Category Archives: Birthday Parties

Sleepover Birthday Party Invitations

When planning any kind of theme party, I love to try to make a really cool invitation. Eden has had two different sleepover parties that really didn’t have a more specific theme. I thought I would share two completely different ideas for how to make a fun and unique party invitation.

Sleepover Party Invitation #1:

For this invitation, I made a postcard style card. When making this style of a card, I create a full-page document and then duplicate the page four times. When I go to print the invitation I select “print 4 pages per page” so that all four postcards will print on a quarter of a sheet of card stock. To see a full tutorial on how to do this, check-out my Snowflake Birthday Invitation.  The computer portion of the invitation just contained the standard information: date, time, location, what to wear, what to bring, etc.

On the back of the postcard, I began by adding a layer of black that was slightly smaller than the white card stock and then followed that by a slightly smaller piece of patterned paper. Because this party theme was really just a “sleepover”, I chose to stick to a specific colour scheme for the party. I decided on pink and orange. Once the printed invitation and base were created, the invitation really began to come together with the embellishments. For this invitation, I googled clip art of both pillows and slippers.  From those ideas, I actually drew my own version of both. For the slippers, I made one, then scanned the image and copied it to get multiple copies of the slippers on one page. I printed the image on orange card stock and then used markers to colour it in and add the details. The pillow was a very simple drawing, so I made a tracer and simply traced and cut out enough for each invitation. I inked the edges of the pillow and drew a little “slit” at the end of the pillow case. For the font on the pillow, I used a combination of stamps and Cricut cut-out letters. The P, J and R were made on my Cricut, but the other letters were stamped on the pillow. I adhered the slippers to the bottom corner of the invitation, so that they overlapped the pillow slightly. The final step was to attach the pillow/slippers to the base. I wanted to create a three-dimensional effect, so I only attached the pillow at the ends, so that I could easily slide stretched out cotton balls beneath the pillow to add dimension. I actually found that I didn’t even need to glue or tape the cotton, as the pressure from the pillow seemed to hold it in place. The photo really doesn’t show the 3D aspect of the invitation, but the pillow does have some dimension in real life.

Sleepover party invitation

The P in the top corner is actually part of my scrapbook layout from the party, not party of the invitation. I always make an extra invitation that is added to their birthday scrapbook layout.

Sleepover Party Invitation #2:

For her second (9th) sleepover party invitation, I wanted to do something completely different. This invitation consisted of many components and was a bit complex and time-consuming to make, but the finished project was pretty cool.

The back of the invitation contained a timeline of the events we had planned and a checklist of what they should bring. Here is the pdf for the Sleepover Party Brochure. Sleepover Party Brochure

On the opposite side, I used various printed papers to build a sleeping bag and pillow. The slipping bag was basically made with a layer of polka dot paper and a scalloped edge border for the top of the “bag”. I ran my sewing machine all the way around the outside edge of the invitation using white thread and a large zig zag stitch to hold the paper layers in place. This left both the top and bottom of the sleeping bag open.sleepover party invitation

I used white cotton fabric scraps to sew and stuff an actual pillow for each invitation. I basically made a rectangle by placing right sides of the fabric together and sewing all the way around. I cut a small slit in the middle of the back of the pillow and turned the little pillow right side out. I then ran my machine down both ends and made a zig zag top-stitch down each side. I used the slit in the back for stuffing the pillow with cotton batting as well. I didn’t even close the slit as I would be gluing the pillow onto the invitation and it wouldn’t be seen.

I made the actual invitation portion of the card on the computer (date, time, location, etc.). I printed it on white card stock and then mounted it on orange. I added a short tab made from ribbon and secured with an orange brad. This slid under the “foot” end of the sleeping bag, with the tab sticking out so it could be seen and pulled out.

Finally, I made paper dolls for each of the girls. I honestly can’t exactly remember how I did this, but I think I found one (or maybe a few different ones on-line??) and printed them onto card stock. I then used watercolour pencil crayons to colour their skin, hair and features. Finally, I made each one a “nighty” out of patterned paper. I stamped a little white fringe at the bottom of the nighty and added a few button brads on the front. The nighties were secured in traditional paper doll style by folding the tabs over the back of the dolls. The paper dolls slid inside the top of the sleeping bag.

