Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing a simple birthday card today, with a cutie pie bee from Amanda Jayne Designs. This is bee with balloon. I wanted to have this card ready for world bee day, but we’re way past that now. It’s still a cute birthday card, though, right?
I knew I wanted a large sentiment for this card, so I printed the bee pretty much top center of a quarter sheet of X-Press It blending card, which is my preferred cardstock for Copic coloring. I’ve been using it since 2012, and in my mind, there’s no better cardstock for Copics, so it’s pretty much all I use. I colored the image with my Copics and cut off a little bit on each side of the panel before adhering it to a top fold card base I created from Summer Splash cardstock from My Favorite Things.
I die cut HAPPY from the Big Happy Holidays die from Mama Elephant three times from Sour Apple cardstock from My Favorite Things, stacked them for a dimensional look and adhered the stacked die cut right beneath the bee’s feet. Using the Parker alphabet die set from Memory Box, I die cut the letters to spell bee-day, using an exclamation point that I trimmed down a little to create a hyphen. This word is actually multi-colored. That was not my intention, but I wasn’t happy with the color I chose initially, which was Bright Buttercup from Papertrey Ink. It’s a great color, but it wasn’t the right yellow to match my colored bee. On top of three die cuts of that, I added a layer of Honey Nut cardstock, also from Papertrey Ink. It matched my bee, but it was a little too brown for my taste, and my card felt sad. I didn’t want a sad birthday card, so I topped it with a layer of Summer Splash cardstock from My Favorite Things, which is what I used for the card base. I was much happier with this, and it matches the wings nicely.
To finish off the card I added a few sequins from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. Here you can also see the multi-colored letters in the word bee-day, which adds another layer of interest to this fairly simple card.
Simple color palette for this one.
I created a fun water scene with 
I stamped a sentiment from the coordinating 
Considering I colored the entire card front on this card, I don’t think I used too many markers.
I love the super sized sentiment dies from My Favorite Things. They have several in this style, and they’re great for all sorts of techniques. Today I used the negative of the Big Birthday Wishes die, cut into X-Press It blending card. I normally use this paper for coloring only, but I wanted the white background to match the white trim on my die cut bears, which are colored on the same paper. I added foam tape to the back of my negative die cut for dimension, making sure to keep the counters so I could put them back in. I added a strip of solid colored cardstock from Concord & 9th behind each of the lines in the die cut. I used Honeysuckle at the bottom, Clementine in the center and Buttercup for the top. I then adhered everything to a card base I created from Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things.
I stamped the bears from the Bitty Bears stamp set from My Favorite Things and colored them in with Copics and used the coordinating dies to cut them out. I added three white die cuts behind each of the bears for dimension and placed them on the card. I didn’t want to cover up too much of the letters, so I made sure to create a wide border around the die cut words. I also wanted a chunky border around the white, so this card is quite large and measures about 5 1/4 x 6 1/2″.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to add dimension behind the small counters, especially on the triangle in the A, because it’s very very small, but I wound up putting foam tape behind some X-Press It, then die cut the letters I needed once more to get counters with dimension. It worked really well, so I’ll remember this trick in case I need to do something similar in the future.
Yellows, oranges and pinks, just like the strips of cardstock behind the letters.
I colored the image with Copics, fussy cut right up against the black lines and put the image aside while I worked on the rest of my card. I used the second largest die in the Watercolor Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to cut my white panel down with a fun border. I also used a small circle die to cut a hole behind where I wanted the image to go, as this is a pendulum card. The watermelon rocks back and forth when you tilt the card, which adds a fun element to an otherwise simple design. I stamped part of the sentiment from the 
I used a strip of acetate with a washer at one end to create my pendulum mechanism. On the other end of the acetate strip, I added a button. I lined up my acetate piece on the back of my white die cut panel so the button would go through the hole and adhered the image to the button using liquid glue. I put foam tape on the back of the panel, making sure to leave enough open space for the pendulum to swing freely, then adhered everything to a top fold note card I created from Fire Coral cardstock from My Favorite Things, which is the same color cardstock that I used for the die cut letters. To finish off the card, I added sequins from the Waterfall mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, making sure to place the top ones so Flappy wouldn’t catch when he rocks. Of course, you can’t see him rock in still photos, but if you head to my post on 
Simple color palette for this one.
I started by choosing an image to be the focal point of my card. I ink smooshed Gravel Gray and Eiffel Tower inks from My Favorite Things onto the background to mimic the background in the photo. This adds a little bit of interest to the background without being too distracting. I also used the Kaleidoscope embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp on the card base for added texture.
I placed the image at an angle in the bottom left corner of the card and cut off the excess hanging off the side and the bottom. I decided to mount it on foam tape for a little more interest, then used pre printed stickers to add my sentiments. I love these things, they make adding sentiments soooo easy. I put foam squares on the back of these for even more lift off the card base – dimension is life, after all. I used black gems to frame the sentiments as a finishing touch.
Dimension really is life!
I die cut the word konfirmant and the individual letters for the recipient’s name in white cardstock and adhered them to a black envelope. The black and white ties in with the card nicely.
