April's Review	Catherine's Review	Karen's Review	Renee's Review	Tammy's Review

Review by April

Out of all the layouts I create during the year, birthday layouts are usually few and far between. I'm not sure why really that is, but I was excited to join the team in reviewing Karen Foster's Birthday Collection because I knew it would help inspire me to create a birthday layout!

For this review I received two sheets each of Karen Foster's Birthday Celebration and Balloons paper, one sheet of Orange Soda paper, three sheets of coordinating cardstock in bright green, blue, and orange, one package of bright loopy brads, one package of party sparkle brads, one "Celebrate" rub on word, one mini birthday license plate, one Birthday Party sticker sheet, one Happy Birthday sticker sheet, and one sheet of Birthday Decorations Clearly stickers. The patterned papers were all 12"x 12", acid free, have a white back, and come in a medium to light weight thickness. The three cardstock sheets were heavy in weight and coordinated perfectly with each of the birthday patterned papers. The bright colored loopy brads came in a plastic package that could easily be used like storage dispenser and it contained 40 pieces with a mixture of orange, purple, blue, pink, and green loopy brads. They can be used with floss, ribbon, or regular string to loop and lace on your project, they can be used for hanging charms or embellishments, or you can use them as is for a cute page embellishment. The sparkle party brads come in a small plastic package that can also be used as a storage dispenser and it contains 24 pieces. The sparkle brads come in 3 different sizes, and there are four fabulous colors to choose from in shades of lime green, emerald green, orange, and aqua! Both the Birthday Party stickers and the Happy Birthday stickers are a nice heavy weight, so they are easy to distress, or even use as non sticker embellishment after powdering the backs. The Happy Birthday stickers come on 6" x 5" sheet, and contain five different stickers including cupcakes, a present, a balloon, and a sign to journal on. The Birthday Party stickers come on a 9" x 5" sheet and contain 13 stickers with images of balloons, candles, presents, cake, and title blocks. The clear birthday decoration stickers come on a 2 1/2" x 10" sheet, contain 19 stickers in images like candles, presents, balloons, and party hats. All of the clear stickers peel off a clear backing and appear opaque on layouts just like color rub ons. They are also cut precisely around the image so there is no clear halo around the sticker image. Last but not least, the adorable mini birthday license plate has an adhesive back, comes in yellow, orange, white and aqua, and says, "Time for Birthday Presents". It's about 1 3/4" in length, and a little under an inch in width.

I thought the orange soda paper and bright green cardstock I received matched perfectly with some pictures I had of my nephews first birthday party. I started by matting the green cardstock on the orange soda paper, then I cut up a few strips of the birthday celebration paper and added it around the pictures. I placed the main photo and two of the birthday stickers on pop dots to add dimension to the layout. I thought the loopy brads looked cool even without adding thread to them, so I used them a small simple page embellishment. Then I added one of the emerald sparkle party brads and some journaling to complete the layout.

Title: Logan's 1st Birthday
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster Birthday Collection)
Stickers (Karen Foster Birthday Party)
Rhinestone Brads (Karen Foster Party Sparkle Brads)
Brads (Karen Foster Bright Loopy Brads)
Pens (Uniball, & Sakura)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner, & Pop dots)

For my second project I wanted to decorate a plain chipboard box to use as a birthday box! I thought this would be a cute little box to have for storing birthday cards and/or birthday party memorabilia. I cut some of the balloons paper to fit the sides of the box, and then adhered a square of white cardstock to the top. I cut the large celebrate rub on word in half and placed it in the bottom right hand corner. The rub on word transferred easily and did not come off while I moved it around on the cardstock until I actually pressed down on it with a popsicle stick. I trimmed off the first couple of images on the birthday decorations clearly stickers and then placed the rest of the sheet on the box as is. To complete the design, I added a few of the loopy brads, a large gift sticker above the rub on, and then spread orange glitter glue all around the top of the box.

Title: Birthday Box
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster Birthday Collection)
Stickers (Karen Foster Happy Birthday Little Big, Birthday Decorations clearly)
Rhinestone Brads (Karen Foster Party Sparkle Brads)
Brads (Karen Foster Bright Loopy Brads)
Rub on (Karen Foster Word Rub on)
Pen (Sakura)
Glitter Glue (Ranger Stickles)
Chipboard Box (Fancy Pants packaging)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I thought this was a very cute collection and I enjoyed having so many different coordinating embellishments to complete my projects with. I thought the quality of the rub on word and cardstock stickers was great. I have been using the Karen Foster rhinestone brads for a couple of years now because I absolutely love them, and I thought the vibrant colors in the party sparkle pack were gorgeous. The birthday collection is a good choice for scrapping birthday pictures or invitations, but doesn't have to be limited just to birthday projects. There are plenty of stickers, embellishments, and a couple of the papers that could easily be used for other themes. If you are looking for a cute collection that comes with a variety of matching embellishments, then the Karen Foster Birthday collection would be perfect!

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Review by Catherine

Karen Foster Design is a scrapbook company that seems to have found it’s niche in the scrapbooking industry and sticks with it. You’ve got to admire a company that has been around for as long as Karen Foster Design has been and is still coming up with a wide range of new ideas each season. Karen Foster Design has thematic papers and products to cover just about every theme one might hope to scrapbook. We were recently sent the newest Birthday themed products to review, which included papers, stickers, sparkle brads, a rub-on title, and a miniature license plate to coordinate.