The brochure indicated they should bring their dolls to the party. One of the activities the girls did at the party was design and make clothes for their dolls. I had some templates, writing/colouring tools, scissors, patterned paper and other embellishments for them to use.sleepover party invitation

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You Can Do It! – Cake Pops Made Easy

I need to make a confession. While others rave about Starbucks and the quality coffee they serve, you won’t find me going through the Starbuck’s drive-thru unless I have a craving for one of their Cake Pops. As previously mentioned, I am somewhat of an icing “connoisseur”. I love icing and the more the better. I actually can’t believe it took so long for someone to come up with the idea of combining the icing and cake. A cake pop is literally win-win, everyone gets the equivalent of a “corner piece”. If made correctly, the cake pop is super moist and absolutely delicious, without an offensive amount of icing.  I have wanted to try making cake pops for a long time, but two things held me back:

  1. Failure: I heard so many horror stories about how hard they were to make and how long it took to make a batch. I didn’t want to go to all the trouble only to have them fall apart and be a major fail. (Especially if I was making them for a special occasion).
  2. Success: What if I make them and they turn out so well that I want to make them all the time? It is easy to resist what doesn’t exist. I rarely eat cake pops simply because they aren’t all that accessible. If I can make them successfully, I may be doomed!

I decided to give them a whirl for my daughter’s birthday party. My thinking was this. She was only having 4 girls over, so I only needed to make about one dozen cupcakes for the party. The recipe I made was large enough for 24 cupcakes. I basically made the entire batch into cupcakes and then made frosted only enough cupcakes for each of the 5 girls plus Tim, Shay and myself and few extras. I knew that 8 cake pops would be manageable and if they failed, it wouldn’t matter as they were just going to be added to the loot bags. I basically used the additional cupcakes to make the cake pops needed, so it wasn’t an overwhelming number for my first attempt.

How to Make Cake Pops:

I found a really great tutorial that was very helpful. Check out Divas Can Cook for the full tutorial.

My Experience:

  • I used 7 cupcakes to make 8 cake pops, I would never have guessed that the amount of cake in a pop was close to equivalent to that of a cupcake.
  • Crumble the cake with your hands, so that all of the larger lumps are out. You want fine crumbs.
  • Use only a small amount of icing. I didn’t actually measure, but I am guessing I used no more than 2 to 3 Tablespoons of icing for all 8 cake pops.
  • Form balls that are uniform in size.
  • Dip the “stick” in melted chocolate and stick about half way in. Set the pop upside down on a plate with the stick in the air. Freeze for about 20 minutes (or longer).
  • Dip the entire ball in melted chocolate. (I melted mine in my microwave.) You want to make sure that the container is deep and narrow so that the chocolate is deep enough to submerge the pop in.
  • Remove the pop and gently turn the ball to avoid it from dripping all over. Basically, try to “catch” the dripping chocolate at the base of the ball.
  • You can add sprinkles to the top or actually roll the ball in them.
  • Stick into a styrofoam base that you have prepared ahead of time.

Summary:

I was literally able to make all 8 in about 20 minutes (plus the freezing time). They were super easy to make and I didn’t have any “do-overs”. They all worked fine on the first try. The chocolate outer shell held up well and they didn’t crack at all. The flavour was great and I’m certain I’ll be making these again!

Red Velvet cake broken into fine crumbs.
Rolled cake pop balls.
Dip the sticks in chocolate and then push them half way into the ball. Freeze.
Finished cake pops. I used white chocolate and white sprinkles.

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Life Hacks I Love #4: How to Eat a Cupcake

This is one of my favourite hacks ever. This idea was shared with me about a year ago and it is absolutely brilliant! I always find it hard to take a big enough bite of a cupcake to get the “full height” of the little cake in one mouthful. You know, frosting on your nose and a big sticky mess. So classy! I am an icing lover and unlike some, I could for-go the cake altogether and just have a small bowl of icing! That being said, I want every single mouthful of cake to have icing with it, that is why this idea is so perfect for me. I originally heard about this at a wedding in which cupcakes were being served. Of course, the timing was perfect as I was able to enjoy my cupcake without the usual anxiety of wondering how much of it I was wearing on my face.

Sure enough, when I went to post the concept, I was able to find a video that demonstrates this fantastic idea. It really does work beautifully with the exception of super moist cupcakes that don’t hold their shape well. It is an absolute must try the next time you eat a cupcake. Check out the video!

How to Eat A Cupcake:

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Winter/Snowflake Birthday

Happy 12th Birthday!

Well, my little girl is now 12 and has officially reached babysitting age….I can hardly believe it! The birthday celebrations are behind us, but I thought I would share some photos to show you how the theme all came together for the party. Click on the links below to visit the original post for each of the theme elements:

Here is the finished invitation.
and pulling until all the layers are pulled apart and you have a nice full pom pom.
These oversized paper flowers were made out of white tissue to create a snowflake…ish look.
We added a few white balloons to our fig tree to look like snowballs.
Completed 3D snowflake.
3D snowflakes
I picked up this twig snowflake garland in the after Christmas clearance. I got it for $6 regular $60 and it became the inspiration for the whole theme.
The snowflakes on the banner were printed with old paper towel tubes.
Finished snowflakes with a few clear sugar sprinkles and a silver candy ball in the center of each.
Snowflake Cupcakes
Finished cake pops. I used white chocolate and white sprinkles.
I tried to wrap her gifts in paper that tied into our colour theme.
Decide on your focal point. In this case, I wanted the message to be the highlight of the card.
Homemade loot bags.
Hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, Lindor chocolates and little cellophane bags. These were included in the loot bags.

I did end up making cake pops and I have to say I was quite surprised how easy they were to make. I have heard lots of people say how much work they are. To be honest, I found them much easier than many of the cakes, cupcakes and cookies I have decorated. Watch for the upcoming post on how to make Cake Pops.

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Birthday Cake Pancakes

Eden had a sleepover birthday party last night and the girls will soon be up and ready for breakfast. Traditionally, I always make homemade waffles for her parties, as waffles are one of her favourites. This year, I thought I would try something different. There are several versions of these on-line, none of which I have ever made. I opted for this recipe and hope they are a hit with the girls ~ especially the birthday girl!

Birthday Cake Pancakes:

This recipe was borrowed from Seeded at the Table, but I do believe Nikki adapted this recipe from My Life As a Mrs. For the complete recipes and suggestions, please follow the  links.

I have never made these before, so I decided to stick to the recipe. My last attempt at trying a new pancake recipe didn’t go that well. I make pancakes for the kids regularly and seldom have issues flipping them or having them stay together, but those Cinnamon Swirl pancakes weren’t my best work. They tasted great, but were a horrible mess to serve. Hopefully, these will go off without a hitch.

Here’s Nikki’s Birthday Cake Pancake Recipe:

Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 cups  flour
    • 1 cup yellow cake mix
    • 1 Tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1/3 cup sprinkles
For the icing (optional):
  • Whipping cream
  • Powdered sugar

Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the milks, butter and vanilla and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until fully mixed. Fold in the sprinkles.

Scoop just shy of 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake, leaving room for the batter to spread into larger rounds. When the pancakes begin to bubble, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm until serving. Serve with syrup or optional icing.

Optional Icing:

Mix together powdered sugar and whipping cream to reach desired consistency and taste. Pour over top individual stack of pancakes.

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White Chocolate Snowflake Cupcakes

Eden requested red velvet cupcakes for her “friends” party this evening. I wanted to get this up and posted early as I thought I might be busy doing last-minute things for the birthday party. I plan to make cream cheese frosting for the cupcakes and put a simple white swirl on top. To tie them into the “snow” theme, I decided to make some snowflakes for the top of each cupcake. She is only having four friends over, so I made one snowflake for each of the girls.

White Chocolate Snowflakes:

Photocopy of simple snowflake images.
Piping tool.
White chocolate chops
Finished snowflakes with a few clear sugar sprinkles and a silver candy ball in the center of each.

