Festive Birthday for Christmas

I can’t seem to stop creating cards with the Suite Seasons stamp set.  Every time I put it back on the shelf and say, “Brian, Use some of your others great sentiment sets,” I find it back on my craft table.  So many great sentiments that I can’t seem to move on.  The big, bold sentiment I used today gave me just what I was looking for, and it was perfect for this week’s color challenge at FabFriday.  Here’s my card:

Real Red and Emerald Envy are an amazing combination of red-and-green for the holidays.  Both are vibrant and bold.  Crumb Cake pulls these back just a tad, grounding the boldness of the colors just a bit.  What a great combination!  Here’s the banner for this FabFriday challenge that inspired my card:Tips, Tricks and Reminders

• Something Squared, Something Rounded.  I wouldn’t call it a “rule” of card design, but I always like the appeal of a squared element when everything else is rounded or a round element when everything else is squared.  This oval works beautifully against the pile-up of rectangles on this card.  The big oval also plays well against the paper that has rounded edges in the patterns (the scalloped banners in the print) – even though the paper is cropped with hard corners.
• Festive Birthday for Christmas.  This entire card is centered around this panel of Emerald Green paper from the Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper.  Both festive and fun, this decidedly non-Christmas paper fits the Christmas mood without missing a beat.  I framed this piece of birthday paper with a thin border of Real Red – that gets me really close to the holiday spirit).  The tiny banner and Emerald Envy panel beneath gets me even closer.  The sweet sentiment about Christmas seals the deal.  It’s a Christmas card!
  

  Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper, Stampin’ Up!

• Little Banner.  Most of the time I spend designing this simple, layered card was spent trying to perfect the band that runs across the Emerald Envy Designer Series Paper.  It all started with a Real Red band, then it was Crumb Cake.  I even flirted with a Whisper White band on the front of that panel.  That’s when I tossed around the idea of just a red banner.  In the end, a combination of a Crumb Cake band and a small, red banner won out.  I let both hang over the Designer Series Paper panel for added appeal.

Stamp Sets:  Suite Seasons  Papers:  Festive Birthday, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Thick Whisper White  Inks:  Real Red  Accessories:  Layering Ovals Framelits Dies, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Suite Seasons Clear-Mount Stamp Set – 142209

Price: $20.00

Layering Ovals Framelits Dies – 141706

Price: $35.00

Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper – 141630

Price: $11.00

Real Red 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock – 102482

Price: $8.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock – 120953

Price: $8.00

Whisper White 8-1/2″ X 11″ Thick Cardstock – 140272

Price: $7.00

Supply List

I hope you’ll pop over to the FabFriday site to see the cards by the design team members and to play along with this week’s challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

Mystery Grab Bag.  During December, I’m giving away bundles of Designer Series Papers, ribbon, embellishments and finished cards for every $50 you spend with me.  What you receive is a mystery, but I know you’ll love it!  Click below to read more: