IO Challenge- Birthday Wishes

Greetings friends.  Today's challenge is all about birthday cards.  I often make cards with presents, balloons, or cake, but I also like to make cards that match the person.  So, for the challenge, I decided to make two birthday cards with specific people in mind... one for my mom and one for my brother.

For my mom's card, I went with a beach theme.  We are from an ocean town, and she is all about the beach... the sound, the smell, and the sunny days.  I made her a die cut card to celebrate her favorite place and to wish her a happy day.

The sand part uses the sand cover a card background.  Here is a close up of that stamp:

FYI- you can use the sand stamp in green ink for a nice grassy background as well.

For my brother's card, I made him a fish card.  He is a scuba diver that would rather spend more time in the water than on land.  I stamped "best fishes" on the inside, but I forgot to take a picture of the sentiment.  For the card, I stamped it twice onto black cardstock with Versamark ink.  I embossed one with turquoise embossing powder and the other with a mix of orange and hot pink embossing powders.

 I then cut out the fish and glued them onto the turquoise background.  Here is a closeup:

I am debating whether or not to stamp little birthday hats for the fish.  What do you think?

Items Used:
Beach Card-
Clouds DIE068-A
Sun and Moon DIE163-C
Relax and Enjoy A5504
Beach Chairs DIE177-K
Cover a Card Sand CC216

Fish Card-
Fish 3145-MD
Best Fishes A5450

Don't forget to visit the other designers to see their birthday creations:

Anna Wight

Dina Kowal

Giovana Smith

Ilina Crouse

Jeanne Streiff

Jenny Gropp

Karen Amidon

Kelli Hull

 Kittie Caracciolo

Laura Fulcher

Vicki Garrett