Two Birthday Cards

This week marks the 6th anniversary for Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge blog. To celebrate, they are having a "Happy Birthday"-themed challenge. I decided to make two more birthday cards for that challenge.

Operation Write Home's Sketch #248 inspired my first card:

I didn't include as many embellishments as in the sketch; nor a separate greeting strip, since my greeting was in the focal circle.

I began by printing the focal image/greeting from Bugaboo Stamps onto a piece of white cardstock. After coloring it with colored pencils, using Gamsol on a paper stump to blend the colors, I die cut it with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die. I used the same die to cut a piece of patterned paper from Recollections' "Paddywack" 6x6" pad. I cut 2 more patterns from that same pad with the next smaller die in the set. I also die cut 5 balloons, using one of the dies from Lawn Fawn's "Party Balloons" set, from a scrap of yellow patterned paper.

Once I determined my composition, I glued all the circles and balloons down onto a piece of kraft cardstock. I matted that with a light blue cardstock, and adhered it to an A2-size card base. I applied some glitter with my clear Wink of Stella brush pen to the balloons and cupcake icing. Finally, I coated the balloons and the cherry on the cupcake with Glossy Accents.

I used OWH's Sketch #239 for my second card:

I chose another image from Bugaboo Stamps for the focal panel, and used their "Happy Birthday Sign" image (apparently discontinued) for the greeting. After printing both onto pieces of white cardstock, I colored them with colored pencils, using Gamsol to blend the colors on the cupcake. The layers on the cupcake made me think of Oreo cookies, so I colored the top & bottom with cool grey pencils, and the middle with a more sandy cream color.

I chose 2 patterned papers from My Mind's Eye's "Boy Crazy" 6x6" paper pad for the background and the layer behind the double-matted focal panel. After matting the cupcake panel with yellow & red cardstocks, I adhered all my layers, popping the greeting up on foam tape. I also added Glossy Accents to the cherry on top of the cupcake. Finally, I matted the whole thing with a dark blue cardstock, and mounted that to a white A2 card base. I will be sending both of these cards to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I'm also entering both cards in the following challenges:

Catch the Bug's "Anything Goes"
Virginia's View Challenge #14: "Layers and Dimensions"