I found images for snowflakes on the web and printed them off. I then melted the chocolate in the microwave and put it into my new Wal-Mart piping tool and began to trace-out the snowflakes. In theory this all seemed like a great idea and basically it turned out fine, but with many grunts, groans and the odd curse under my breath. The melted chocolate was too thin and eventually worked its way under the little handle thingy that was supposed to push the chocolate down to the tip. It worked fine for the first three and then absolutely would not work for the last two. I ended up putting the last of the chocolate in a tiny Ziplock snack bag and snipped off the slightest bit of the corner. This actually worked better than the tool, next time I’ll go straight to the bag. They were a bit difficult to make as the chocolate is so much thinner than icing. The tendency was for it to run all over the place. It took a few tries to figure out how to make it work the best. I ended up doing a thin line and then going back over to make the little arms of the snowflakes thicker and thus sturdier. I also ended up aborting the printed snowflakes on the paper and ended up just doing my own thing. It was hard to make them too intricate with the chocolate having a mind of its own and being somewhat less than cooperative. As soon as I piped a snowflake, I quickly added a silver candy ball to the center and a few clear sugar sprinkles to it before the chocolate set. I had set the paper with the printed snowflakes inside the bottom of a cookie sheet with a layer of wax paper on top. This allowed me to see the snowflakes through the wax paper and also ensured that I wouldn’t break them when I tried to move them. I just set the whole tray with the completed snowflakes in the fridge to set and will add them to the cupcakes on Saturday.

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Delicious Oreo Cookie Chocolate Cake

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie CakeWell, it party time! Today is the official date of Eden’s birthday and we’ll be having family over for cake and ice cream after dinner. Eden requested a Oreo Cookie Cake. I’ve made this cake once before, so I knew that it was pretty easy to make. I followed the recipe, but omitted the chocolate glaze on top and opted for our favourite frosting instead.

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake

This recipe was adapted from the original that I found on All Recipes. It makes approximately 16 servings.

Ingredients:

Directions:
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Prepare cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
  3. For the filling ~ beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and crushed cookies.
  4. Stack cake layers on plate, filling with cream cheese mixture. Add a few sprinkles of extra cookies over the top and edges of the filling (the cookies become covered in whip topping and you can’t see the black/white contrast, so I added a few cookie crumbs to get that look.)
  5. The original recipe calls for a chocolate glaze on top. You will need Microwave chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on high 2 minutes. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes. Spread chocolate glaze on top of the cake; let stand 10 minutes or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Roy Family Favourite Frosting:

Instead of the glaze, I made a batch of our all time favourite frosting and then made rose like swirls all over the cake.

My aunt used to make this frosting when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. It is made with a cooked white sauce made with flour and milk. You cook the flour and milk until it forms a thick pudding like texture and then add butter, white sugar (NOT ICING SUGAR) and vanilla. It is super creamy and not as sweet as most icing. You really have to try it as it is very different from any regular butter icing. The issue is that I have found it to be a bit finicky to work with and it isn’t the best for decorating. I used it on this cake and it worked out quite well, but I have run into problems before. I have tried many variations of the recipe over the years and I think I get pretty consistent results now that I have worked out some of the issues. The recipe I now follow is from Our Best Bites. Their proportions seem to work well on a consistent basis. For this cake, I doubled their recipe.

Cindy’s Tips:

  • Stir milk/flour mixture constantly to avoid scorching and forming lumps.
  • Transfer the pot with the white sauce to an ice bath (ice cubes in a bowl). Set the pot on ice and stir it regularly to avoid lumps and a crust forming on top. I used to place it in the fridge, but would often get a crust on the surface that will not beat out when making the icing. UGH! So, I stick to the ice bath and don’t have that problem anymore.
  • Stir the vanilla into the cooled flour/milk mixture.
  • MAKE SURE THE WHITE SAUCE IS COMPLETELY COOL or even COLD before proceeding. Be patient.
  • Add the white sauce one tablespoon at a time and beat well between. I use the whisk attachment on my beater to make the icing fluffier.
  • Beat for 7 to 8 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and you can not feel the granules when you rub a bit between your fingers.

I know what you’re thinking….this seems like too much of a hassle, but believe me it is worth it. I have had to start over with this icing more times than I can count, but it didn’t prevent me from figuring out how to make it work. It is sooooooo yummy!

Swirly Rose Cake Decorations:

I used a large open star tip. Started at the center and while working my way out by circling around the center, I twisted the tip slightly. I would make about two rotations per rose. I started by just doing the top cake and was going to leave it at that as I really did like the look of chocolate on the bottom, Oreo center and then the white roses on top, but I worried about the bottom layer drying out if left exposed until tomorrow evening. I decided to go ahead and place another row of roses around the bottom layer to prevent drying. It doesn’t matter how good the cake looks, if it is dry then the effort is all for nothing. This was my first attempt at making these rose/swirls. They aren’t perfect by a long shot, but not bad for a newbie.

