One of my brilliant friends just celebrated her twins’ first birthday. An amazing milestone for any Mama, not least because she’s had to bring them up in lockdown for most of the year, with her toddler son at home, too.

So, I decided to make a couple of special cards to celebrate!

How cute is this stamp set? It’s called Critter Crowd by Simon Says Stamp. I started by stamping two sets of the critters, plus the balloons and party hats, and coloured them using my Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend markers. These are amazing, they take the guesswork out of blending and shading for those of us who are new to the game! Once coloured, I die cut the images on my Gemini Mini, using the co-ordinating dies.

Next, I cut a rectangle window in a piece of A2 sized card, and glued a piece of acetate to the reverse. I laid out my different die cut elements over the window to check that I was happy with the layout, then placed the Happy Birthday sentiment underneath. Using my MISTI stamping tool, I stamped the sentiment, and then attached the images using craft foam for dimension.

To make the shaker window, I placed craft foam tape around the edge of the window (and the rest of the card so it doesn’t sag) and filled it with confetti. I then selected some co-ordinating patterned paper and placed it over the top of the foam tape, sealing in the confetti. I then secured the shaker window to an A2 card blank.

Finally, I used Glossy Accents to fill in the balloons, giving them a lovely 3D, glossy finish.

Which do you prefer, the blue or the pink? I really love how these turned out, they’re super cute!