Interactive birthday card with pop up surprise

 Last Friday was my son-in-law’s 40^th birthday, so I made him an interactive card inspired by a class from Therese Calvid at the Card Maker Success Summit. Therese used a Spellbinders car, but I used what I had: a Couture Creations Holden Commodore Ute.

I die-cut and assembled the car, then ink-blended a sunny background using a circle mask (and the negative mask for the glow), finishing with a few clouds and birds. The fun part is the folding mechanism—when the card slides out of the envelope, the car pops up from the base.

It arrived right on his birthday (thanks, NZ and Aussie Post!), and my daughter said Andrew was delighted—especially that I’d actually written a message inside. It’s a running family joke after the year I sent him a completely blank card.

Thanks for stopping by.  

Sending Love and Hugs

Hi there!

Last week I was inspired by two talented card makers, Natasha Foote and Christine Stokes. Natasha recently shared a slatted aperture technique using a die and cardstock strips, while Christine demonstrated a beautiful textured background using scrunched tissue paper. I couldn’t resist combining the two ideas into one card.

I created the aperture using a rectangle die from Gina K Designs and added 1/8” cardstock strips behind it for that slatted look. For the background, I scrunched pink tissue paper onto white cardstock and added Lindy’s Magical Powders with water to create soft, flowing colour. Once dry, I highlighted the texture with Slippery When Wet Lunar Paste.

From this panel, I die-cut tiny butterflies for added movement. The floral focal point was made using the Simon Says Stamp Fresh Daisies die, cut from patterned paper and layered for dimension. I finished the card with a simple sentiment from the Altenew Mini Stamp Set – Best Sentiments.

I loved mixing these techniques from different card makers in my projects.

Pink Plaid Birthday

 There's a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' Challenge today - and the challenge is to use Gingham/Plaid. 

I did a couple of cards in different colours.  This first one is the one that will be on the blog today.

The background was stamped with the Catherine Pooler Plaid Background using It’s a Girl ink, with fine black pen details added. A die-cut panel (Gina K Master Layout 2) features a large Elizabeth Craft Designs sentiment, which was  placed ear the top to allow for a small bouquet of Sizzix and Spellbinders flowers with gem centres. The panel was matted in dark pink and mounted on a white card base.

For the second card I used Concord and 9^th Plaid background stamp with Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue ink and used the stripes stamp in black ink.  Die cut the oval from Gina K Master Layout 1 to highlight the focal floral.  Used the rosebud from Elizabeth Craft Design to cut some Scrapbbok.com watercolour patterned paper.  Happy Birthday sentiment by Memory Box was foiled in black and die cut. Finished with some gold dots.

Do come and join us at Sweet Stampin' Challenge

Embrace the simple joys of Nature

 Well… it’s Friday again! It feels like one of those weeks where I’ve been busy creating, but nothing has quite been ready to share publicly—until now.

My latest card for my local swap group has safely arrived with Maxine, so I can finally show it to you all. This month’s challenge was set by Carol, with the theme “Animals Framed.”

I chose to work with some sweet little birdies—because birds definitely count as animals in my book! For the framed element, I used my Tim Holtz diffuser with a Swiss Dot embossing folder to create a soft oval window. I really love how this technique adds interest while still keeping the focus on the centre of the card.

The birds were stamped using a Mangocraft set, then die‑cut and coloured with Prismacolor pencils. A sentiment from another Mangocraft stamp set tied everything together, and I added a touch of soft ink blending around the centre to give the design a little extra depth.

To finish, I popped the die‑cut birds up on 3D tape for some subtle dimension—simple, but effective.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your creative week has treated you kindly. 

Make your own background.

 I got to choose the challenge for February for my local swap group... and went for an easy one... Make Your Own Background.   We got some great backgrounds.

My card panel combines ink smooshing with elegant gold foiling. I began by smooshing the Warm Lipstick and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide inks, then spritzed the panel with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Spritz for added interest. Once everything was completely dry, I added gold foil using the Altenew Exquisite Marble foil plate, which gave the background a beautiful, deluxe finish.

The panel was die cut with a Gina K Master Layout die and matted with textured gold cardstock to enhance the shine. For the focal point, I used a floral image from the Altenew Build‑A‑Garden: Morning Asters stamp set. It was gold heat‑embossed, coloured with the coordinating stencils, and die cut before being added to the card. Finished with a Spellbinders foiled sentiment. The combination of foiling, soft colour, and gold accents makes this design feel both elegant and fresh. 

I can finally share as my recipient had been away and only recently got to see the card.   

Cosmos Thanks

The day after returning from our short break, I received a package of cardmaking supplies from Scrapbook.com, including the Altenew Dreaming Cosmos embossing folder and coordinating stencil. I used them to create a thank-you card for our tour guides, Chris and Nicola.

Inspired by the stencil packaging, I embossed white card, added ink blending through the stencil, and finished with subtle blue and green background blending using leftover ink. The panel was matted onto dark pink card, with a simple sentiment from the Altenew Versatile Greetings die set cut in the same colour. I kept the design clean with no embellishments.

I dropped the card off at the travel agency on Friday, and they really appreciated it.

Die Cut Divas - Hello Friend

Can you believe it's the last day of February.   Where has the month gone?   It's time to share my sample for Die Cut Divas. We have Pink and Red Challenge this month - asking for predominant colors of red &/or pink (neutrals & a bit of a non-neutral are ok). 

Remember to use a die cut &/or embossing folder in your red/pink creation.

 Hero Arts as our sponsor this month! 

Hero Arts has generously donated a $25 gift card for our 

February random winner - thanks Hero Arts!!

I started this card with a gorgeous pack of two-sided patterned paper from the Scrapbook.com Watercoloured Collection. One side features a soft, pale pink, while the reverse is a deeper rosy shade. I trimmed the lighter side to create the main panel, then stamped florals from the Hero Arts Delicate Blossoms stamp set (now retired) onto both patterns.

To add a little extra depth, I shaded the images with a red marker before fussy cutting the darker blooms and paper piecing them into place. Added a dark pink mat.  For the sentiment, I die cut a silver “hello” using the Altenew All About You dies and paired it with a stamped “friend” from the Hero Arts Hello There set. A scattering of silver die-cut dots finished the card for a touch of shine.

Do come and join us.  You have till 9.00pm US Pacific Time to get your card into our gallery for a chance to win the gift voucher. 

Red and Pink Love You

 Hi Dawn here to share my Pink and Red card for this month's Challenge at Die Cut Divas, asking for predominant colors of red &/or pink (neutrals & a bit of a non-neutral are ok). 

Remember to use a die cut &/or embossing folder in your red/pink creation.

We have the wonderful Hero Arts as our sponsor this month! 

Hero Arts has generously donated a $25 gift card for our 

February random winner - thanks Hero Arts!!

I started by white embossing Hero Arts Cling Heart Pattern Background stamp (circa 2016 - retired) and then using some Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry to blend all over the embossed hearts.  I used a Gina K Master Layout 2 to die cut the panel and a white matting layer.  I took the DO ink and did a ink pad to paper to colour my card base.  The love you heart is another retired Hero Arts set - Stamp & Cut Yes. (circa 2014) stamped and clear embossed with the DO Picked Raspberry ink and cut with the co-ordinating die.  The ribbon is a Poppy Stamps die called Grosgrain Ribbon.  Added some white and Rose cold foliage from Altenew's Branches and Berries.

We hope to see you in the February gallery by 9pm Pacific Time on Feb 28th.

Thanks for visiting & happy crafting!!