Special Reason 70th birthday

If you're a colourmehappy follower you know that the Special Reason stamp set & coordinating Stylish Stems die set are another of my favourites from the Occasions Catalogue. Sadly, it's also another fave not carrying over to the new catalogue, so if you love it, get it before it's gone.

Anyway, lets enjoy this lovely bundle some more by looking at this card for my auntie's 70th birthday last month.

I took my inspiration from one of the sample cards in the Sale-a-bration supplement, adding some extra details for that special milestone number. I love that the flower dies can be used to create the negative image, like in this card, or can be cut out to form a separate detailed flower. So clever.

I stamped the 70 using the Number of Years stamp set in versamark & rich razzleberry ink, then clear heat embossed & cut it out with the coordinating Large Numbers dies. I used the retired Sale-a-bration glimmer paper for the layer behind the die cut flowers & for the leaves & banner. If you don't have any of this glimmer paper, you could subsitute blushing bride glimmer (retiring but still available as of today) for the floral layer & colour dazzling diamonds glimmer paper with pear pizzazz reinker. I used one of the square Stitched Shapes dies to make the rectangle banner behind the glimmer banner.

I kept the inside very simple but in keeping with the front. I stamped a sentiment from Birthday Blooms stamp set & cut another flower out of the vanilla panel.

I hope my my Auntie enjoyed receiving the card & you enjoyed seeing it today too. Leave me a comment if you have any questions about it, or if you just want to say hi.

I still have lots of projects to share with you, including some more Special Reason cards from my Mother's Day class so pop back soon. Until then, thanks for visiting.

Inky wishes, Di

PS. you can see my other Special Reason cards here


Supplies
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Actual items I used are listed first. Alternative purchase options are listed at the bottom of the supply list.

Print Recipe

Product List

Special Reason Clear-Mount Stamp Set $35.00	Stylish Stems Framelits Dies $54.00	Number Of Years Photopolymer Stamp Set $47.00	Large Numbers Framelits Dies $54.00	Birthday Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set $33.00
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies $50.00	Banner Triple Punch $38.00	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock $15.75	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride $14.00	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock $14.00
Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper $8.75	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper $8.75	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad* $11.95	Versamark Pad $15.00	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder $8.75
Embossing Buddy $10.00	Heat Tool $50.00	Big Shot $159.00	Big Shot Magnetic Platform $70.00	Special Reason Wood-Mount Stamp Set $49.00

Last balloon pop-up birthday card or three

I couldn't let Balloon Adventures & the Balloon pop-up dies disappear without sharing a quick final project (or three) with you. The stamp set & dies were surprise total favourite from the Occasions Catalogue & I've used them lots both together & separately. Truth be told I'm still in shock that they're not carrying over to the new Annual Catalogue, so forgive me if you haven't loved them as much as me.

Anyway, let's get to the projects. These three cards are variations on the same design & colours, each with little twists.

Thanks & credit for the initial design (which is probably most like the card in the centre from memory) goes to my stamping bestie, Kellie. She showed my the card she made & I just loved the colours & design, so I thought my class lovelies would love it too.

Version 1
I made a minimal change to the colour scheme to include some of the yummy Sale-a-bration glimmer paper available at the time. I hope you got some of that as the colours were fab-u-lous. This became the second project from my Feb class. The dragonfly dreams shadow box was the other one.

The colour scheme is bermuda bay & elegant eggplant with a touch of mint macaron & sweet sugarplum in the balloons.

The blingy balloons are stamped in elegant eggplant (stamped off once), bermuda bay, & mint macaron, then topped with a coordinating die cut balloon in sweet sugarplum, bermuda bay & mint macaron glimmer paper. I used a few circles from the balloon cut-outs to add more little touches of colour. On the inside, there's more bling. The bermuda bay base nicely frames & shadows the pop up panel.

Version 2
From memory, this is probably the most like Kellie's original. The front is completely bermuda bay, elegant eggplant & white. I love the freshness of this combination & look & think it's a great one for teens & young adults.

On the inside I  added more balloons. The mint macaron works so well with the eggplant & bermuda.

Version 3

I had a spare kit left over so I tried one more variation. This time I swapped out the elegant eggplant for a small strip of pool party & bermuda bay sentiment, and added solid balloons in the same card colours as the glimmer paper.  I think this adds softness to the design. I'd definitely use this for a teen or friend's card.

Here's a close up of that lovely glimmer. I know - rubbing it in. I so hope SU brings back multi-colour glimmer packs sometime.

I repeated the balloons on the inside. Otherwise it's the same as version 1.

I love that even a small, simple variation can alter the look & feel of a design. So, do you have a favourite of the three?  Share in comments if you'd like. I always like to know what you're thinking.

Well that's it from me except to say that if you haven't got the Balloon Adventures & Balloon pop up die set, I really recommend you order it now. It's even on sale until they run out or disappear on 31 May when the Occasions Catalogue ends.

Thanks for visiting. I'll be back soon with some non-balloon projects so pop back again

Inky wishes,
Di

Supplies

To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Actual items I used are listed first. Alternative purchase options are listed at the bottom of the supply list.

Print Recipe

Product List

Balloon Adventures Photopolymer Stamp Set $45.00 $38.25	Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies $56.00 $44.80	Balloon Bouquet Punch $31.00	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay $14.00	Elegant Eggplant A4 Card Stock $14.00
Pool Party A4 Card Stock $14.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock $15.75	Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50
Liquid Multipurpose Glue $7.00	Stampin' Dimensionals $6.00	Big Shot $159.00	Big Shot Magnetic Platform $70.00

Simply elegant congratulations cards

Today I'm sharing a few congrats cards I made recently, that I think are good examples of the beauty of keeping it simple. I'm often wooed by clever folds, layers & techniques, but often I make a  clean, elegant design, I love it just as much.

The recipients of these cards were also friends with each other so I thought it would be fun to make 3 soft & elegant cards that were also variations on a theme. The gorgeous So Detailed thinlit dies fit the bill perfectly. These dies have not seen anywhere enough love since they appeared in the Occasions Catalogue & now they're retiring - are you in shock too? They're still available as of now & on sale so if you love them, I'd suggest you get them soon. 

The large floral die in the set is so intricate & cuts so beautifully that I wanted to make it the star of the cards. The Falling In Love paper dsp (sadly now sold out) gave a soft, subtle &  pretty background. I couldn't resist a little bling (who can?) with the congrats sentiment from the Sunshine Wishes die set.

Take a closer look at each of the cards...

So, what do you think? Simple & elegant? Leave a comment to ask any info you need or just to say hi. I'll be back soon with more ideas. Thanks for visiting today.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Actual items I used are listed first. Alternative purchase options are listed at the bottom of the supply list.

Print Recipe

Product List

So Detailed Thinlits Dies $56.00	Sunshine Wishes Thinlits Dies $45.00	Falling In Love Designer Series Paper $19.25	Very Vanilla 3/8" (1 Cm) Stitched Satin Ribbon $15.75	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock $15.75
Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride $14.00	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky $14.00	White Vellum A4 Card Stock $11.50	Big Shot $159.00	Big Shot Magnetic Platform $70.00