August Birthdays

Hi There!  So glad you came by today.  Do you have your coffee?  Have you been to the bathroom?  I  think you may want to get comfy before you start this LONG blog post today.  I have lots of friends and family with August birthdays.  Today is my sweet hubby's 59th and my brother is turning 70 on Sunday.  We are leaving in the morning for a surprise visit to celebrate this big one with him in Tennessee. 

I have a lot to share so lets get started!

Yesterday's birthday celebration for my friend Jan included a girl's night out to see The Help.  Afterwards, we had some cake and a glass of wine while she opened some presents and my card for her.  She loves and wears bright colors and this happy little card seemed perfect for her.  It's one I have had in my stash for a while now, but I had never finished the inside until I decided it was for Jan.

The card front is made up of a sentiment and this set of four birds from HERO ARTS as well as the little bird on the inside.  The inside has a double sentiment because I just love both of them and I think they fit well together. (PTI-Think Big Favorites #2 and Big Birthday Wishes.)  Card Stock is PTI- White, Hawaiian Shores, Orange Zest.  Memento Tuxedo Black ink was used for the sentiments.  The birds were colored with Copic Markers. The white squares were die cut with Spellbinder's-Nestabilities.

The next  set is for my hubby's birthday buddy and employee, Karen.  She rides her bike to and from work and always has a dish of candy on her desk so I was delighted when this all came together.  She was very pleased to receive "Hugs and Kisses" from her boss, especially, the Hershey's kind that filled the little basket.

Can you see the flowers in the basket?  I added a little glitter there and some Sakura glaze pen to the blue of the bicycle to brighten things up a bit.

And here's the inside:

  

Details:  PTI-Enchanted Evening, White card stocks, Birthday Basics (interior sentiment), medium scallop border die,   Favor it Box #2, Enchanted Evening Ribbon, Pure Poppy Vintage Buttons, Jute Button Twine,   Cosmo Cricket-polka dot paper,  Unity Stamp Co.-A Basket full of Wishes (sentiment and bicycle), Copic Markers, Martha Stewart-Crystal Fine Glitter, Hero Arts- Hugs and Kisses, Have a Great Day, Sakura-Clear Glaze Pen, Memento-Tuxedo Black ink

The next one you may recognize from the cover of the current issue of Card Ideas for Paper Crafters.  No, it's not my card on the cover!  But what a fun card to make for my brother's special birthday celebration!  Much thanks and admiration to Beth Matson, designer of this fab card!  Here's my version:

I added a mat layer in PTI's Terra Cotta Tile card stock and used almost every pattern paper from Cosmo Cricket's Social Club mini deck.   I thought it would take a really long time to roll all of the candles, but it was very simple and the process went quickly.  I rolled them around a wooden skewer as Beth suggested and used some Zig two-way glue to hold it firmly.  When I attached the candles to the card front, I used 1/8th inch Scor-tape along the seam side because the small round shape seemed to need some really secure adhesive.  I think it was a good choice.  This card base is PTI's Kraft, the sentiment is from Make a Wish stamp set and stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The edges of the patterned paper layer are inked with PTI -Tea Dye Duo-Chai ink 

and inside...

I repeated one of the pattern papers from the front to die cut the 70 using PTI's By the Numbers die set.  The sentiment is from Big Birthday Wishes.

And in conclusion...

Birthday gifts for my Sweet Hubby!  Girls, turning 59 is quite a milestone.  I know because I did it back in May of this year.  There is a whole new perspective on life and living it well on this side of the mountain.  So Sweet Hubby's birthday this year is all about living in style!  Cary Grant being our style icon, Sweet Hubby chose a fragrance worn by the handsome devil himself and a book looking back at the man, his movies, and, as the title says, a celebration of his unique style.

The handsome round box containing the new fragrance inspired the card.  PTI-Smoky Shadow, Summer Sunrise, and Vintage Cream card stock.  Stamped with Smoky Shadow ink using Big Birthday Wishes, and Big & Bold Wishes.  The architectural design is from Technique Tuesday.

and inside 

Again I used By the Numbers dies set.  It was a little tricky to cut through both layers of card stock with the dies but it worked.  I ran it through my Big Shot twice and very gently separated the cut out pieces and it turned out rather well.  I made the mistake of removing the removable tape before securing the two layers but I think I like just the hint of Summer Sunrise peeking through atop the Smoky Shadow.

Whew!!  Lotta words...Lotta cards....Lotta fun making them!  Thanks for sharing this fun with me.  Please let me know if you have a favorite and as always, I would appreciate your constructive criticism.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Suzanne