Easy Stamping

Game On Stamp Set Birthday Cards

New Year: Game On!

The stamp set, Game On, from Stampin’ Up! is perfect for anyone who enjoys game play…and making cards! I am starting out the New Year with the need for a couple of masculine birthday cards, and both of the men in my life love board games.

I found the Game On Stamp Set perfect for these quick cards too. The 2 main images, a (really nice) hand of cards and some chess pieces, are simple focal points. That meant I didn’t need to work too hard to dress them up. More on that part in a bit…

The Game On Stamp Set.
The Game On Stamp Set, item # 152646 includes 8 cling stamps.

Game On: Playing With Patterns DSP

Playing With Patterns DSP.
Playing With Patterns DSP, item # 152490, comes in the 6 x 6″ size.

I really love adding Designer Series Paper to my cards. The patterns make fantastic background pieces, and add so much richness. I think my cards look naked without that pretty paper!

For my Game On Stamp Set cards, I focused first on the hand of cards stamp image. I needed a paper pattern that resembled what would be a natural “back” for the deck of cards. When I looked at the colors and styles of the designs in the Playing With Patterns DSP, I knew I had a winner!

Paper designs from the Playing With Patterns DSP.
The Night of Navy Pattern most resembled the back image for a deck of cards to me.

Because the designer series paper is 6 x 6″, and I like to get a lot of use from each piece, I started by cutting the designs I wanted to use in half. This created two 3 x 6″ pieces, one to use up and the other for another day.

Next, I trimmed the length to 5-1/4″, to best fit on my card front. You know that little scrap left over (the 3/4 x 3″ piece)? I swapped each design for an add-on to the opposite card. That took care of my “left-overs”.

Cards made with the Game On Stamp Set
I made sure I kept the color palette compatible when working on both cards, so my designer scraps would blend beautifully on opposite card fronts. For the chess card, I used Soft Suede and added Crushed Curry, Night of Navy and Old Olive. For the card hand card, I used Night of Navy, stamped in Real Red, and tucked in Old Olive and Crushed Curry. I stamped the sentiments in Early Espresso.

Game On, Sponge On

You may know that I love to add sponging to my card pieces. And I am really loving Stampin’ Up’s new Blending Brushes. For these cards, I used a combo of old and new style sponges.

Blending Brush and Stampin' Sponge
New school, old school, blend it up!

I sponged Crumb Cake over my focal game pieces with the new Blending Brush. For the Old Olive square scraps on my card, I stamped the background chess board and club designs first. After that, I used the old-school style sponge with Old Olive ink to deepen the edges.

Game On, Spritz On

For a little extra color and accent on my focal pieces, I pulled out my Stampin’ Blends and my Bone Folder. By removing the cap on the larger brush end and holding it above my paper, I was able to tap on the barrel with the bone folder to make the ink splatter delicately. Just be sure that anything surrounding you is safe from splatter mayhem.

Stampin' Blends and Bone Folder create splatter technique
Depending on how much ink is in your Stampin’ Blend, you may need to tap the barrel harder or softer to create your “splatters”.

Game On, Inside-Out

The outside of my Game On Stamp Set birthday cards were mostly made with scraps I had lying around. The Old Olive squares were quite literally pulled from my scrap holder as is, no cutting or measuring required.

Old OLive Cardstcok scraps
I was fortunate to find the perfect squares (both the same size) in my scraps!

And the inside is completed with a Happy Birthday greeting (from the Here’s A Card Stamp Set), and the dice stamp image from the Game On Stamp Set in the bottom corner. Here, I used Old Olive Ink on the dice image, which wraps the same green from the outside to the inside.

Inside stamping of the Game On Cards

It’s So Easy To Game On!

As I mentioned earlier, these Game On Stamp Set cards were very quick and easy to make. There was no fussy cutting, punching or die-cutting. I did not add ribbon, bling or dimension.

The thing I really enjoyed about creating these cards is that they are totally different, using the same basic card lay-out on each. This is a great way to make cards if you are not a fan of repeating the same design over and over. Just switch up your colors, designer paper and stamps. And throw in lots of your scrap papers for fun!