Here is what it looked like before I added the final row of roses along the bottom.
Winter Party Cake

Although our theme is really more for the kid’s party on Saturday, I thought the white swirls were a classic look that somewhat went with our snowflake theme and especially our colour scheme. I had baked the cakes on Wednesday, froze them and decorated them on Thursday evening after work. Eden already saw the finished cake and loved it. Hopefully it will taste great too!

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Shabby Chic Cupcake Wrappers

I searched all over to find a cupcake liner that either worked with my colour scheme or the winter theme, but could find nothing. So many cute little patterns and colour combinations, but not what I was looking for. So, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea ~ doilies. I had actually not seen this idea before, but went to my trusty computer all the same. Sure enough, not an original idea!

So, I proceeded to bake my cupcakes using the plain white liners I already had at home and then decided that I would dress them up with the doilies I had already bought for the table. (I am not really a doily gal, but I figured they would work well with the look I was going for and were even a bit snowflake..ish.

How To Make Cupcake Wrappers from A Doily

Here is a great little tutorial on how to make the wrappers. This video suggests cutting them in thirds, but another suggested cutting in half. I might have to play with the size a bit, but for the cost of doilies who really cares if I mess up one or two before I get it just right!

I think this idea will be perfect with our snow theme, but they could also be used to create a more elegant look.  I am sure I will use this idea again.  I am getting excited and can’t wait to pull every together at the end. Of course, you can’t see my cupcakes yet, as I won’t finish decorating them unit Saturday morning.

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Birthday Party Loot Bags

Obviously, the theme of the week is birthday party planning. My daughter’s birthday is Friday and so I have been busy pulling together everything I need to prepare for her family party on Friday and her “friends” party on Saturday. Today is my day off and on the list of “to do’s” is loot bags, bake the cake for Friday and cupcakes for Saturday. I won’t decorate them until closer to the time, but I generally bake ahead and freeze the cakes.

What to Put in a Loot Bag:

When my kids were younger, the loot bags were almost entirely theme related. As they have gotten older, the “themes” have definitely become less of an emphasis. When pulling together these loot bags, I tried to think of the “snow” theme, party decor colours and of course, what the girls might like.

Although I don’t always stick to it, many years ago I adopted this thinking when purchasing stocking stuffers and I loosely follow the same thinking for loot bags.

  • something to do
  • something to wear
  • something to eat
  • something to read (not this time!)
  • something to watch or listen to (for stockings I often get an iTunes card, CD or DVD)

Here is what I came up with for Eden’s loot bags this year:

1. I made little “Snowman Soup” baggies. I didn’t include the poem as the one I usually use is more “Christmasy”.

I got a great deal on these end of season Lindor chocolates. Mmmm…yummy.
Hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, Lindor chocolates and little cellophane bags. These were included in the loot bags.

2. I found these little packages of white elastics and thought they would be perfect for our “snow” theme. The girls are really into making those little looped elastic bracelets, so my thinking was they could go into the loot bags or if they wish, the girls could make a bracelet at the party! Last night, I stopped at the dollar store (AGAIN!!) and they were just putting out these little loom/elastic sets. I couldn’t resist and bought the looms to go with the white elastic set.

3. In addition to the loom and snowman soup, I added soft white fluffy gloves, blue nail polish, Mentos and a chap stick.

I am planning to make cake pops for the loot bags as well, but they will be a last minute addition ~ if they turn out!  I have never made them before, but thought I would try a few for the girls to take home. We’ll have to wait and see how they turn out!

Creating a Loot Bag:

I try to tie the loot bag into the theme as well. Sometimes I am able to purchase something that works, but most often the purchased “theme” bags are a bit “too busy” for me. I will often purchase “loot” that serves as the container for holding the goodies (eg pail for a beach party, cowboy hat for a western party, etc.) Otherwise, I purchase plain bags that follow the colour scheme. For these bags, I bought plain “butcher paper brown” gift bags at a cost of 3 for $1 and then upcycled them a bit to fit with my theme. I used the same snowflake prints that I had used for the birthday banner, added a button, some glitter and a little homemade “thank you” tag.

Homemade loot bags.

Well, that’s one more thing off my list of things to accomplish today. I had better get baking!

