More sunburst / starburst birthday cards

I'm back to share two more full sunburst/starburst cards like this one. These are addictive I tell you. This one is my favourite... so far. ;-)

I had a vague idea in my head to make a sort of abstract landscape scene, so I chose four colours from the Subtles DSP stack - so saffron (sun), pool party & marina mist (sky), pear pizzazz (land). I pieced them together using the same method in my instructions here (layout 3).This is how it looked after piecing (with v messy desk mostly cropped out).

Changing the placement of the centre point can really change the look of the finished design, so I use a cardstock frame with a window the size of my finished card front to help me see the options. I move it around until I'm happy with the final look, then mark the cut lines I need. If you enlarge the pic, you can see my light pencil lines.

Sunburst Teen
This one for a new teen shows a different look, with the focal point in the lower left (layout 2 in my instructions. Love the rule of thirds!

The colours here are pool party & island indigo from our sadly retired Patterns DSP. I added some some silver cord down to some of the rays to add a little more sparkle.
My lappie battery is almost dead, so that means it's time to say finish up for now. I'll be back soon with something new. Until then, thanks for visiting & thanks especially to those who've taken the time to leave comments lately. I really do appreciate your encouragement. If you'd like any more info or just want to say hi, just leave a comment anytime you like :-)
Inky wishes, Di 

Supplies
Sunburst Scene
Stamps: Label Love
Card/Paper: marina mist, whisper white card, Subtles DSP Stack - so saffron, marina mist, pool party, pear pizzazz
Ink: marina mist ink pad, so saffron marker
Accessories: basic pearls, white taffeta ribbon
Tools: artisan label punch, modern label punch

Sunburst Teen
Card/Paper: island indigo, pool party card, silver glimmer paper, In colour Patterns DSP stack (retired)
Accessories: silver cord
Tools: 2 1/2 inch circle punch, Big Shot, Circles #2 bigz die (2 inch circle), Typeset Alphabet/Number dies, Essentials Piercing Template, piercing tool, piercing mat

Sunburst birthday card for guys (& instructions)

I've seen lots of great sunburst/starburst cards lately, so I tried the technique too. Now I'm totally hooked! They're so easy to make, look fab & are perfect for using up scraps too. I showed my lovely August class ladies how to make this masculine version using the Sweater Weather DSP from the Holiday Catalogue. I've shared my instructions below, so you can make one too.

I liked the idea of the rays radiating over the whole card, with the sentiment at the centre, so went to work on how to do it. I used 16 same sized triangles for my sunburst. After a trial run, I realised some maths was needed to calculate the correct triangle size (& angle) to ensure each of the 16 triangles would match up without gaps or overlaps. I came up with a final rectangle size of 12cm x 5cm, cut diagonally into 2 triangles, which well & truly covers a regular card front.
I sponged the edge of each piece (crumb cake ink) & the completed sheet to give more depth. It's subtle but does make a difference when you see it with & without sponging. Here's a close-up of my favourite new sentiment (Label Love set), punched with the matching artisan label punch. I added a mat behind the sentiment to help it stand out & some fabric ribbon & linen thread. Instructions to make the artisan label mat are below.

Before I move on to the instructions, here's a final view, showing the inside, which I decorated with the sunburst offcuts.

Full Sunburst Card Instructions

1.  Cut 8 rectangles - 12 x 5cm from DSP – 2 of each colour. Cut each rectangle diagonally to make 2 triangles, making a total of 16 triangles.

2.   (Optional) Sponge edges of triangles to add depth.

3.  Draw a horizontal & vertical line on scrap paper, meeting where you want your sun to radiate from. I've shown some examples I like. I used layout 1 for this card.

4.   Completely cover top quarter of scrap paper with glue (I used a glue stick to give time to position correctly) & start attaching triangles in desired order. Make sure points meet at the centre & lines. Pieces shouldn't overlap. Continue adding glue & triangles, a quarter page at a time until circle is complete.

 Here's my partially completed sunburst too.

5.   Trim off excess around scrap to required size for card front. Sponge edge if desired, then complete card.

Tips for scraps or different sizes
I generally start with 5cm x 12cm pieces, as it gives me flexibility to change my focal point after I piece the triangles. If you're making a smaller card, using scraps, or making a non-centred design, you can reduce the size of the rectangles/triangles using this template in my instructions below to save paper. It will always work as long as the angles remain the same. Who knew geometry would ever be  useful for papercrafting? :-)

How to make a mat for the Artisan Label punch
 

1. Punch two artisan labels.
2. Cut one label horizontally in half. (left pic). Adhere pieces behind top & bottom of sentiment, leaving small border showing.
3. Cut end pieces off second punched shape (right pic). Cut remaining piece horizontally in half. Adhere behind each side, leaving small border showing & so that curved edge lines up with corner of punched sentiment (as shown in card pic above).