For more easy card designs, check out my Monday Style Cards, found here on my blog. These cards feature simple supplies and easy stamping too! Just what we all need for the busy “game” we call life!

Beautifully Braided In Melon Mambo

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Monday's Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn't Be Card with Beautifully Braided Stamp Set

Monday’s are hard, but in this cardmaking series, I will show you that stamping shouldn’t be. In fact, it’s quite easy. And with minimal supplies and minimal efforts, you can get fabulous results!

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set, Beautifully Braided. This is one of my favorites from the January-June 2020 Mini Catalog from Stampin’ Up!. If you would like to see another project that features this stamp set, click here.

You can purchase Beautifully Braided as a bundle with the Braided Border Punch and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

Beautifully Braided Bundle item #153821
Beautifully Braided Stamp Set, item #151637. Braided Border Punch, item #151924. Beautifully Braided Bundle, item #153821.

That’s right, one stamp set, Beautifully Braided, two ink pads, Melon Mambo and Memento Tuxedo Black, and two colors of cardstock, Melon Mambo and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Melon Mambo CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Melon Mambo CS: 3 1/2 x 4 1/2″ and 2 1/8 x 1 3/8

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ x 2 (one for inside, optional)

Whisper White CS: 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ and 2 x 1 1/4

Stamp And Assemble

This Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be Card starts out with the typical “fold in half” and score with your bonefolder to get a great crisp card base. Let’s not break tradition.

However, my TIP to you is to score once, invert the fold and score again. Your inner crease is now as crisp as the outer one. This makes for a professional looking card base!

Melon Mambo Cardstock and Bonefolder

Create Your Own Designer Series Paper

With the minimal supplies used in this card, we are not adding designer series paper to it. We are making our own! This great background pattern can be used with any stamp sets you own that contain words or sayings.

I suggest stamping on scrap paper, as this technique has you stamping off the edge of your cardstock. Starting at the top, stamp your saying in Memento Ink onto the Whisper White Cardstock. Then, continue to stamp across and downward, varying the stamp (or words) position to get a unique random pattern.

Background technique with wordy stamps and Memento Ink.

An overlap in the middle is fine, that portion will be covered with other layers on the finished card. I prefer to keep the top, bottom and sides as nice as possible, as they will be seen. This is great practice stamping! When done, you can add this layer to your card base.

Floral Details

Next, we stamp the decorative floral border stamp in Melon Mambo Ink onto the Melon Mambo CS. Again, the pattern can vary, and only some of it will be seen on the completed card.

I tried to keep the full floral image on the outer edges. This technique requires stamping beyond your cardstock as well. You can add it to the card when stamping is completed.

Here comes my favorite part: the large floral image. This is stamped on Whisper White CS with Memento Ink. Some of the image will stamp off the sides, and as the artist of your own card, you decide how that will look.

Let’s add some color to our flower! Using the filler stamp (TIP this could make great clouds too), and Melon Mambo Ink, fill in your flower petals. This is not meant to be an exact fit, so don’t stress over lining it up perfectly. I love this artsy appeal. You can add it to the card when completed.

Finishing Touches

It’s time to stamp some more words. I stamped the front saying on Whisper White in Memento Ink, then layered it with a piece of Melon Mambo CS. As a final step to the front of the card, I added it toward the bottom.

Your card is beautiful on the outside, now lets make it pretty inside too! I like to mimic some of the outer stamping into a corner of the inside card. This way the card has continuity and there is still lots of room to add your own sentiment or written thoughts.

Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the large floral image and filler petals to add that inside interest.

Now is a good time to add some stamping to your envelope too! You could choose from the large floral stamp, the flower border stamp or the sentiment stamps. And if you have some bling laying around, you could add that to your card front, too.

Noble Peacock Rhinestones, item #149494
Noble Peacock Rhinestones, item #149494, includes Melon Mambo jewels. The Take Your Pick Tool, item #144107 makes it easier to apply the rhinestones to your project.

I hope you enjoyed making this easy card on a hard Monday with me. My video tutorial can be found on my FaceBook page, as well as my YouTube channel. If you need any supplies for this card, please feel free to visit my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!