Easy monster birthday cards...

 I always try to make a few children's birthday cards for the thrift store. My only requirement is that they be quick and easy. Here are a couple of fun makes that meet that requirement:

Aren't they goofy looking monsters? Looking at them in the photo, I feel like I should have put a couple tufts of hair (using a grass die or punch) on the center top. I thought my crafty friend Donna of Design by Donna might like to make a couple of these to include in the cards she donates to Cards 4 Kids.

I started with two A2 portrait-style (fold at the top) card bases. Before working on the front, I adhered a sentiment panel to the inside that had a computer-generated sentiment.

Then I decided on what I wanted the front "skin" of each monster to be. For the first one I used a kraft cardstock that had silver dots all over it. I cut it to 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". Then I used a curved border die (one that's meant for making landscapes) to cut it into two pieces, making the cut closer to the bottom. The smaller piece was adhered to the inside of the card base, right over the top of my sentiment panel, lining it up at the bottom. The larger piece was temporarily adhered to the top of the card base so that I could fussy-cut the front of the card base to match the curve of my "skin." 

Before I glued down the larger piece of "skin," I cut a few triangles of white CS in somewhat different sizes and glued them to the front of the card base so that they extended over the bottom piece of "skin" when the card was closed. Once the teeth were in place, I permanently adhered the top piece of "skin" and added different sizes of circles of black and white for the eyes.

The "skin" on the second monster was some DSP that I dry-embossed with a dots embossing folder. Note that it had been cut with the curved die before I embossed it.

Here's a peek at the inside with the smaller piece of "skin" adhered to the bottom.

These cards were so fun to make. I think next time I will add those tufts of hair, and I'm going to round the two top corners so that it looks more like the monster's head.

As you read this, we are traveling to Portland, Oregon, to visit our kids who live there. We only get to see them once or twice a year, so this is a really special time for us. I hope to have some photos to share when we get back.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl