Birthday Cards Two Ways - Hampton Art Stamps

Happy Wednesday, Bloggers! Today, I want to share some work that I did for the Hampton Art Stamps Blog. I make two or three projects a month for their blog. If you have not been to visit the blog, stop by. The design team is VERY talented and we share a new project every week day!

I have two birthday cards to share today - one is my "normal" grungy vintage style and one is a more cute, pastel - but still a bit vintage style. {grin}

This is masculine-themed card, but with flowers. At least they are black flowers! I stamped the balloon image and then colored it with Copic markers. Then, I stamped the birthday message onto the balloon with blue ink. I used more ink to distress the edges of the paper.

I wanted this card to be full of grunge and steampunk style - which is why I used Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante papers. I added gears and a light bulb to the flowers, plus a bit of wire. I used a faux patina technique to make the script background paper. The patina gives an antique look to the whole card.

To create the faux patina:

1. Apply ink to your embossing folder with Graphic 45 Decades Venetian Lace ink. Make sure the ink is on the side of the folder that is the front or top. You want ink on the debossed areas of the cardstock, not the raised areas of the cardstock.

2. Emboss your cardstock with the folder.

3. On your cardstock, ink over the raised parts with Graphic 45 Decades Antique Moss, Bon Voyage, and Dark Cashmere antiquing ink, in that order. (Basically, you need to ink with green, blue, and dark brown, one color on top of the next, to create the patina.) Allow the ink to dry. It is very important that all ink is dry before moving to the next step.

4. Ink some of the raised areas with Watermark or clear embossing ink.

5. Heat emboss with a copper embossing powder. You can use any metal (gold, sliver, etc.) but I like the look of the antique copper.

6. Trim panel and edge with Dark Cashmere antiquing ink, then mat with black cardstock.

This is the inside of the card.

My second card is also a birthday card, but in a totally different style. I have to admit, I was not really happy with this one, mostly because it was a bit too...perky! However, I wanted to try the new Spellbinders Shapeabilities Stamp and Die Sets. I saw these at the Hampton Art booth at CHA, but this is the first time I've had a chance to try them out!

I stamped the image onto white cardstock and then colored it. Once I had the image colored, I made a template so that I would not mess up my image when I die cut the shape.

To create a perfectly cut image:

1. First, cut your die shape out of plain cardstock. You need the negative, not the actual die cut shape. In other words, you need the "hole" not the shape!

2. On another piece of cardstock, stamp and color your image as desired.

3. Place the cardstock template over your stamped and colored image and line it up so that you cut the image correctly with the die. Secure with some tape.

4. Place your die over the cardstock template, making sure it fits into the opening perfectly. Secure with tape. Cut and emboss. Everything should line up for a perfectly cut and embossed image!

It may be hard to see in the photos, but I used some glaze pens to give my cupcake frosting a more...frosted look. Yum!

I know that I used some sketches when I made these cards, but I forgot to write them down. I am pretty sure they were from the Mojo Monday site. I think the cupcake card used Sketch 231, but I cannot find the one I used for the balloon card. If anyone spies a sketch that looks like that, let me know!

I hope you enjoyed my projects today. Leave a comment and say hello! I love reading your comments!

Balloon Card:
Hampton Art Stamps:
Art Warehouse: Hot Air Balloons
Doodlebug Design: You Said It
Studio G: Make a Wish

Clearsnap Ink:
Colorbox Graphic 45 Decades Antiquing Ink: Photogenic, Dark Cashmere, Venetian Lace, Bon Voyage, Antique Moss
Top Boss: Watermark
Smooch Spritz: Black Velvet

Embossing Powder: Hampton Art Copper
Cardstock: Stampin' Up!: Black, Very Vanilla
Designer paper: Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante: Eclectic Emporium, Ephemera Extradinaire; Steampunk Debutante
Markers: Copic
Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Wire: Artistic Wire: Silver
Embellishments: Sky Blue Pink: Light bulb; 7 Gypsies: Gears
Tools: My Favorite Things die-namics Fishtail Flat Stax
Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares; Scotch 3M tape; Glue Dots adhesive dots; glue

Cupcake Card:
Hampton Art Stamps:
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Stamp and Die Sets: Cupcakes Clear Stamps

Clearsnap Ink:
Colorbox Graphic 45 Decades Antiquing Ink: Photogenic, Dark Cashmere

Cardstock: Stampin' Up!: Very Vanilla; American Crafts: Rocky Road
Designer paper: Echo Park: This and That Graceful
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon: Diamond Satin Turftan Brown, Swiss Dots Grosgrain Pearl Pink
Markers/Pens: Copic Markers; Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze, Star Dust
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large, Classic Scalloped Circles Large; My Favorite Things die-namics Fishtail Flat Stax, Tag You're It
Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares; Scotch 3M tape