Gradient Stenciled Background

It's always nice to have some extra birthday cards on hand, so today I'm using the From the Vault Birthday stamp set to create a card using the adorable panda image in the set. Combining older images like the panda with new techniques and products is so much fun!

The background was created using the Graphic Snowflake Stencil and couldn't be any simpler to create! This is currently one of my favorite ways to use stencils thanks to our buttery smooth Reactive Inks. The colors blend effortlessly with a foam blending tool and it's easy to create a range of light to dark colors. I used Creamsicle first to create the orange behind the panda and then blended Lemon Drop around that, using a very light touch around the edges. I popped up the stenciled background on a Paradise card base, then moved on to my focal point.

I stamped the birthday panda from the From the Vault Birthday set and used the coordinating dies to cut him out. I colored the cake portion of the image by using Reactive Inks like watercolors. 

I thought the panda looked like he should be holding a birthday banner, so that's what I created. To create the curved banner I die-cut two Nesting Circle Infinity Dies together and then curved my sentiment to fit. I trimmed some banner tails, added some yellow string and popped up the panda and sentiment with foam adhesive on the card base.

I think it's so fun to see how you are all using our "From the Vault" stamps in new and creative ways and I hope you enjoyed my card today.