Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Birthday Fun

First, I have to wish happy birthday to a kid at heart (in a good way), my brother Brian! (You'll get to see his birthday card later this week.)

{If you're looking for the August stamp of the month Blog Hop, then scroll on down!}

For our first August Heart 2 Heart challenge, we are sharing ideas for kids' birthdays. I decided to share my favorite kid idea, the "birthday number candle." (When I was a kid, I so wanted those big huge number candles on my cake, but alas, I never do remember them appearing. I did, however, have a big huge column candle that you were supposed to burn down to the next year. Anyone else remember those? I think at one point we cut a big chunk of years off of it and then burned it down to the correct year.)
Anyway, back to stamping, the real reason you're here! As I said, this focal image is one of my favorites to make for a kid's birthday. Begin with the Rustic Numbers and Friendship Blessings stamp sets and the colors of your choice. (When I made my card, I had no idea that the Friendship Blessings stamp set was being retired! I'm sure you can find a similar small leaf type of stamp in your stash.) I also decided to do a little "stamp kissing" for this one. (It's okay for kids; it's a G-rated technique! You'll find a quick tutorial below.)

This card is also a matchbook-style card so that you can slip a little gifty inside, such as cold hard cash or a gift card. Who doesn't love that? (By the way, I decided to make this card for my nephew who will be five in October. He loves the color yellow, so I had to incorporate some sunshine on his card.)

If you already know how to kiss- stampingly speaking of course- then go check out the H2H blog to see what our fabulous Design Team and our Guest Designer, Melinda, has in store for you. There is definitely a party going on over there! Otherwise, here's a little tutorial for you.

For stamp kissing, you can either add color to a stamp or you can take away color to the stamp. I chose to add color to my number candle because the take-away version was too washed out.

1. Begin with two images, your main, base image, and a smaller image for the kissing. (My main image is the number, my smaller detail is the polka dots.)

2. Ink up the large stamp in the color of your choice and place it face up on your work space.

2b. If you are ADDING color to the stamp, ink up the smaller stamp now.



3. Press the smaller stamp onto the larger stamp. It will be slippery! Pull straight up. (Stamp kissing with a Twist would have you twisting the stamps at this point, but that's not today's technique!).





4. Clean the smaller stamp and repeat as needed to fill in the entire larger image. Remember to clean between kisses each time!



5. It's a good idea to "huff" (breathe) onto your main stamp to reactivate any drying ink. Then press your main image onto your project piece. (Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the 5 without the flame first.) That's it! You've just done some serious kissing with a little heavy breathing thrown in for good measure. ;)





Make your Monday a great one! Since this is our first challenge of August, you have the entire month to play along. Make something for a kid's birthday, post it online, and then link it up to H2H. We've got some great prizes again this month! Happy crafty birthdays!