Craft & Unwind With Happier Hour!

Hello crafty friends, Rachel Alvarado here, and I’m thrilled to be back on the Spellbinders Blog sharing some festive cards using products from the new Happier Hour Collection. I absolutely love this collection because it covers a variety of occasions with a bunch of coordinating sentiments to choose from.

ICE CREAM SHAKER CARD

My first card features the adorable Fountain Wishes Etched Dies. My inspiration for this card came from my sweet little blue Parakeet (aka Blueberry), who spends many hours a day sitting on my shoulder, chatting away. When I first saw the bird in this set, I knew that I had to add him to my project.

Because this set came with a balloon die, I decided to make it a colorful birthday-themed card. I die cut all my images from colored card stock and added some light shading to some of the pieces with similar colored Distress Ink for added depth and dimension. I also added a blend of Kitsch Flamingo, Salvaged Patina, and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide Inks for my background. To give my background some texture, I spattered some white ink using diluted Splatter White Opaque Watercolor Paint.

To create the shaker portion of my card, I die cut a rectangular frame six times from white card stock using the new Linear Touch Rectangles and Tag Etched Dies.  I adhered five of the frames together with liquid adhesive and attached them to my 4.25” x 5.5” ink-blended card base. I then added some sequin embellishments and sealed off the frame with a 4.25” x 5.5” piece of clear acetate, followed by the final white frame.  I adhered my images on top of the acetate with dimensional foam adhesive tape, and finished off my card with a sentiment from the Fountain Wishes Sentiments BetterPress Plate & Die Set and some Glossy Accents on top of my chocolate drizzle to make it look more realistic.

MARGARITAS & CINCO DE MAYO

My second card showcases the Sip Sip Ole’ Etched Dies. Even if you don’t like margaritas, how can you resist that adorable little sombrero? This set is truly filled with so many fun dies! Aside from the sombrero (which is my favorite die grouping of the set), I also adore the cute little strawberries, lime slice, and avocado (which is not featured on my card).  Another fun touch is the “salted” rim around the glass. I used some glue and chunky white glitter to resemble the salt and made sure to do two layers of glitter to get some extra dimension and texture.

I once again die cut all my images from colored card stock and added some shading with ink blending to some of the pieces.  To color my margarita, I ink blended a piece of white card stock with Picked Raspberry, Kitsch Flamingo, and Spun Sugar Distress Inks.  I used the largest die from the Linear Touch Rectangles & Tag Etched Dies to die cut a piece of pink card stock for my card base.  I also added some light blending of Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide for my background.  For my sentiment, I used the Sip Sip Ole’ Sentiments BetterPress Plate and Die Set that I had heat embossed with Fine Detail White Embossing Powder onto a piece of black card stock.

I’D LIKE TO MAKE A TOAST

My final card features the A Special Toast Etched Dies. This set is so pretty! When my daughter saw the die-cut ring inside the glass, she asked me if she could have it.  It’s hard to see in the photo, but in the right lighting, the ring sparkles and shines.  For the base of the ring, I used some mirror gold card stock, and for the diamond, I used some glittery white card stock.  Unlike my first two cards, I didn’t add any ink blending to this card except for my background of Milled Lavender Distress Oxide Ink.

I had a lot of fun creating this card. The large flowers really compliment the décor of the glass, and that top hat adds the perfect touch. There are also a fun pair of stilettos that you can create and add to your card front if you desire. I paired this set with the A Special Toast Sentiments BetterPress Plate & Die Set.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by! I hope you enjoyed my cards today and will give this collection a closer look! I would love to see what you create using this set, so please feel free to tag me @theunpamperedstamper on Instagram if you do so!

Spellbinders Supplies:

Other Supplies

White Glitter Card Stock, Kitsch Flamingo, Salvaged Patina, Wilted Violet Distress Oxide Inks, Colored Enamel Dots, 3mm Sequins, Glossy Accents