RAWR! (Dinosaur for Happy Birthday, Nate!)

It's my grandson's 4th birthday, and I have a special card for this dinosaur-loving boy:

Yes, Nathan loves his dinos, and I had this set all picked out and waiting for his birthday.  Here's what I did:

I started with a modified "card-in-a-box" template.  I had experimented with this design once before (see this card), and used the same idea but made it larger in order to accommodate four dinosaurs.  This card is 5" long and 1" wide; it's 3-1/2" tall.  Basic black cardstock was used for the base, and I covered the entire box with (retired) designer series paper.  It looks like a jungle.

Then it was on to the dinosaurs.  No Bones About It is a terrific set, and the dinosaurs can be stamped with or without their bones/skeletons.  I chose "without" for this card.  Each dino was stamped (Cajun Craze, Tranquil Tide, So Saffron and Old Olive) and then cut out using my contraband dies from Dies by Dave (horrors!  but these dies make it SO easy to get the perfect dino!).

Each dino has a party hat!   I mean, what's a birthday without party hats, right?  The dinosaurs were added to the box via "crossbeams" that run horizontally through the box--I used Glue Dots and Dimensionals to adhere them.  I also used the Succulent Framlit Dies to add a few extra leaves/food for the dinos.

Side view...

Happy Birthday, Nathan! 

And happily, No Bones About It is being carried over in the new catalog, so if  you want to make your very own dino card, you can still purchase it.  All supplies used are listed below.  Click on the photo to shop in my on-line store.


Product List

No Bones About It Photopolymer Stamp Set

[138756]

$26.00

Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad

[126965]

$6.50

So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad

[126957]

$6.50

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

[126953]

$6.50

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

$8.00

Glue Dots

[103683]

$5.25

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

Succulent Framelits Dies

[142757]

$33.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Dinosaurs Meet Botanical Blooms

Now that Sale-A-Bration is over, I thought I would pull out one of my favorite sets from the annual catalog...AND I pulled out one of my favorite designer series papers from the Occasions Catalog.  Together they make magic!  Thought I'd enter this to the Watercooler Wednesday challenge, which this week is "anything goes:



And here's my card:

The tropical garden page from Botanical Gardens DSP (140583) seemed to make a wonderful backdrop for my dinosaur card.  No Bones About It (138756) is a great set for making cards for my grandsons, who are nuts about dinosaurs.

The dino is stamped in Old Olive ink (126953) and then I stamped the skeleton on top of him, using Mossy Meadow (133645).  I also stamped a cluster of leaves from the same set using the same inks, and some footprints with Tip Top Taupe (138325). My stamped white cardstock (100730) was glued to a Mossy Meadow (133676) base.

I took some DSP and adhered it to Cajun Craze cardstock (119684) and used my Ovals Framelits  (129381) to cut the hole in the center. This was then popped up on top of the base using Dimensionals (104430), creating a diorama look.

Then I had some fun cutting leaves and flowers using the Botanical Builder Framelits (140625) and added them to the card front.  The sentiment was stamped in Mossy Meadow ink.

For my inside, I completed the sentiment:

and of course, added one more dinosaur.


I'm pretty sure Ethan and Jacob will love this card...what do you think?


All items can be purchased here.

Simply Sports meets Birthday

Last summer, while surfing some of my favorite blog spots for ideas, I came across a post by James Weber.  Although I'm not sure he's still a demonstrator (as he has not updated his blog since August), he had an idea that got my juices flowing.  Using Simply Sports, he turned it into a party.  So here is my version:

I don't know if you are familiar with Simply Sports.  It's a great set of silhouette bodies playing their favorite sports:

By omitting the balls these stamps became a party!

I started with a Basic Black card base, but it's big:  4 1/2" x 6 1/2".  Stampin' UP! doesn't make paper long enough to make a 13" card base (folded in half), so I used a 4 1/2" x 7 1/2", with a score at 1", and then adhered the 1" tab to a 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" piece.  It worked perfectly.

I then layered on a skinny Mint Macaroon layer and on top of that I adhered some new It's My Party Designer Series Paper Stack.  Oh my goodness!  This stack is huge, 48 sheets of  double sided 12" x 12" paper, four of each design.  And the colors and designs are to die for!  Black, Mint Macaroon, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Sahara Sand...I'll be using LOTS of this!

I stamped the figures using the fabulous Archival Basic Black Ink--so rich and black!  I added a pony tail to one of the dancers (OK, true confessions--I had to stamp this panel about four times to get it right--I either dropped a stamp on it, stamped the music notes upside down, or missed the pony tail!  Geez...but the outcome was worth the frustration!).

The pinata horse is from Zoo Babies--I used the zebra and painted all the stripes using Stampin' Write markers.  This was cut out and popped up with Dimensionals after I added a piece of Gold Thread. 

The party hats are from No Bones About It; stamped, cut and popped up on tiny pieces of Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from Boys Will Be Boys, stamped on Mint Macaroon and punched with the Banner Punch.

And of course, due to the size, I had to make my own envelope, using more of the DSP and my Envelope Punch Board.  Due to the unusual size, I had to look up measurements on this site:  http://www.thecraftyowl.co.uk/EnvelopeExpert/
Hang on to that address--you can make ANY size cards and this will help you figure out the measurements for your envelope.

So this card is going to my nephew...do you think he'll like it?


And don't forget; the Occasions Catalog goes live Tuesday, along with Sale-A-Bration--where any $50 purchase gets you a FREE item from the Sale-a-bration selection!

All supplies can be purchased here.

Now go make something pretty!

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