossed side of the cardstock. The flower is stunning the way she used the varied colouring before die cutting the flower and leaves. I'm guessing she must have either sponged or water coloured the different variations of inks and then cut out the pieces. Lots of piecing together to create this beautiful flower! There is even another gorgeous flower on the inside. Can you believe that I don't have this die set? It's true.

This next card is from my friend Judy A. There are so many levels of gorgeousness on this card! The background is stamped with the music sheet stamp. On top of this the leaf image is stamped repeatedly over the card front and embossed with copper embossing powder. There is a strip of sponged bright blue which is outlined with the embossed copper as well. Then there is a layer of vellum with the sentiment embossed in copper and a copper dragonfly. To add some more fun there is a leaf cut out of the copper foil that also has the copper embossed leaf on top of it.

This next card is from my friend Judy B. Another card with many layers of gorgeousness! There is a light sponged circle of Petal Pink in the center of the card. On top of this is a stamped floral image that was embossed with silver embossing powder. Then Judy coloured in the flowers and leaves. Such an elegant look. The sentiment is also embossed with silver embossing powder. Then there is the beautiful Petal Pink ribbon which I absolutely love. To top it off there are some Petal Pink pearls sprinkled on the card front. As if this was not beautiful enough, the inside sentiment was also embossed in silver and there are two flowers like the large one on the front of the card. 

This next card is from my friend Marilyn. This card means a lot to me as Marilyn is so hard on herself with her card making abilities. I love this card! She used the cat stamp because she knows that I am a crazy cat lady. This card is simple but beautiful. There is DSP on the left side and embossed cardstock on the right side. Such a great way to use DSP (which I am totally going to copy). She coloured in the cat and mouse so it shows up beautifully. The cat piece is matted with a die cut piece of red cardstock to match the red card base. To finish it all off there is a bow of bakers twine in the top right corner. 

This next card is from my friend Annette. Again there are many layers of beautiful on this card. The background is heat embossed and sponged to make it look like leather. This is layered on a piece of black cardstock and then on a piece of sparkly blue cardstock and then put onto a white card base. The piece with the unicorn is matted in the same way and the sentiment piece is layered the same as well. The unicorn was stamped onto a piece of white cardstock and then a layer of adhesive sheet was added and glitter was added on top of it. It is so pretty with the unicorn and all of the sparkle. The three light blue rhinestones and the sparkly white and silver ribbon bring it all together. My granddaughter will be jealous of this one because she loves unicorns and anything that is sparkly!

This next card is from my friend Sharon. Another card with so many layers of gorgeousness! There is a layer of quilted embossed white cardstock and then on top of that is a strip of DSP that is also embossed using a wood grain embossing folder. On top of all of this are many layers of leaves, sprigs and berries from the Forever Fern set cut out of cardstock and vellum. On top of the leaves and sprigs is a beautiful bow. It took me a few minutes to figure out how she did this but I finally got it. Very clever! The sentiment piece is tucked in to the top right corner and then there are some dark blue rhinestones  to tie everything together.

This next card is from my friend Glenys. This is a Z-fold card. On the front panel the DSP is matted on a piece of black cardstock. The rose was fussy cut from another piece of DSP and attached to some layered die cut circles using the same pink as the card base and black and white. The circle matches up perfectly to a circle on the inside of the card. The circle on the inside is attached to another piece of DSP that is matted on another piece of black cardstock. There are a couple of smaller roses that were fussy cut and are hidden behind the front panel so you don't see them until you open the card up completely. I appreciate all of the fussy cutting as it is not my favourite thing to do.

This next card is from my friend Doreen. This is another simple but elegant card. The DSP makes the statement on this card. The purple card base coordinates so well with the purple trees in the DSP. This DSP is matted on a piece of white cardstock and then onto a piece of white and silver foil DSP. The silver foil tree ties it all together. I love how the sentiment is stamped in purple and die cut but the purple mat piece is added at an angle. The white and silver foil DSP is also on the inside matting a piece of white cardstock. Such a great idea!

This next card is from my friend Nicky. This card has many layers of gorgeousness too! It is hard to tell in the picture but this is a big card. It is 5 1/4 by 8 1/4 inches! When this card first arrived in the mail I thought it was a store bought card because it was so big. When I opened it, on my actual birthday, I was pleasantly surprised that it was a homemade beauty. The colours are incredible and coordinate so well together. The card front is orange. On top of this is a die cut piece that was watercoloured with green and yellow and then some water was splashed on top of it to give little dots of no colour. Then she embossed a beautiful flourish with gold embossing powder and coloured in the leaves and buds using the same orange. This piece was matted on a piece of gold foil that was die cut in the same shape. There are also a couple of sprigs cut from the gold foil. The sentiment piece is also matted on a die cut from gold foil and this is popped on a piece of gold ribbon that is wrapped around the card front. I will definitely be trying this big sized card.

This next card is from my friend Amy. This card also has many layers of gorgeousness. That's very typical of an Amy card. The white piece is embossed and then matted on a piece of blue with a very thin edge of blue showing. It takes quite a talent to get that lined up so perfectly. The piece on top of this is a piece of blue cardstock that was sponged using a torn or cut piece of cardstock to create a look of clouds. There is a sun peeking through the cloud layer. This is done by cutting a little slit into the blue cardstock and sticking a yellow circle into it. There are strips of yellow radiating out of the circle to be the rays of sun. It is hard to see in the picture, but the sun circle and rays are all sponged in yellow on the edges. The sentiment is heat embossed using white embossing powder on black cardstock. This is such a wow that makes the word pop. This piece was attached to a strip of DSP that was rouched to add a layer of dimension.

This next card is from my friend Vera. I'm not sure what this type of card is called but it is like a double gate fold that has been folded back on itself. When you untie the ribbon the card opens like a gate fold card. The colours she chose are directly from the beautiful DSP. The sentiment is stamped in black on the Petal Pink and die cut and then matted on a die cut from black cardstock. The stamped magnolia that is die cut ties in beautifully with the DSP. There is also a stamped and coloured magnolia on the inside. 

The next two cards have to be my all time favourites. The first one is from my granddaughter, Paisley. This card is so representative of her personality. Especially the inside. She told my daughter what she wanted to say and my daughter wrote it for her. She is very active and flits from one thing to the next in a heartbeat. I love this card!

The next one is from my grandson, Everett. This card is very representative of him as well. He is a very methodical, thoughtful little man. He had his Mom write on the inside for him as well. Very sweet and to the point. I love this card!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have enjoyed all of my beautiful birthday cards. Huge thanks to everyone that sent me one! 

Stay healthy and keep creating!

Terry