Photoplay Notting Hill Birthday Card

Hello, Friends! If you have an avid reader in your circle, then I think you will appreciate this Photoplay Notting Hill Birthday Card design. Our sweet daughter in law celebrated her birthday this month, so I had to take a step away from all the Christmas papers for a few moments. She is a lover of books. The book club she started years ago is still going strong to this day.

She and our son also have 2 lovely kitties. So, books and cats seemed to be a good design direction to pursue. Since I had just received this Notting Hill collection from Photoplay, making her card was a cinch. I’m happy to share some of the tips and tricks I used to create this vibrant card.

Design Tips

Tip #1: Balancing Act: This color palette is much more bold than my “go to” choices. So I balanced the the brilliant blues and neon greens with a softer plaid background that almost reads like a neutral.
Tip #2: Pops of Color: Choose smaller panels of the really bright patterns from the paper collection and layer them in small doses.
Tip #3: Think about shapes. It’s always a good idea to add round or oval elements on a square or rectangular card. The oval die cut in the center of the card provides a welcome relief from all the sharp corners and edges. The same is true of the plant pots.
Tip #4: Elevation: Fussy cut the napping kitty from the 3×4 card. This is not a very big image, but by backing it with foam tape, you give it more of a presence on the page. Then surround it with the potted plants to draw the eye right to it. By fussy cutting around the image, you also give it more of a dimensional feel. It’s a simple trick, but it makes a big difference in the card design.

A Peek Inside

Naturally, I added a gift card pocket to the card interior. I also repeated themes (the sleeping kitty) and patterns (the plaid background) inside to reinforce the elements used on the card cover.

This little gift card wallet is the perfect place to add my sentiment and a shopping spree at a local bookstore.

This is a great collection for anyone who keeps a journal of the books they read each year. And if you belong to a book club, you’ll find lots of great patterns and themes that will come in handy when you make cards for your fellow bookworms.

You can find a linked supply list below this post. I hope I’ve shared some helpful design tips with you today. If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Oh, and there will be no Throwback Thursday this week. I have family coming in for Christmas, the Littles coming over to bake cookies…and presents that need to be wrapped! So I’ll be taking a few days off to enjoy the holidays. I have a full line up of posts for the following week, including a really fun Throwback Thursday!

Wishing you all a blessed, merry and happy Christmas!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

Photoplay Notting Hill Collection
- 12×12 Paper Collection (includes sticker sheet)
- ephemera bits

September Heartfelt Creations Alumni Hop

Hello, Friends! It’s the last Tuesday in September and that means it’s time for another Heartfelt Creations Alumni Hop. You should be coming here from Mary’s BLOG. If so, you are right on track. Just in case, here’s the blog hop order:

Emelia
Vicki
Amarilys
Ujjwal
Mary
Kathy (You are here)
Glenda
Alissa
Sarah
Gini

A random winner will be chosen from one of the blogs on this hop, so make sure you leave a comment on each and every blog! Your chance to comment will expire on Friday, October 2nd at midnight. The winner will be announced here on Saturday, October 3rd. The winner will then have 72 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn.

Classic Sunflower Birthday Card

Autumn birthdays are the perfect excuse to create with my favorite Classic Sunflower Collection. You can find a complete tutorial below this post.

I wanted to pick up on the beautiful rust and green tones in the designer papers and did this by inking my papers with Colorbox Burnt Sienna Chalk ink. I love the rustic feel of this card from the distressed edges to the crumpled sunflowers, it makes me happy!

I used a lot of metal accents, glass beads and beautiful ribbons and fibers to add texture and visual interest to the card. The Everyday Heroes Die was colored with Burnt Sienna ink and embossed lightly with Antique Gold embossing powder. I backed it with a sentiment from the designer paper, filled it with Glossy Accents and then sprinkled in some beads and mica flakes just for fun.

Just look at all that yummy texture and shine!

The interior of the card is finished with more designer paper, and some stamps from my stash. I really appreciate all the artwork that comes in the Heartfelt Creations paper packs. They make it so easy to create a really special card.

I’m so glad you hopped by today. From here, you will hop over and visit Glenda’s BLOG.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Classic Sunflower Birthday Card Tutorial

Supplies:

Heartfelt Creations Classic Sunflower Paper Collection
Classic Sunflower Die
Classic Sunflower Cling Stamp Set
Everyday Heroes Die
Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit
Art Institute Clear Glitter Adhesive
Bella Rose Leaves Stamp
Bella Rose Die
5×7 Gold Card base, side fold
Cajun Craze Cardstock (stampin’ up)
gold metallic paper (Colorbok)
copper brads
metal flower button
natural burlap string
Antique Gold Faux Burlap Wired Ribbon
3/8″ Moss/Cream Plaid Ribbon
Zutter Bow-it-All Tool
Czech Beads (topaz, copper, gold)
Mica flakes (bronze)
Antique Gold Embossing Powder (Stampendous)
Glossy Accents, foam adhesive
ColorBox Paintbox Fluid Chalk Inks/Autumn Pastels
Clear Embossing Powder
Gold Mist (mine is homemade but any gold mist will do)

Directions:

Stamp two sets of Classic Sunflowers, one with Yellow Cadmium Ink, one with Burnt Sienna Ink. Heat Emboss with Clear embossing powder and die cut with the Classic Sunflower Die.

Use a sponge dauber to color the flower petals with chalk paints.

Flip the flower layers over, spray lightly with water and shape with Deluxe Flower shaping kit. Stack and glue the layers together. Fill Centers with Art Institute Glue and and assortment of Czech beads. Set aside to dry.

Stamp, die cut and color the Bella Rose Leaves.

Cut a panel of the chicken wire designer paper slightly smaller than the 5″ x 7″ card base. Ink the edges with Burnt Sienna chalk ink. Spritz with gold mist. Distress the edges, ink again if necessary.

Cut a 4.25″ square from the word collage paper. Mat with Cajun Craze and gold foil paper. Glue onto the chicken wire panel.

Cut a 4″ square from the plaid paper. Mat as above. Secure slightly to the right of the word collage square, using foam adhesive to create more dimension.

Run the burlap approx. 1.25″ inches from the card base. Top with a double layer of the moss/cream plaid ribbon. Glue the chicken wire panel to the card base.

Die cut the Everyday Heroes die from white cardstock. Use the circle die to cut out the center. Color with Dark Brown Ink. Sprinkle with Antique Gold Embossing Powder and heat emboss. Cut the sentiment from one of the card fronts and glue behind the die to create a window effect.

Fill the circle with Glossy Accents, and sprinkle in some Czech beads and mica flakes. Set aside to dry.

Add copper brads to the top and bottom of the die and secure in place with foam adhesive. Cluster the sunflowers around the die as seen in the photo. Cut the Bella Rose leaves into 3 sections and glue behind the flowers.

Tie a double layer bow with the Bow-it-all Tool. Glue to the card, as shown. Create a triple loop bow with natural burlap string and place on top of the plaid bow. Top with the metal flower.

Cut out the ticket and tab from the paper collection and secure with foam tabs.

Sprinkle beads on leaves, securing with AI glue, if desired.