Birthday Cake

I was absent from the crafting world for many years and joined Stampin’ Up! a little over a year ago.  While I was away, the entire landscape changed.  While I wasn’t around to see the introduction of clear-mount stamps and the growing popularity of blogs devoted to stamping, I have been able to experience the joy firsthand.  Also, while I was away, Stampin’ Up! introduced the concept of “In Colors.”  I really like the concept – but I missed out on a lot of the colors that feel like a gossipy whisper to me.  For the past year, Pam would say, “Crushed Curry is TO DIE FOR!  Oh, I wish they still had that color – you would love it.”  and the occasional, “Remember Bermuda Bay?” – to which I could only say, “no.” 

Well, now that I have been properly introduced to these rich colors, I understand the passion that surrounds them.  The more I work with Bermuda Bay, the more I want to work with it.  On Sunday, I paired it with Summer Starfruit for a masculine card.  Today, it’s paired with Strawberry Slush for a much different look.  Here’s my card: Birthday Cake, Banner Greetings, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

  • Snippy, Snippy.  I know that a lot of people live by painting their stamps with Stampn’ Write Markers, giving it a huff and the stampin’ away.  I find that I don’t always get the bold image I want and resort to snipping to my hearts content.  I stamped this cake in Bermuda Bay and Strawberry Slush.  I snipped the pieces from each and layered them on top of each other to recreate the image in full.  It’s a lot of snipping, but I love the bold, colorful layers.
  • The Quicker Picker Upper.  When gluing small pieces (or even large pieces), we often find that some of the glue spills over or seeps out of the edges.  No good!  This is a terrible picture (it was very “in the moment”), but you can see the glue spilling out from the tops of the candles.  Stampin' Up!You may have missed this in the catalog (except that I know you pay really close attention), but we sell an Adhesive Remover (#103684) that grabs that glue and cleans it right up.  My suggestion?  Swipe it in a single direction over and over until the glue is gone – don’t go back-and-forth or you are just moving the adhesive around when you really want it gone. 
  • Balance.  When I set out to make this card, I just knew my banner would be anchored on the right hand side of the polka dot paper.  When everything was said and done, though, I needed to move it a bit to the right to keep the colors and weights in the card balanced.  If you sit back a squint a bit, you can get a good idea of the balance.  If things feel like they are heavy to the left, then move something else a bit to the right.  Things don’t need to be CENTERED, but I like to make sure they are BALANCED.

Stamp Sets: Birthday Cake, Banner Greetings  Inks:  Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush  Papers:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush, 2013-2014 Designer Series Paper Stack (Strawberry Slush)  Accessories:  Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

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17 Comments

  1. Laurie Burns Gachewicz

    Bold balance = STUNNING!!! I now cannot wait to make a card with these colors and the lovely combination of polka dots with chevrons too! This is awesome Brian! & so are you! 🙂

  2. Bold color combination!! It’s a winner!

  3. I love this color combo! And I agree, I would often rather snip than color…just so nice and bold! Awesome card, Brian! 🙂

  4. I love this!

  5. clean and simple. the cake is delicious.

  6. Bermuda Bay and Strawberry Slush – what a fun combination! Can hardly wait to get my hands on the new In Colors. I loved them ALL instantly …
    Thank you for introducing the Adhesive Remover, Brian. I LOVE the 6×6 Silicon Craft Sheet, but I hadn’t seen the remover.

  7. Thank you for your tips and tricks ! I use the adhesive remover but, wasn`t aware of the one direction only ….and I keep seeing people on other blogs commenting on Bermuda Bay . It is a keeper apparently . But the biggie is something that slipped my mind ….the famous Brian Squint technique …I had forgotten you told us about that once before ! Can you promise that it won`t create wrinlkles around the eyes ?? Great card btw….!

  8. Great design with balance and precision. The colors pop! Uber cool, Brian.

  9. Nice job Brian!

  10. This eye-catcher is a WOW for sure!

  11. I’m sure glad the USPS has flat rate boxes for shipping! (the nickels, silly)

  12. This is why I look at this blog first every day! It’s fun, and I see a beautiful (and perfectly balanced) card. :o) Then I read how and why it was made the way it was and always learn something new. And then (and this is something I don’t do on other blogs) I even read all the comments because you have such a fun a group of followers, and I often learn from them too. Sooo glad you came back to the crafting world!!

  13. I love polka dots…fabulous card..but of course! Great color combo…thanks for sharing your how-to tips! Sigh, what a guy…you, not the card!

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