Zebra Buddies birthday card

Welcome back, all my Zebra Buddies (and any others who are joining us, too, of course!!) I'm so glad you could join me for the re-launch of these 'lessons' for lack of a better word. Just a note here- you might want to get comfy- this post does run a bit long, chock full of info and tips!!

What's the category we ALL need--birthday! Whether your lil zebras are infants or teens to young adults, every single one of them has a birthday. SO, I thought to get started back into the swing of things, I'd do a birthday card for you today.

This packs a lot of punch because:
1. it's simple and easy, but looks nice in the end
2. uses scraps, if you want to
3. requires no fancy machines to cut the pieces
4. is suitable for both genders, ANY age
5. shall I continue...or have I convinced you yet? ;-)

So, first of all, it's based on a sketch graciously provided by Operation Write Home. (They WERE a non-profit who collected handmade cards and sent them to our troops. THEY ARE NOW CLOSED AND NO LONGER ACCEPTING ANY DONATIONS; PLS DO NOT SEND THEM ANYTHING!!! If you do, they WILL be returned AT YOUR EXPENSE. They are closed bc so many of our troops are home- YAY! They CLOSED on 08/01/2015.) However, their gracious and fearless leader, Sandy Allnock, was kind enough to leave all the enormously helpful resources posted up online for us to use!!

Here is a photo of the sketch  (Yes, it's true--I'm not all that fancy when it comes to being tech-savvy--sorry. You get what you pay for, right?? JK  lol)

If you are having any trouble seeing the measurements, they are background piece 4 x 5.25 (all in inches, of course); top box/present 1 x 2; middle box 1.5 x 2.5; and bottom box is 2 x 3, with the sentiment/greeting piece being 2.25 x 1.

Next, let's talk about using more than one piece of designed paper (DP) on a card. (This will be a quick, little intro lesson bc there are entire courses taught on this subject, but I will try to hit the highlights for you.)

A. It is best to be sure your colors all match and/or coordinate. Please don't try to match all different colorways from several papers, as it will most likely read as very busy and chaotic. I suggest using paper from the same collection or package/pad. You will see that I have done so.

B. The general rule is to think about small, medium, large prints. (Note--this has NOTHING to do with that I am using 3 boxes sm, med, lg on my card today--just to be clear.)  I'm speaking about the DP's themselves. By 'small' print, it can mean just that or it can mean when I squint at it, it almost can read as a solid color. That counts, too. Medium print can sometimes be a stripe, like it is today. Large print: it can be helpful if it is in a defined pattern, like my lg dots paper is, and not like my random dots, as my small DP is. (which happens today to be my sm box)

C. You can see, these all came from the same paper pad. They are meant to be used together. Why make it hard on yourself; the DP designers have done all the hard work for you. Also, I suggest getting 6 x 6 in. pads bc the scale of the patterns/designs are meant for cards. Now if you already own 12 x 12 DP's, no worries- I do, too!!  You can make almost anything work, but if you are going to buy, that is my suggestion.

D. If you find you are having trouble, put a solid color or even 2 into the mix. So, for my card here, I can do 1, 2, or even all 3 of the 'boxes' as a solid color. Easy peasy, right??

Now, here is what I selected. (Note- they are not adhered down yet bc I need/want to put twine or ribbon around the stack and I am short on time; I'd rather get the post up!!) Notice, too how I chose to make the red slightly smaller than the card; this gives it more interest that just a red background. There's nothing wrong with solid red, or any color; this just takes it up one more notch on the interest meter. It makes it looks a bit more polished and like more time/thought went into it. It is what the sketch called for, too.

This final pic shows the sentiment/greeting pieces, again unglued for the same reasons. I personally will stamp 'Happy Birthday' on there, but you could use a computer font or even print/write it on. You could also make it more narrow and a bit longer; I would like to see a banner tail cut into it, myself. (like a v-shape in one end)

Well, there you have it; your opening card to 2016! Please, please let me know you saw this and what you think!! Any appropriate comments, questions, suggestions/ideas are always welcome!! Happy crafting and thanks again for stopping by!!