Craft Creations Goldfinch in Cherry Diecut Decoupage Birthday Stepper Card

 

Hi everyone,

My cousin is turning 70 next month so I thought I would make her an extra-special card for her birthday:

Challenges

I am popping my card into the following challenges (click on the underlined link to take you to the challenge):

• Splitcoaststampers - Use it 2026 - Using old supplies to make a card

• The Creative Crafters - Challenge #103 - Anything Goes

• Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday F4A862 - Hobbies.  Mine is birds.  I have been very passionate about birds since I was a little girl & my drawing books were filled with birds.  We have many birds that visit our Australian garden and I spend alot of time with them.  Some even hop on my knee or let me sit beside them and we hang out together.  I am known as:   "The Bird Whisperer".

The main image plus the sentiment is by Craft Creations - Goldfinch in Cherry - and is diecut decoupage.  I ADORE using diecut decoupage images for my cards.  It is one of my most-favourite styles of card to make and I have made many over the years.  There is something magical about bringing a flat image to life and I just enjoy the process so much.

I popped the images out of the sheet and cleaned up the edges because you always get this white bit which really stands out if you don't trim it off.

I put the layers together using both 0.5 and 1 mm Doublesided Adhesive Foam Squares but I added a dot of Tombow Mono Multi Glue to give me a little bit of wiggle room to make sure I have the elements exactly where I want them.  This is something I learned to do a little while ago because if you just use the foam squares alone without the glue and stick it in the wrong spot, it can be problematic trying to get it up again without tearing it or leaving some of the foam square behind which can ruin the entire thing.

All the designer papers are by Graphic 45 - Botanical Tea - 8" x 8" pad which was first released in 2014.  Graphic 45 re-released a Keepsake Edition of Botanical Tea in August 2025 so if you are after these papers, you can still get them (yay!) but the Keepsake Edition has 12" x 12" papers not the 8" x 8".  I absolutely adore this collection - the colours make me very happy.  It really was just pure coincidence that they matched the main image so perfectly.

Once I had finished putting the picture together, I layered it onto pink then blue designer paper with 1/16" and 1/8" borders respectively.  These were trimmed using my We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides.

The Stepper Card was diecut from White Cardstock using my Big Shot with an Extended Platform and an old die from 2013 by Cheery Lynn Designs - Step Card #1.  I picked this die up at a Craft Show many years ago here in Australia when it was half price.  It was unique at the time but since then, a number of companies have released Stepper Card Dies - and of course, you can always just trim one out yourself without having a die.  Personally, I suck at measuring so a die just saves me the frustration and hassle of trying to do it myself.  This Cheery Lynn Die also comes with other dies to do the borders plus the card inside so it really is quick and easy to put the card together.

Here is a photo at an angle so you can see the layers on the main image:

Here is a photo of the card inside:

Sorry, it's not a great photo.  It is so hard to take a photo of white with the designer paper because if I brighten the white, the designer paper looks all washed out and nothing like what it really looks like in real life.  

The Green Cardstock was diecut using one of the dies from the Stepper Card Die Set and I just trimmed up the designer paper to fit.

The white sentiment panel was diecut using a Spellbinders Labels 1 Small Nestabilities Die.  The sentiment is from the diecut decoupage set and was popped up on 1mm Doublesided Adhesive Foam Squares.  I wrote on the inside:  "A little bird told me you were having a special birthday" which I thought was fitting given that I had a bird on the front 😊

Finished size is 5-5/16" x 5-7/8" or 119mm x 105mm.

I decided not to put 70 on the card so it didn't shout at my cousin, HEY - YOU'RE 70.  Not everyone necessarily wants a number on their card (I certainly don't!) - well, unless your a kid of course, then it is mandatory to show your age!  

This card will be winging its way over to Western Australia - so the other side of the country to where I live.  I am allowing at least two weeks for it to get there as it goes by truck - a journey of just around 3500 kilometres/2170 miles - and whilst they say 4-7 days, you never can be 100% sure - and I want to make sure my cousin definitely gets my card in time for her birthday and not a week too late!

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps and Ink:  None

Designer Paper:  Graphic 45 Botanical Tea 8" x 8" Pad

Accessories:  Big Shot with Extended Platform, Craft Creations DCD558 Goldfinch in Cherry Diecut Decoupage, 0.5 & 1mm Doublesided Adhesive Foam Squares, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, WRMK Perfect Layers Guides, Cardstock - White & Green

Dies:  Cheery Lynn Designs Step Card #1 B348 (retired), Spellbinder Labels 1 Small Nestabilities S4-308 (retired)

Graphic 45 - A Proper Gentleman Vintage Car Birthday Card

 

Hi everyone 😀

Today I am sharing another Masculine Birthday Card:

This is also another entry for the following Challenge:

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - August 

 

The main image was trimmed from a sheet by Graphic 45 - A Proper Gentleman.  One of the sheets is filled with Vintage cars in all different colours and styles so I have trimmed them all up ready for cards.    I layered it onto dark brown cardstock and trimmed it to 1/16" using my Perfect Layers Tools then popped it up on dimensionals.

The top background paper is really old and is called Rosemoka Chateau de sable.  The fleur de lis paper is by Graphic 45 - Le Romantique Collection - Celebration.  I layered the papers onto rust and then dark brown cardstock and trimmed them to 1/18" and 1/16" respectively using my Perfect Layers Tools.

The dark brown centre punched border was made using my Fiskars Threading Water punch.

The sentiment is by Lili of the Valley and was stamped onto kraft cardstock using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink then diecut it using my Big Shot and Lifestyle Nesting Circle dies.  I glued it to a rust diecut circle then popped it up on dimensionals.  I punched some hearts from rust cardstock using my Carl CP-8 heart duo punch then added Glossy Accents.  This sentiment is no longer available as a stamp but Lili of the Valley have it available as a digital download on their Etsy store.  The ribbon is from my stash.  

Once I had finished my card front, I glued it to a kraft card base using Tombow Mono Multi glue.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lili of the Valley (UK) 'For You' Circular Sentiments

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia

Designer Paper:  Graphic 45 - Le Romantique Collection - Celebration 12" x 12" and A Proper Gentleman 12" x 12", Rosemoka Chateau de sable AN-0204 12" x 12"

Accessories:  Ribbon - stash, Big Shot, dimensionals, Perfect Layers Tools, Glossy Accents, cardstock - dark brown, rust + kraft, kraft card base, Tombow Mono Multi glue

Punches:  Fiskars Threading Water border, Carl CP-8 heart duo

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles