Happy Birthday Friend | Simon Says Stamp Hey Bestie Release

Hi there, I hope you’re having a great week!

The Simon Says Stamp Hey Bestie release is live and today I’ve got the first of a few cards I made using the pretty Heart Garland background stamp.  I love that these little hearts on a string look like little balloons, or flowers, or bubbles!

I started by using white Hero Arts embossing powder and Wow! Embossing pad to heat emboss the background onto an A2-sized piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock.  I like to use this coated cardstock when I plan to ink blend with regular Distress Inks.  Because the ink sits on the surface of the paper for a bit longer, I can get a smoother application of ink, even with my heavy hand.

I got out Festive Berries, Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, and Dried Marigold Distress inks along with four foam blending tools.  I started with Festive Berries and then added the other four colors, blending where they overlapped.  While the paper’s coating helps prevent harsh lines, it can also make it easy to rub off the ink that you’re trying to lay down.  So, when I want to intensify color, or get a good blend between colors, I always finish by using an up and down tamping motion so that I’m not wiping away color with a side-to-side motion.

While the ink was drying, I worked on the sentiment.  I used the Big Friend die which includes a shadow layer.  I die cut “friend” four times out of heavy white cardstock and then stacked and adhered the pieces together for dimension.  Then I adhered the sentiment to the shadow layer which I had die cut out of vellum.

Next I stamped “happy birthday”, from the Tiny Words stamp set, in Versafine Clair Nocturne ink onto a strip of Neenah Solar white.

To assemble the card I first trimmed the background panel to 5.25″ x 4″ and then used foam tape to adhere it to an A2-sized card base.  Then I adhered the “friend” sentiment flush to the background.  To finish, I adhered the sentiment strip with foam tape.

Thank you so much for stopping by!