Oh Baby!

Baby themed cards have to be one of the most fun to make! I typically do not like monochromatic (one color) designs nor do I like stereotypical blue and pink for babies. But even I just couldn't resist this classic approach to baby cards.

The first step to making a card is the concept. That usually comes along with choosing the focal point to the card. I made these little baby foot prints on the computer (Photoshop) and printed them out. They will be the focal point for these cards.

Next I go to the foundation of the card, the paper. There are so many cute baby themed papers out there! I found a typographic option in both pink and blue. The second paper choice for me needed to contrast the first paper choice. The typographic paper has white type on a colored background so the second patterned paper needed to be the inverse (color on white background) or contrast in value. My third paper choice is a solid color that will be used as an accent.

Keeping my layout in mind, I start cutting paper. Proportion is an important design element in this step. I have two things going across the page and two circles. I need a small and a large of both. Using proper proportion, I create hierarchy and a focal point.

I use some fancy tools on the plain, solid paper to jazz them up at bit. I have a border punch that matches a round die cut. I don't always match, in fact I am going against my design style again because I don't like matchy matchy.

As I make cuts the cards begin to take shape. I lay all the pieces out before I cut my largest shape. Patterned paper isn't cheap so I don't want to mess up a cut that takes up a lot of paper. If I am making a card set or multiple versions of a card, this is even more important because I only have so much of the same paper. The first shape I grabbed was way too small! I'm so glad I took  the extra second to double check it. The larger shape is slightly larger than I would like, but its gonna have to work. (It ends up fitting perfect)!

Now that the plain paper is cut out in a fancy way I'm upping the fancy factor even more! I chose some embossing folders to add texture. I found a paisley pattern which will match the boy card perfect. Too perfect as if I had that in mind when I saw that paper, maybe! Paisley would have been cute for the girl card too but I don't want the cards to be too similar. I grab a flourish one to go with the flowers on the girl card. I lay these out before embossing them. Every element in my cards are thought out. I never just put paper in and hope it works. I move things around and make conscious design decisions.  After embossing I added some shimmery ink to really push the depth. Plus it is just one more way to jazz up this basic paper. Who would have guessed that was just a stock plain paper before I started?!

Now that all my pieces are cut and embellished I can put them all together. I assemble my cards on top of a mat with a grid on it so that I know everything is lined up and straight. And now after reading all that here are the cards!

If you are interested in purchasing these cards they are available for online purchase here. If you would like a custom baby themed card, email me at jlibdesigns@gmail.com
Thanks :)