About a week ago, we got an invitation to a surprise birthday party my dear friend, Gail.  The invitation was hand delivered by her husband and clearly specified ‘no gifts’.  Of course, those kinds of instructions I rarely follow, at the very least I wanted to make a card.  For stampers, January is a great time to make up a few birthday and all occasion cards so you have one done when you need it.  (Non-stampers can stock up on the January sales too.)  I could make her a birthday card, and maybe do a few more for later. Here’s the thing, though, this lovely lady just happens to be my Stampin’ Up demonstrator, as well as a friend for more than 10 years. We met through the car club, (our husbands are both gearheads), and I didn’t know she did stamping for several years. But, when I found out that she did Stampin’ Up, we instantly had just that much more to play with. But, making a card for her? Oh, the pressure!!

Well, digging out a few items to play with, the one thing I was sure of, it had to be pretty creative.  I used a yellow card base, a bit bigger than I usually make as I had some big envelopes and sheets of 12×12 paper.

I like the little chef with his arm raised high holding a platter in the stamp set called Voila. He has a number of things that the platter can hold in the set, and in the companion set, but the cake was the obvious choice.  The Happy Birthday greeting came from the same set. Stamped on pink, I laid out some other elements with it. I wanted to have a bit of embossing for texture, and a deckle torn edge on the accent piece for more interest.

The embossed piece is a light green with a darker green accent on the bottom. I stamped the envelope with a wine and cheese stamp.  A bit of color was added to the cake and candle, and to his pants with color pencils.

Something was missing, and I realized the center pink element needed a frame. A dark purple added yet a bit more color and dimension to the card front.  Amazing how just that little bit of contrast makes a huge difference in the look, it has a more finished look now.

For the inside, sentiments from two other stamp sets were used. I wanted this card to be something she might not make herself, and combining sentiments from three different stamp sets seemed like a good way to be creative. I added some iridescent star stickers to the inside too.

I liked the final design, so I made another one for another very special person, who will receive it later in the year. I used the last of the handmade paper I’ve been saving. The embossed white is narrower, and there is a patterned paper underneath.

A butterfly for this envelope, and both cards got my personal stamp for the back.

Similar, but not the same.  Two special cards for two special ladies.

The party was last night, and Gail was definitely surprised.  Her daughter had kept her busy all day and she never suspected a thing, until she got to the restaurant to find us waiting with a lot more friends.  We took a little pot of blooming miniature yellow jonquils to go with her yellow card.  I was delighted to find that I wasn’t the only one that didn’t follow instructions, she got a bunch of cards and flowers.  Pizza and salad was served, along with a huge cake (delicious, I might add) decorated with yellow roses.  We had a fun time helping her celebrate.

Now I just need to find a bit more time to make a few more cards.  I still don’t have any spare cards, LOL!!
Whether handmade or store bought, do you like to get a head start on cards early in the year?