Friends Fur-ever Birthday Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  There Are Some Things You Should Tell Your Neighbor About

I lived in an apartment for a very long time and it was funny how little I knew about my neighbors.  It seemed that because we lived in such close proximity to one another, we didn't go out of our way to get to know one another.  Now that we're in a house, we find that knowing our neighbors has been wonderful!  I think it's fair to say we have gotten to know quite a few of them since we walk Buddy all the time.  We either end up walking with some of our neighbors who have dogs too or we pass by neighbors who don't have dogs while they are out in their yards or going to and from work.  I got a call from one of my neighbors today about a crime alert email he had received.  He knows I walk a lot and just wanted me to know that there had been a strange car in the area that had been reported to the police since the man inside the car had tried to order a woman into the car.  I really appreciated his telling me so that I can keep an eye out on my walks and be sure to have my cell phone with me at all times.  There are some things that you should be sure to tell your neighbor about - it's nice to know that we are all looking out for one another!
I just can't seem to get enough of this Friends Fur-ever stamp set!  I hope you're enjoying these cute dogs as much as I am!  For the first card I did some simple stamping and coloring.  I stamped the birthday greeting from Bring on the Cake and colored it in with my Bashful Blue marker (and a touch of Daffodil Delight for the flame).  I then used the stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the dog and gift box from Friends Fur-ever in Basic Black.  I colored the box and collar in and then added a touch of dazzling diamonds to both to give them some bling!  I mounted the panel onto Pumpkin Pie card stock and added a bit of striped grosgrain ribbon before mounting the panel onto the Whisper White base with dimensionals.  I also wanted to share this card with you that is just a variation on the first.  Here I used the retired "Think Big" stamp set and stamped the dog right above the "g."  I stamped, colored and cut out the balloon and hand drew the string.  I added Crystal Effects to the balloon to give it some shine.  I hope you like both cards :)