It’s nearing the end of the month, so that means it’s time to create a batch of birthday cards for the card ministry at our church. This time around I decided to use the Ice Cream Corner suite for the cards because it is perfect for birthdays in the peak of summer. I do have to say that I’m not 100% in love with the way that the patterned papers I picked from the pack coordinate on the card, but I’m pretty picky in this area. I do like having panels to show off papers, and I loved these papers when I first saw them in the January – June catalog. Unfortunately they are already sold out, so you can’t get them any more but they were perfect for the birthday card project. The bundle of the stamps and punch are still available until the end of June, and then available separately because they are also in the “big” catalog. If you want the bundle pricing, then order the bundle by Wednesday (6/30).

I created this card to participate in the current sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches. This is why you see the four panels of DSP. In fact, I was able to create 30 cards with 1 sheet each of 4 different 12×12 papers. This is a great way to use up some of your stash and get a whole bunch of cards. I think that I will likely revisit this sketch again in the future for another batch card making session. I also think it would be fun to mix patterned paper with embossed cardstock to get a visual and tactile aspect to the card.

I do want to note that I used a retired color in my card design. That’s one weird side effect of the January – June catalog extending beyond the end date of the last In Color collection. There are papers and embellishments in the mini catalog that include colors that are now retired, but were still available when the catalog started. In this case, I used Terracotta Tile for the mat layer and some of the stamping. Because it’s retired you can’t get products in those colors, but I wanted to use coordinating colors for my card. I did try using black for the mat layer instead, but that was too harsh and didn’t look right. So I used some retired stash – I hope that you can still use my design for inspiration to create with some other papers and colors.

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