Today's handmade friendship card starts off with a couple elements of the new Bird Ballad Suite: the Free as a Bird stamp set and the Stitched Nested Labels Dies. You can find everything included in this suite on Page 91 of the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog.
Of course, if you'd like to save 10% on the stamps and dies you'll want to pick them up in either the Bird Ballad Suite or the Free as a Bird Bundle.
I started out with just a basic Whisper White card base so we could focus on the stamped images. They were all colored in with an assortment of Stampin' Blends. These are my go-to coloring tools. They are so much fun and easy to use, I just love them! The images were stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, which is what you'll want when using your Stampin' Blends.
So Saffron Card Stock was grabbed for the strip along the left edge and for the card sentiment. I then cut out the sentiment with a small die from the Stitched Nested Labels Dies.
Rule of Threes
I decided to add the strip along the left edge of the top panel in keeping with the Rule of Threes. (I'm not sure this is an “official” rule, or the proper title, but basically you want to have an odd — not even — number of elements preferably in a triangle.)
This adds the third element in a yellow color to make it more pleasing to the eye: the strip on the left, the bellies of the birds, and the sentiment panel. I think it really helps tie it all together. What do you think? I only wish I had thought to use the straight, long die along it to add the piercing up and down. I think that would have looked fabulous!
You'll notice I also applied this rule when adding my popped up flowers, adding three in a triangle.
I stamped some flowers and leaves on scrap white card stock. A bit of fussy cutting was done using my Paper Snips after coloring them in.
I wanted to add some dimension on the card. To do that I layered the flowers, two each, just a little off center from each other. Then I attached them and the extra leaves, tucking some over and under the greeting. A few pearls were added to the flower centers to complete them.
Do you need a handmade friendship card for a birthday? Check out this Birthday Card for a Friend.
