birthday binge adventure

Before I started on birthdays, I wasn't quite finished with the Christmas card binge.  I'd been wanting to recreate this card, but I couldn't decide on colors for the ornaments.  Finally I thought I'd take a chance on the new color challenge at Festive Friday:

 stamp sets - Delightful Dozen, Ornament Keepsakes; ink - Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Not Quite Navy; card stock - Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations, Not Quite Navy, Silver Glimmer, Whisper White; Big Shot with Holiday Ornaments and Labels Collection Framelits and  Lacy Brocade textured embossing folder; Stampin' Sanding System, Stampin' Dimensionals

It's unusual for me, a bit whimsical, don't you think?  A little change-up from the original, elegant design.

I didn't intend to binge on birthday cards; I really have a few more than I need.  But I had a lot more of these than I needed:

I used Patio Party designer series paper cut into 1/2" strips for the herringbone technique card I taught at our Hostess Appreciation event earlier this summer.  I prepared more kits than the number of invitees who responded that they planned to attend. The event was held on an unusually hot summer Saturday, and not everyone who responded was actually able to attend.  I used the extra kits to teach the card again at a Stamp-a-Stack event, but I still had more than half a dozen left, and I didn't think I needed that many herringbone birthday cards.  So, when I saw this card on Pinterest and Leslie's bargello tutorial, I thought they would be interesting ways to use some of those strips.  What I failed to account for is that, since they are pretty heavy on the cake, cupcake, flags and banners patterns, they were probably all going to look like birthday cards, which I really have more of than I need.

stamp set - Itty Bitty Banners; ink - Midnight Muse; card stock - Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White; designer series paper - Patio Party; Big Shot with Bitty Banners framelits, Primrose Petals 3/8" Stitched Satin ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

stamp set - You're Amazing; ink - Summer Starfruit; card stock - Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White; designer series paper - Patio Party; Big Shot with Accents framelits, Baja Breeze Twitterpated buttons (retired), glue dots, Stampin' Dimenionals

The one above is not bargello, since I failed to follow the instructions in Leslie's tutorial, but I imagine it has a name. Below is where I got it right:

 stamp set - Bring on the Cake; ink - Baja Breeze; card stock - Midnight Muse, Whisper White; designer series paper  - Patio Party; punch - Extra-Large Oval; Stampin' Dimensionals

Now, in addition to the birthday cards I've been overstocked on recently, I have a coordinating set, with a kind of a quilt theme:

Maybe I should give them away, as a set.  I still have some of those pre-cut 1/2" strips, I could even make a couple more to fill it out.  I wonder how they'd look in a Log Cabin pattern?