Happy Birthday Cards

My family got a reprieve from birthdays during the month of August, but in September we start up again.    If I am counting it up correctly on my fingers and toes, I think I've got four birthdays to remember among family, and then some with friends, too.  

My card-making is something I have to work at and perhaps with time they will look really cool, but to get to that place, I have to start with the skills, materials, and imagination I've got right now.  I decided to come up with a basic pattern for some cards and then vary its design with the papers and embellishments until I've exhausted all imagination and then come up with another pattern.  

Earlier this week I did just that with 3 complimentary papers: Happy Birthday, a stripe, and a textured solid.  Here are the results:

Sunglasses from K & Company

Flip Flop from K & Company

All papers from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts

Happy Birthday stamp from Archivers

This is how you cover up a mistake!

I love this book!  You can get it through Close to My Heart (a scrapbooking company) or you may be able to find it in a local store (Michaels had it at one time) or online.  DL graciously loaned her copy to me while she was on a 3-week trip to Alaska, so I studied it well and then [sadly] returned it to her a few days ago.  

One can spend big $$$ on scrapbooking supplies, and I have done a fair amount of that.  But my real goal is to make the best use of what I have on hand in the most creative ways possible so that my trips to the craft stores don't instill fear and trepidation in my husband's heart!