I hope you'll try making your own sunburst card, or the artisan label mat. I have some more sunburst cards to show you - next time since this post seems to have taken forever. Thanks for visiting & please leave me some comment love if you like the project, or the instructions have been helpful to you.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Stamps: Label Love
Card/paper: naturals ivory, choc chip, very vanilla card, Sweater Weather DSP
Ink: chocolate chip ink pad, crumb cake ink pad, tangerine tango marker
Accessories: linen thread, fabric ribbon, brad
Tools: artisan label punch, sponge dauber

Triple layer for Father's Day

Today's card is one we made at my August masculine card class. I know Father's Day is now over for this year, but I'm sure you need masculine card ideas all year round.

 

I'm generally a clean & fresh cards kind of gal, but I really had fun making the grungy background & seeing how different it could look with more or less stamping. It still has the clean triple layers though, so still me I think. I used 2 stamp sets to create the triple layer - Clockworks & Gorgeous Grunge - both of which are perfect for masculine cards. The colours I used are crumb cake, soft sky & island indigo. The stamped layer used here is very vanilla, but the colours worked with white too. You can see the stamped layers better in this close-up.

I needed a bold sentiment to finish it off & this one from Delightful Dozen fitted the bill perfectly. I coloured in the outline letters with a soft sky marker to add a little more colour. Some of my class lovelies changed to a birthday sentiment, which looked great
I'm sure you've all tried a triple layer card by now, but if not, you must! Start with this blog post & video by the awesome Dawn Olchevske- why redesign the wheel! You can make your layers any size, but if you're a metric girl who likes even layers, you'll want to convert your measurements to better fit our A4 cardstock. These are my tried & true cutting measurements.

My triple layer card measurements

Use these measurements & the cutting layout pic below to cut enough pierces to make 2 cards from each A4 sheet.

Mat Layers  (island indigo card in sample)

1: 13.8 x 9.5cm

2: 11.3 x 7cm

3: 8.8 x 4.5cm

Cut A4 cardstock down to 9.5cm wide, then cut pieces as shown in the diagram below

Stamped Layers (very vanilla in sample
1: 13.3 x 9cm
2: 10.8 x 6.5cm
3: 8.3 x 4cm
Cut A4 cardstock down to 9cm wide, then cut pieces as shown in the diagram below.


Cutting Layout

 

I think that covers everything, but if there's anything else you'd like to know, just leave me a comment. I'll be back next time with the second card from the class. Thanks for visiting.
Inky wishes, Di
PS: thought you might like to see the separate stamp images I used from Clockworks & Gorgeous Grunge. You'll definitely be seeing more Grunge here! One final suggestion -  I love having this set in clear mount, as it makes it really easy to position the stamps, but if you don't have lots of clear blocks, I'd recommend you choose wood mount, so you can easily add to the layers without having to change stamps. Isn't it great you have the choice!

  

Supplies
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Clockworks, Delightful Dozen
Card/Paper: crumb cake, very vanilla, island indigo card
Ink: crumb cake, island indigo, soft sky ink pads, soft sky marker
Accessories: Candy Dots - island indigo, soft suede, linen thread
Tools: circle punches - 1 3/8 in, 1 1/4 in

Smile, it's your birthday

Ah the best laid blogging plans... Anyway, I'm back to share a fun card based on a fab idea by the equally fab US Demo, Deena Boos. Deena made the cutest camera card, which I immediately pinned to try. Now I pin a lot, but I'm so glad this one actually made it to paper & made me smile too.

 

I took the colours from the fun DSP (i am me). Deena provided instructions for the camera using Chalk Talk & Circles framelits dies & a circle punch. I used circle punches (no circle framelits...yet!) & the retired jewellery punch for the white rectangle. I added a circle birthday sentiment (A Fitted Occasion) around the lens & I thought the smile sentiment (Happy Day) worked perfectly too. Here's a closer pic of the camera. You can see the lens & camera base are both popped with dimensionals.

I hope this card makes you smile too. Thanks to Deena for sharing such a great idea. I think I'll be using this one again. If you're still reading, thanks for visiting & hope to see you here again.
Until next time, inky wishes
Di

Supplies
Stamps: Happy Day, A Fitting Occasion
Card/Paper: pool party, so saffron, real red, basic gray, whisper white card, i am me DSP, silver glimmer paper
Ink: basic gray ink pad
Accessories: basic rhinestone, 
Tools: Big Shot, Chalk Talk framelits, circle punches - 1 1/2in, 1 3/8in, 1 in, jewellery punch (retired), corner rounder, Essentials piercing template, piercing tool, piercing mat