I stamped one of the images in the stamp set using black ink and used the coordinating layering stencils to color it in. It’s no secret I’m a fan of Copic coloring, but this was soooo much faster, and maybe it’s okay to cheat a little once in a while. I used the Dried Petals set of inks for the pink in the flowers and the Forest Trail set for the green. For the yellow I used Sunflower and Buttercup inks from Concord & 9th, as I don’t have yellow inks from Altenew.
I created a card base from Sno Cone cardstock from My Favorite Things and used the Angled Mosaic 3D embossing folder from Altenew to add some texture and interest. I mounted my flowers in the bottom center using foam tape, then added a black sentiment sticker strip from Kort & Godt with a couple of layers of cardstock behind it for a little bit of lift, before finishing off the card with Sparkle & Shine ombré glitter drops from Pinkfresh Studio.
The Flåklypa universe has had a big resurgence in the past 10-15 years or so. Additional movies have come out based on the original and there’s a bit of merchandise available. I have a few calendars, and for this card, I used a calendar page with Reodor looking at his latest machine, wrench and technical drawing in hand. I sampled the color on his shirt to create a colored cardstock to match, and die cut the letters for the name Reodor using the In Stitches Alphabet die set from My Favorite Things. I die cut a few layers from white and the top layer from my custom colored cardstock and added them below the image.
For the shaker portion of the card, I used the Outline Numbers and Solid Numbers die sets from My Favorite Things. I die cut the outline from the image as well as a few from white cardstock, and used the solid number die for the acetate. I used microbeads for shaker filler and colored the top layer with a layer of a very pale grey Copic marker to make it stand out a little against the background. The card was very well received, and my parents have actually framed it and put it on display in their dining room.
I started by drawing the balloons for my background with a 0.3 mm mechanical pencil. I erased most of the pencil lines before coloring, as Copic will trap pencil, making it impossible to erase after coloring. I wanted a no line look for these, and the half erased lines were enough for me to see where to add my Copics. Balloons are actually pretty easy to draw, it’s basically an upside down egg. If you don’t want to draw yourself, there are lots of balloon stencils on the market that you can use as a guide, or even a die cut balloon that you trace. I colored in my balloons, two of each color, added the panel to a top fold 4 bar card base I created from white cardstock and drew in balloon strings using a 0.35 Copic multiliner.
For a sentiment, I die cut the Hipp hurra die from Kort & Godt five times and stacked them for a dimensional look. I cut four from white cardstock and one from gold shine cardstock and topped the stack with that. I added some gems from the ST210 pack of gems to finish.
I mostly used three colors for the gradient on each of the balloons, but the yellow balloons have four.
I made a slimline card this time. I created a background from blue scraps from several collections from Maja Design – Denim & Friends, Denim & Girls, Fika and Vintage Autumn Basics are all represented. One of the things I like about the Maja Design patterned paper is that papers match across collections. They’re also made from really good heavyweight paper, which is another tick in the pro column for me. I used the Slimline Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to create the panel in the back and also the Stitched Traditional Tag STAX die set, also from MFT, to create the tags.
I added the image on top of one of the tags and scattered a few more basketballs around to work as embellishments. The orange really stands out against the blue background. To finish off I die cut the Konfirmant 5 die from Papirdesign six times from white cardstock and stacked them for a dimensional look. I adhered it on top of the image, and it floats above the card further down.
Whenever I make cards to order, I always decorate the inside too. I used the largest slimline double stitched rectangle die to create the white panels on the inside, adding more strips of patterned paper to continue the look from the front of the card and also fill the pages a little. Slimline cards are large, and the added elements make it less daunting to have to come up with a message for the recipient. On one side, I stamped a sentiment from the Konf. 01 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad using Blue Beyond ink from My Favorite Things, the right side still has plenty of room for a personal message. I also included more basketballs.
For the back of the card, I used a few strips of patterned paper I had left, die cut a white cardstock circle using the Stitched Circle STAX die set from My Favorite Things and stamped my personal stamp in the center of it using Blue Beyond ink from MFT. The card base is also from My Favorite Things, it’s made from Blueberry cardstock, and the envelope is also in that same Blueberry color.
Limited color palette for this one.
The RAM Stamps digital images always come in sets of two, where one has black lines and the other has grey lines to make it easier to print images for no line coloring. I wanted to change things up for this card and decided to pair the two versions. I layered them in Photoshop (the black lined one on top) and erased the background in the black lined version, only keeping the lines for the duck, the fairy and the large flower. I kept the no line version intact and printed my image. This way, I had dark lines for the focal point and soft grey for the remaining scene. I love the look of this.
I colored the part of the image that had the black lines using Copics, keeping the rest uncolored. I stamped a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Gifting stamp set from My Favorite Things directly on the panel using Obsidian ink from Altenew, then added a hugs word above, created using the Sweet Sentiments die set, also from Altenew. I die cut a few from white and one from a piece I’d colored with one of the Copics I used for the image. I still had the sentiment stamp mounted in my Misti, so I could stamp on top of the die cut for a continuous sentiment. I cut my panel down slightly and adhered it to a panel of Wildberry cardstock from Concord and 9th, adhered it all to a white card base and finished off the card with a few sequins from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
The image is simple, but I still went overboard with the coloring for this. It happens.
Papirmølla 