A Special Birthday

Inspiration

On February 22, my father-in-law, Charles, is turning 80!  29 years ago, Charles took my marriage to his son as the opportunity to add another daughter to his family, and has always done anything and everything for me he could.  He puts his family above all else.  We are all blessed to have had a father like Charles ~ fortunately we all know it! Every year since he turned 75, no one has missed a single birthday for this kind-hearted man.

So, today, in honor of Charles, and his upcoming celebration, I’m posting the birthday card I’ve made for him.

The sketch comes from the Fan Club monthly challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.   I kept the colors masculine, but went for a “party” theme because it’s a great opportunity to celebrate!

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Chocolate Chip textured cardstock (SU!), Brocade Blue (SU!), Creamy Caramel (SU!), Very Vanilla (SU!), Brown Fine Stripe patterned paper (DCWV)

STAMPS: Crazy for Cupcakes (SU!)             INK: Chocolate Chip (SU!)

ACCESSORIES: Scallop circle punch (SU!), 1 3/8” circle punch (SU!), Balloon punch (McGill), Silhouette digital cutter (QuicKutz), blue satin ribbon (Michaels), tan embroidery floss, COPIC markers (B95, E79, Y17, E55, E33), Lemon glaze pen (SPICA), Gelly Roll Clear Star glaze pen (Sakura), rotary trimmer with straight and scalloped blades (Fiskars), foam mounting squares (Generations), ATG with ¼” adhesive (Scotch)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Cut a piece of dark brown cardstock to measure 12” x 6”, and score it in the middle at 6”.  Cut a piece of patterned cardstock measuring 5 3/4” x 5 3/4”.

HORIZONTAL EMBELLISHMENT: Using the scallop blade on the rotary cutter, cut a strip of dark brown cardstock measuring 5 3/4” x 1 1/2”.  Cut two pieces of blue ribbon, one 6” long, and one 3” long.  Knot the shorter ribbon around the 6” ribbon, then mount it across the middle of the brown cardstock.

Punch a blue scalloped circle, and a brown circle and mount them to the brown strip.

Using the Silhouette, cut out the numerals for the birthday in blue cardstock and mount the in the brown circle.

CUPCAKE EMBELLISHMENT: Cut a 5” blue scalloped circle using the Silhouette.  Trim the circle to reach about 2/3 of the way across the card, and cut the extra from the right side of the circle.  Trim the bottom of the circle, as well, so it will not show below the brown horizontal stripe.

Stamp the cupcake on the vanilla cardstock, and color with the COPIC markers.  Add some sparkle to the flame with the yellow glaze pen, and the icing with the clear glaze pen.  Trim the image leaving a narrow border around the edges.

BALLOON EMBELLISHMENTS: Punch two balloons from the blue paper, and a balloon from the caramel paper.  Separate the embroidery floss into 3 strands, and tie them around each balloon.

FINAL CARD ASSEMBLY:  Put the card together in this order:

1. Mount patterned paper to the base card
2. Adhere the blue circle to the patterned paper
3. Add the horizontal embellishment across the blue circle
4. Add the cupcake in the blue circle using foam mounting squares
5. Mount the balloons in a group using foam mounting squares
6. Stretch the balloon strings to the knot in the blue ribbon, and thread it through the knot using a needle; add a dot of clear glue inside the knot to keep the floss in place

Thanks for stopping by!