Hey, fellow stampers!  It's Kristine on the blog today, showing you how to make this adorable pickle birthday card with stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop. Isn't it cute?

If you've ever felt too intimidated to make your own cards, or if you don't think you can because you don't have all the fancy die cutters and card making things, this post is for you!  You'll see just how easy it is to create a custom card from materials you probably already have lying around. (The full list of materials appears at the end of the post.)

For this card, I began by cutting a strip off the right side of the front face.  This was so that once the card was closed, the front would be slightly narrower than the back. I used a craft knife and a cutting mat, but you could certainly use a paper trimmer if you have one.

The next step was to cut a piece of decorative paper slightly smaller than the front and adhere it to the front of the card.  In this photo, you can see how the back of the card is slightly wider than the front.

Now for the fun part!  On some smooth white cardstock, I stamped all the images I needed for the front of the card using stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop's Big Dill set. (This set is retired, but this technique could be used with just about any stamp set.)  I colored them in using Prismacolor colored pencils blended with gamsol.

Once the images were all colored in, I fussy cut them with a pair of embroidery scissors.  (If you hate to fussy cut, or if you have a hard time doing it with regular scissors, get a pair of small scissors like these!  They were only about $8 at the craft store - best investment ever!) I also adhered the main stamp and the sentiment onto a coordinating piece of colored paper and fussy cut those again, leaving a slightly wider border.

The next step was to mount all of the stamped images onto the front of the card.  I ran a strip of adhesive down the right side and stuck all the little pickles to the edge; to adhere the main stamp and sentiment, I used foam mounting circles that are sticky on both sides.  This gives those pieces a bit of dimension and pop!  To finish the front, I used a black Papermate Flair pen to draw a stitching detail around three edges.

And it's almost done!  The final step was to stamp the inside sentiment using Sweet Stamp Shop's Happy Birthday set.

And there it is, a finished homemade birthday card that's sure to please, made in about an hour without any fancy tools or machines.  (If you're wondering about the extra little pickle - I used him to dress up the envelope!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment and let us know what you think - we love your feedback!

Materials used: white card base, two coordinating pieces of scrapbook paper, craft knife, cutting mat, decorative stamp set (this pickle set from Sweet Stamp Shop is retired, but any set will do), black ink (I used VersaFine ink in Black Onyx), embroidery scissors, Prismacolor colored pencils, gamsol and blending stumps, Happy Birthday stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop, roller adhesive, and foam circles.