Many Happy Wishes with the Thoughtful Octopus

Oh my goodness, is this little birthday octopus not the cutest?

During last week’s live video, I paired the Thoughtful Octopus stamp set with a fun colour combination of Pool Party, Peaceful Pine and Berry Burst. I love how that pop of Berry Burst brings the whole card to life!

A Little Underwater Scene

I started by lightly blending Pool Party ink over part of the Basic White scalloped circle. Then I stamped the sea foliage along the bottom using Coastal Cabana and Peaceful Pine ink, stamping some of the images a second time without reinking to create a little extra depth.

The octopus was stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe and fussy cut. He is a little tricky to cut around, but he is so darn cute that I think he is worth it! Of course, you can keep the cutting simple and leave more white space around his tentacles too.

A Berry Burst party hat, a strip of ribbon and a few shiny embellishments finished everything off perfectly.

Card Measurements

• Pool Party card base: 5-1/2″ × 8-1/2″, scored at 4-1/4″
• Bloom Boutique Designer Series Paper: 3-3/4″ × 5″
• Basic White inside layer: 3-3/4″ × 5″
• Berry Burst sentiment strip: approximately 2-3/4″ × 5/8″
• Basic White cardstock: 3-1/2″ scalloped circle, scraps for the octopus and party hat

Don’t Forget the Inside!

You know I don’t like my cards to be naked inside! I repeated the underwater foliage in the bottom corner and added a Berry Burst balloon floating up through it. It is simple, cheerful and still leaves lots of room to write a birthday message.

One Design, Two Completely Different Cards

During the live, I also used these same consumable supplies to create a second birthday card with the retired Simply Sparkling Bundle from my stash. It looks completely different, even though the paper, colours, ribbon and embellishments are the same!

It is such a fun reminder to look beyond the stamp set used on a project and imagine what you already own that could take its place. Be sure to watch the video below to see both cards come together.

Shop the Thoughtful Octopus Card Supplies

Everything I used to create the Thoughtful Octopus card is listed below. Simply click on a product to see it in my online store.

The best part of this card design is that you don’t have to own the Thoughtful Octopus stamp set to try it. Take a look through your stash and see what image you could use in its place. You are not limited by your supplies, only by your imagination!

Happy Stamping!

🩷 Denise