Going in Circles for your Birthday

Materials:
Candle pattern from Birthday Basics DSP (#130145) 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Crushed Curry cardstock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
1/2" Circle Punch (#119869)
1 1/4" Circle Punch (#119861)
1 3/4" Circle punch (#119850)
Best of Birthdays stamp set (#132929)
Mixed Bunch stamp set (#125537)
Candy Dots Brad Bases (#132293)
Brights Candy Dots (#130931)
Bermuda Bay In Color ink
Gingham Garden Washi Tape (#129314)
Pencil
Art Gum eraser

This is an easy card to make.
1. Use your circle punches to punch 4 circles in the patterned paper. Lightly draw a pencil circle on the Crushed Curry cardstock at each circle punch.
2.  Move the patterned paper and stamp in each of the circle on the colored cardstock. Erase the pencil lines.
3. Choose the colors of candy dots that you want for your brads. Carefully peel the candy dots off the plastic backing and place in the center of each brad. Punch a small hole at the top of 3 candles and place the brads there. Bend the backs on the back of the patterned paper.
4. Apply adhesive to the back of the patterned paper and carefully place the paper on the cardstock so that the stamped images shows through the circles.
5. Adhere this to your card base.

6. Decorate the inside of the card with your stamped greeting. Adhere the circles that you punched out of the patterned paper to the inside. Make 2 decorative lines with the Washi tape.
Send the card to a friend who's having a birthday soon.
Happy card making!

Silhouettes Birthday

Materials: Sycamore Street Designer Buttons (130923)
Sycamore Street 1/4" Ribbon Tangerine Tango (#130812)
Tangerine Tango cardstock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Island Indigo cardstock 4 x 5 1/4"
Whisper White cardstock
Framelits Labels Collection dielits (125598)
Serene Silhouettes stamp set (#127324)
Midnight Muse In Color ink
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Modern Label punch (#119849)

What is a card front?

When I first started stamping, I stamped everything directly onto whatever I was using for my card. That was usually an 8 1/2 x 4 1/4" sheet of white cardstock. Those cards weren't too bad for the way they were done 20 years ago when I first started in stamping. As the craft has evolved so have our methods of card making. Today, I always make a card front first and then add it to a folded sheet of cardstock, usually white but not always.

The card front starts with the background paper or cardstock. This is what you will put the rest of your design on. For the average card, I use a patterned paper or a piece of cardstock that measures 4 1/4 x 5 1/2." This will fit on the front of the folded 8 1/2 x 4 1/4" sheet of cardstock for the card base. I do NOT adhere this card front to the base until I am completely finished with my design.

I add whatever layers I desire onto the card front. That will include my stamped & colored images, punched borders, brads, ribbons, etc. You want the brads to go all the way through the layers on the card front but not through the card base. If it goes into the card base, then the backs of the brads shows through into the card. Ugly!

Here is what the back of the card front might look like when you are finished with your design.

Do you see the folded brads & the ends of ribbon that you put on the front? You really don't want that to show inside your card. That's why you haven't adhered it to the card base yet. If you are finished with your design, NOW you can adhere it to the card base. I usually place adhesive to all four edges and a diagonal strip across the middle.

Hope that helps you starting out? If you have any questions, post them on the comments, & I will try to answer them as soon as possible.