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Homemade “Snowflake” Themed Birthday Card

I consider myself to be one of those people who is more of a “Jack of all (many) trades” than a master of any one thing. I like the fact that I will attempt almost anything at least once, learn from my mistakes and sometimes try it again so I can do a better job the second time around. If I achieve some degree of success and find the experience enjoyable and rewarding, I will continue to perfect that particular skill. The problem with this is that I love to try new things and therefore don’t really have a specific area of expertise. So, I do many things well, but few with the level of excellence I have grown to expect of myself. Such is the case with card making. My experience with “paper crafts” stems from a scrapbooking background. Although many of the techniques are the same, I can’t say that I spend much time making cards. Basically, I haven’t dabbled in card making enough for the task to be quick and easy for me.  I make a card when I need one and will often just give purchased cards or make a little gift tag in lieu of a homemade card. It is for this reason that I have a set of steps that I subconsciously follow when planning the layout for a card ~ this just helps to give me some direction when starting a project.

Card Making Tips

  1. I  start by picking the paper I want to use. I usually include a solid colour along with one or two coordinating printed papers.
  2. I then go through my “stock” to see what kind of embellishments I have on hand that would work with the palette and papers I have chosen (brads, eyelets, beads, glitter, ribbon, buttons, stickers, etc.)
  3. I often include something linear like ribbon, washi tape or even long narrow strands of paper. Although I don’t always include an element like this, I find it is my “go to” card embellishment.
  4. I then consider what my focal point is going to be ~ a sticker, a layered paper image (made with my Cricut), buttons, flowers, felt shapes, etc. For the actual layout, you need to keep in mind where you want the eye to be drawn.
  5. Finally, I think about the greeting or message I want on the card and how I am going to achieve it ~ computer, stamps or letters cut from my Cricut.

Homemade Snowflake Card:

  1. I chose the paper colours based on the colours I was using for the theme of the party. I am mostly using “butcher paper brown” and white, but have also included a hint of blue to tie in the colours I used in her birthday invitations.
  2. I have many embellishments on hand, so I simply went through what I had. I obviously was looking for items that specifically fit into either the winter/snowflake theme or my colour scheme.  For this card, I chose a roller stamp that was kind of swirly and whimsical like falling snow. I also found a white snowflake brad, a few snowflake stamps, a foam “SNOW” word that I cut out from a border that was in the paper package I used for the invitations and some Cricut cut snowflakes and lettering.
  3. For this card, I used the same ribbon that I used on the invitations as well as some pre-cut white borders I had on hand.
  4. I wanted the focal point to be the words on the card, so I made sure that this stood out and that nothing else on the card competed with the message.
  5. Again, for this particular card, my greeting and the focal point were one and the same.  The other embellishments added a bit of dimension and appeal to the card, but were not meant to be the centre of attention.

When pulling a card together, I am always trying to think in layers. When making a card I feel that the paper is my base and from that base I build the look of the card, one layer at a time. I often find that what takes a card from “blah” to “bling” is those little subtleties that are hardly noticeable and yet make a world of difference. For me, the three things I use that I believe pack the most punch are:

  • inked edges ~ I find that a bit of ink on the edges of the paper help distinguish one layer from an other and make an element stand-out and not get lost in the layout.
  • pop dots ~ 3D adhesive dots help to lift an image or letter off a page and thus give the project some dimension.
  • opalescence glitter glue ~ by this I mean glitter glue that is more clear than any specific colour, but just adds a bit of shimmer to the edge of an image, centre of a flower or tips of a snowflake. The glitter is not “tacky looking” or over powering, but more just a hint of shimmer when the light hits it just right.

Here is a look at how I used these principles to create Eden’s birthday card.

Choose your paper.
Create your first layer. This was done with a few stamps.
Add something linear (if you wish). This was created with ribbon and a white paper border.
Decide on your focal point. In this case, I wanted the message to be the highlight of the card.
Add additional embellishments to create a completed look.

In addition to decorating the outside, I was looking for something for the inside as well. In this case, I found a poem that works perfectly. I will mount the poem inside the card and then write her a personal message. My kids love these homemade cards and often keep them by their bed and read the personal messages we write inside. A birthday is the perfect opportunity to tell your loved ones how special they are and how much they are truly loved. Shay has even been known to keep special cards under his pillow and sleep with them. It really is worth the extra effort to let them know how important they are.

Here is the poem that I found. Credit for this lovely poem goes to Mandy Wilams.

homemade snowflake card

 

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