Musical Birthday Guy Card

 Happy Weekend! I hope your week went well. I cycled off of low carb this week after over a month because I had developed some sort of digestive intolerance to it and got real tired of that, so I did the B.R.A.T. diet for 2 days and am now on restricted calories/portion control and lower fat with good carbs. I'm also still only eating in an 8-hour window. And it's working well so far.

Today I'm sharing a birthday card I made for my brother. His passion and hobby is music, so I chose that theme. It gave me a chance to use a new LaLaLand musical staff die I recently bought and to also work with a couple of textural surfaces I don't normally use. Since I was keeping it flat for mailing, the texture was a nice extra.

  
I chose this Splitcoaststampers Sketch SC578 as my design layout, resizing to 6x6" in PSE. Because of the elements I used, I moved the two flag elements s bit to the long vertical strip and I added my musical staff die cut across the lower half, but otherwise followed the sketch.

 

  

So okay, this card began with the musical theme and die. Then I saw a few challenges that intrigued me. Let's Squash It wanted me to use an embossing folder and emboss not card, not paper. In my world, that leaves vellum or foil/metal (still not too enthused about embossing acetate or plastic pkg). So I pulled out my 12x12 vertical paper holder labeled "Special Papers". Lord Have Mercy, so much vellum, patterned acetate and handmade pulpy papers! I forgot that I have them. The 3 photos above are my "special papers": 2 vellums in shades of blue and a gorgeous burnt orange handmade molded weave paper. (Click on the photo to see larger.) The colors were a sign because my brother loves orange and blue (his baseball team's colors) and they're also opposite on the color wheel and bright. 

I used the Birthday Collage A2 embossing folder by Darice on the light blue square vellum and on the darker blue vellum vertical strip to the left I used Spellbinder's A7 Next Level Music folder. After embossing and adhering the vertical strip onto a mat of the handmade paper, I saw all the white so I got my Blue Blue Brilliance Dew Drop ink pad and dabbed it on, then heat-dried it very gingerly as it was already attached. It finally dried. The same white marks appeared on the embossed square vellum, so I dabbed the ink pad on it but this time thought to cover it with clear embossing powder and heat-emboss it. Two very different looks. The darker vellum looks almost like metal to me. I used the handmade paper also to cut the music score die and then attach it with my 3M spray adhesive. Because the paper is so thick and starchy stiff, it worked perfectly.

When looking at all my 12x12 vellum I found this "brother" vellum. I layered it on top of DCWV patterned paper and added hand-stamped sentiments on an MFT die cut. I used Memento Summer Sky ink to stamp a Visible Image music score as some interest.

And more DCWV patterned paper (from their Summer Stack, I think). The dreamsicle orange base mats front and back are Bazzill textured card stock. I hand-stamped and punched the siggie and paired it with a fussy-cut Visible Image keyboard stamped on the patterned paper. 

And a final view. I think he'll like it okay. You know guys...and brothers! Ha! wink-wink Until next time, Stay Well and Craft On! XOX

MY CHALLENGES PLAYLIST:

1.   Splitcoaststampers Sketch SC578

2.   Cute Card Thursday #691: AG + Opt. Bright Colors -- #2/xx Option played!

3.   The Male Room #153: 8th Birthday! -- #2/xx 

4.   Color My Heart Color Dare #456: Color Wheel Opposites -- #1/xx  I chose oranges and blues. 

5.   Daisy Chain Challenge #153: Boys/Men -- #2/xx  

6.   MAWTT #133: Summer Fun and/or Color (orange, yellow) -- #2/3 

7.   Happy Little Stampers AG with Dies August -- #1/xx 

8.   Let's Squash It #11: Use Any Embossing Folder AND Emboss AND Include Something that is Not Paper or Card -- #1/3 and 8 Challenges Max - I used 2 folders to emboss vellum