Three Quick Birthday Cards and a Video

Hi friends! Welcome to the new year! I'm a little late starting off the year, but my kiddos didn't go back to school until the 7th, so I'm still adjusting to being back in a normal routine. I'm super excited to be starting another term on the Not 2 Shabby design team. If you missed it, head on over to my Instagram reel to watch the team intro video (where I actually show my face) and enter the $75 mystery bundle giveaway.

Speaking of giveaways, it's the 10th of the month and time for the Not 2 Shabby monthly Giveaway Hop on YouTube. We're sharing inspiration with the January subscription products and there's a chance to win a $25 gift code to the Not 2 Shabby shop.  You can watch my video below or on my YouTube channel.

Y'all... after setting aside an entire large box worth of holiday cards that were only mailable at the package rate, I've decided to try to attempt a more mail-friendly style of card making this year. Yes, I love layers and embellishments, but I think I can still find a way to incorporate those and still make sure the cards get in the mail and don't end up sitting in a box year after year.

So today's trio of cards is a cleaner style, with minimal layers, embellishments, and all cut from one piece of 6 x 6 patterned paper plus white cardstock. Okay, I did fudge a little bit and brought in a scrap from another card making session to cut the oval mat for the ephemera piece on the second card, but that's just using your scraps right?

The basic layout started with three 3.75" x 5" panels of white cardstock and a sheet of the Soft Blue Florals paper from the January Box of the Month (also available individually). I marked a spot 1" in from the side and 1/2" down as the place to adhere my cardstock.  Next I cut off the excess.  With the remaining piece, I cut down the diagonal to form an angled piece. This piece was adhered to the next card and the excess was cut off, leaving three pieces.  The larger two pieces were used on the card above, and the triangle piece was used to die cut the heart later on and for the inside of the third card.

I used pieces of ephemera from the Party Critters Ephemera pack for cards 1 and 2, adding the die cut oval and a stitching detail to the second card panel using the EZ Wonder Die #2 Add Ons. I think the stitching adds such a nice accent to the card.  A bit of twill and some gems finish this card off.

The final card let's the gorgeous patterned paper do most of the talking. I added a sentiment from one of the stamp sets in the Box of the Month to the bottom of the panel, then accented then accented the panel with two pin-stripe stickers.  I finished off with a die cut heart from the Add Ons die set and some sparkling enamel dots.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous day. Do you have any crafty goals this year? I'd love to hear.

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