Playful Puppies

Birthday Card with Die-Cut Paw Prints

Some cards practically design themselves once the inspiration hits, and that was exactly the case with this sweet puppy-themed birthday card! For my latest Design Team project with the Cut It Up! #351 Challenge, the theme is Happy Birthday, and of course every project must include a die cut somewhere. That requirement was easy to meet because I had been wanting to pull out the adorable Cutest Crew stamp set and coordinating dies for some time. If puppies are involved, you know it’s going to be a fun crafting session!

I started with a Basic White card base to create a landscape-style card. To bring in some cheerful color, I adhered a Fresh Freesia panel to the front of the card. The soft purple creates a perfect backdrop and really helps the die cuts pop.

Building some texture and playful movement, paw prints and diagonal line strips from Blackberry Bliss cardstock were die cut and layered along the bottom portion of the card front. Beginning with the diagonal lines and alternating with paw prints, they continue for five rows – I absolutely love how the Fresh Freesia background peeks through the die cuts. It adds interest, texture, and just the right amount of fun for a puppy-themed design.

For the focal point, I die cut a circle from Basic White cardstock using the Stylish Shapes dies. With a small Blending Brush and a scrap of paper to help define the horizon line, I softly blended Granny Apple Green ink along the bottom to create grass. A touch of Balmy Blue ink blended across the top portion of the circle created a soft sky effect. It’s such a simple technique but it really brings the scene to life.

The sentiment “Happy Birthday” from the Cutest Crew stamp set was stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink on the circle and then the circle was placed toward the upper left portion of the card front. I trimmed a small portion where it overlapped the edge of the card so it sits nicely within the design.

Now for the real stars of the card — the puppies! Three adorable pups were stamped and die cut, then colored using Stampin’ Blends. I added small touches of Fresh Freesia and Blackberry Bliss on their collars/bandana so they coordinate beautifully with the rest of the card. The middle puppy was adhered directly onto the circle focal point while the other two were popped up with Dimensionals for extra depth and dimension. Then three Fresh Freesia Sparkle Dot Essentials embellishments were added above the Blackberry Bliss strips toward the right side of the card to finish everything off. Using one of each size helps balance the design while adding a little bit of sparkle.

Inside the card, is a Basic White panel layered onto a Blackberry Bliss mat . A few small paw prints stamped in Blackberry Bliss (lightened by stamping off once) in the lower right corner continue the playful puppy theme inside the card.

This sweet design was inspired by several challenges. The layout comes from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #671, the beautiful purple hues of the card were inspired by the As You See It Challenge #367 (which is not only a color challenge this time around, but also a speed challenge – and once I had all my goodies/supplies gathered together, this card came together in a smidge under ten minutes – whew!) , and the Just Add Ink #780 challenge invites us to use stencils, dies, or both. I had so much fun combining these inspirations into one cheerful birthday card filled with texture, color, and adorable pups.

Update: I was selected as one of the top 3 with the Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge!!

If you love die cutting and playful card designs, I hope this project inspires you to pull out your dies and create something fun of your own – play along with us at Cut It Up! challenges. And if puppies are involved… well, that’s just an added bonus!

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