Birthday Card for a Musician - Experiment 5

Yep, I know it's been a looong time since the last post.  Months, in fact.  But I haven't been idle.  I've been chasing around a toddler, starting a new job, and squeezing in a crafty moment wherever I can.  Mostly that's come in the form of supply shopping, but I've made several cards, too.

Back in February, my friend Jenna had a birthday.  We had been lamenting about the fact that we rarely even had time to get a haircut because of the aforementioned toddler-chasing, so I figured the perfect present would be a gift card to a local swanky salon chain.  She just used it a month ago!

I knew I had to make a card with a pocket, similar to the New Mama card I had made.  What I love about making cards individually by hand is that I can personalize each one for the recipient.

Stuff:

I couldn't find all the exact supplies I had used, but these are similar.
Marvy Uchida lever craft punch - 1.25" star
Stampin Up' Curry dye ink pad
A2-sized DCWV textured yellow card base & white envelope
American Crafts Mini-Marks Rub-On Transfers-Celebration Book 2, Color
EK Success Inkadinkado Music Sheet Wood Stamp
Yellow 6X12 Alphabet Stickers (Studio Calico)

How:

1.  I had a new rubber stamp that was a bunch of jumbled sheet music scores, perfect for backgrounds and perfect for my musical friend.  I wanted a subtle tone on tone look, so I used a mustard colored dye ink from Stampin' Up on a pre-cut A2 sized dark yellow card base and stamped randomly to cover the card, re-inking each time.  I let this dry for about 10 minutes.

2.  Using the star punch, I made 5 stars from brown shimmer cardstock from my scrap pile.  I used lowercase cardstock letter stickers in a sparkly yellow that matched the card base for her name.

3.  I arranged the stars in a sort of constellation pattern and stuck them on the card with pop-dots to give them a 3-D look.

4.  My beloved Minimarks rub-ons in a dainty 'happy birthday' make up a border for the bottom of the card.

5.  I cut out a small strip of dark yellow cardstock for the pocket and stuck the sides and bottom down with double sided tape.  I used the same pack of rub ons to add the word "wish" in a corner of the pocket.  I also cut down a border sticker to add a bit of color inside the card, to match the gift card a little better and make it look less plain on the inside.

Tips:

• Figure out a color scheme first.  That'll narrow down your choices of "stuff" to put on the card.
• Lay out all the pieces before sticking anything.  Or use reusable adhesive, similar to the stuff that Post-It Notes use.
• Heat-set the stamped background with a heat gun to be sure the ink is dry and doesn't smear.  Dye (water-based) inks dry pretty quickly, but pigment inks can take a lot longer to dry, and the stamping will smear if it's not completely dry.
• Every now and then, put the card down and sit back and look at it.  Does it look "right" to you?  Is there a big empty space somewhere?  Does it need *something* more?
• I like to add a couple of embellishments inside the card so it doesn't look too plain compared to the elaborate work I've done on the front.
• When making pockets for gift cards or other thin items, remember to only tape or staple three sides of the pocket so that one side is open to slip the item in.  This is a total "duh" tip, but I can't be the only one who pasted the whole thing down and realized my mistake, right?

This was another fun project that just took a couple of hours from start to finish.  I spent most of my time trying to figure out *what* to do, and actually assembling this simple card was pretty quick.  More to come, so stay tuned!