Happy Birthday 2 U

After making a few technique-heavy cards, I decided to take a bit of a break and do something relatively simple. The June Linky Party theme at a2z Scrapbooking's blog is "Stars and Stripes," so I decided to do something incorporating that theme. I also decided I wanted to make a kid's card, since I don't do nearly enough of those for Operation Write Home.

I began by pulling out a new-to-me 6x6" patterned paper pad, "Boy Crazy" by My Minds Eye. I had picked this up at the Great American Scrapbook Convention this month in Arlington, TX, because I felt it would be perfect for kids' cards. I ended up choosing one of the star patterns from that pad for the main background.

I also wanted to use one of my newer die sets: Spellbinders "Labels One." So I turned to my binder of OWH sketches in search of one that incorporated either a square or circle. This is the one I decided on:

Besides the circle element, the main thing that drew me to this sketch was the large background area with the scalloped trim. I felt this large piece would showcase the patterned paper, without letting it overwhelm the card. To make my trim, I punched a strip of yellow-orange cardstock with the "Binding Edge" edger punch by EK Success. I felt the torn-notebook look was more gender-neutral than a scalloped border, and might resonate with someone looking for a card to send to his/her child. After I punched the strip & trimmed it down a little, I glued it to the back of the patterned paper piece and set that aside.

I used a greeting from this Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set, stamping it onto a piece of light grey cardstock. I liked the bold, graphic look of the stamp, and how it packs a punch. I heat embossed it with American Crafts Zing! embossing powder in Rouge, to pick up on the red in the star patterned paper. After it cooled, I die cut the label, and inked around the edges with Pumice Stone Distress ink, to provide a little more depth and dimension with no bulk.

Finally it was time to assemble the card. I cut a piece of red cardstock to 4.25x5.5", and centered & adhered the background panel onto it using my ATG tape runner. (I did use liquid glue under the trim, to keep it from pulling up & snagging other cards in the package for OWH.) After that I glued the label in place, adhered the front to the card base, and the card was finished. Well, I thought it was finished.

I decided the design was just a bit too heavy on the right, and wanted to do something on the left to balance it out. So, as a test run, I penciled in dots in the upper and lower left corners. I liked the effect (and my mom concurred when I asked for her opinion!), and so I erased my pencil marks and replaced them using a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen. THEN I was finished!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"
Operation Write Home/Our Daily Bread Designs June Challenge: "Dies or Punches"