For some reason, birthday themed layouts seem to be one of those things that fall by the wayside whenever I am scrapbooking. When I heard that I would be receiving the Karen Foster Birthday Collection, along with embellishments, I knew that it would give me the chance to catch up a bit on some neglected birthday pictures. The collection of papers is small, with only three patterns included. There are two sets of cardstock stickers: Happy Birthday and Birthday Party. Additionally, there is a set of clear stickers called Birthday Decorations, coordinating Loopy Brads, Sparkle Brads, Mini License Plate, and Rubon Celebration Title. In addition to the products in the Karen Foster Birthday Collection, I also received three sheets of Prism Prismatics Cardstock that coordinate. The products in this collection are bright and fun, and fit well with child birthday parties.

I decided that the best photos to use for the Karen Foster Birthday Collection would be some recent pictures of my middle son’s fourth birthday party. The decorations for his party, as well as the colors he was wearing are a perfect match to the bold patterns and bright colors in these papers and embellishments. For the first layout, I decided to create a page highlighting on of my favorite photos from the day.

Title: Four Years Old
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster Design - Birthday)
Cardstock Stickers (Karen Foster Design – Birthday Party)
Sparkle Brads (Karen Foster Design)
Foam Stickers (Target Dollar Spot)
Journaling die-cut (Scenic Route)
Adhesive (AdTech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

The next layout that I created for this review utilizes pictures from the same party, but I also used the large rub-on title that I received. The rub-on adhered wonderfully to the page and creates a visually strong title which enhances the rest of the layout.

Title: Celebrate
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster Design - Birthday)
Title Rub-On (Karen Foster Design)
Stickers (Karen Foster Designs – Birthday Party)
Sparkle Brads (Karen Foster Design)
Glitter Glue (Ranger - Stickles)
Mini License Plate (Karen Foster Design)
Sketch (by Karen Day for Scrapfriends)
Adhesive (AdTech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

As always, the Karen Foster Design products are high quality, economical, and easy to use. The papers and products coordinate beautifully, and work exceptionally well for the intended purpose. If you have birthday layouts that need to be scrapped, then you should definitely look into the Birthday Collection from Karen Foster Design.

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Review by Karen

Karen Foster Designs is known for themed collections that full encompass all of a scrappers needs. Each collection fits perfectly into a niche that hasn’t been filled in the same way. While the products are staples that we all use just about every day, the designs are truly unique and really stay true to what we all love about Karen Foster Designs.

For my review I am working with the Birthday Collection. The collection contains paper, cardstock stickers, clear stickers, a rub on title, a “license plate”, jewel brads, and loopy brads. The papers are 12”x12”, acid free and ligned free. One item to note is that there is not a cut off strip with the bar code or paper name on it. This information is found on the back of the paper. There are two different sheets of cardstock stickers. One sheet has five large images while the second sheet has 13 smaller images. The clear sticker sheet is unique because the images are not see through. That is the images are solid but the edges of the sticker can been seen through. I really love this feature.

I have said many times that I love rub ons. The run on that comes in this collection is a large title that says “celebrate”. The size of the title is perfect for a 12”x12” layout. However, I scrap 8.5”x11” and I wasn’t sure that the title would fit across the 8.5” portion of the layout. I am so happy to say that each letter of the rub on is its own rub on and making it very easy to fit the title to the page size.

I love the addition of the loopy brads and the jewel brads. I’ve used the jewel brads before and really love what they add to a layout. The loopy brads, on the other hand, were brand new to me. I really love the idea behind them. They are a typical brad, but on one end there is a little metal loop. This loop is perfect for adding ribbon too, or hanging a tag from. Really a neat product that I am excited to have been introduced too.

One of the things that I noticed when I first started to work with the collection was the bright colors used, especially the use of orange. I really love how orange works for both little girl or little boy pages. In my first project, I really played up the orange using photos where my little guy had been wearing an orange shirt. I also mixed and orange sticker with the license plate to create my title. I added Loopy Brads to details to the corner of one of my photos.

Title: Celebrate (boy version)
Products used:
Cardstock Papaya Puree Medium(Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster Designs)
Sticker (Karen Foster Designs)
License Plate (Karen Foster Designs)
Brads Loopy Brads(Karen Foster Designs)
Journaling tab (Creative Cafe)
Felt ribbon (Creative Cafe)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

My second layout started with me questioning the large rub on on the smaller page. As you can see from the page, the rub on fits beautifully. It was easy to place each letter exactly where I wanted it, even over areas where there was a felt piece. I used the Birthday Celebrate paper to add some depth to my page.

Title: Celebrate turning 7
Products used:
Cardstock Classic Yellowgreen, Iced Pink(Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster Designs)
Clear tag (Maya Road)
Felt ribbon (Queen and Co.)
Number sticker (American Crafts)
Cardstock stickers (Karen Foster Designs)
Rub On (Karen Foster Designs)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I really am pleased with how easy it was to create with the Birthday Collection. There are two different subjects that I struggle with; birthdays and Christmas. Working with Karen Foster Designs’ Birthday collection really is a piece of cake (no pun intended). Thank you to the artists who created this wonderful and easy to use collection!

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Review by Renee

Karen Foster Designs manufactures scrapbook papers, embellishments, sticker and other products for the scrapbook enthusiast. Their papers and embellishments come in a wide variety of themes, and color schemes. In addition to their papers and embellishments, they also produce some tools and storage items. The products are always high quality and very easy to use.

For this review, I received products from the Karen Foster Birthday Collection. I received:

• Two sheets each of Birthday Celebration paper
• Two sheets each of Balloons paper
• One sheet of Orange Soda paper
• One “Celebrate” word rub on
• One package of Loopy brads
• One package of Sparkle brads
• One Birthday License plate
• Two cardstock and one clear sticker sheet
• Blue, Green and Orange cardstock

The collection is filled with bright, happy colors. The birthday celebrations paper has a purple background with many cheerful birthday words and pictures. The Balloons paper is on a yellow background with many primary colored balloons on the paper. The three sticker sheets carry the birthday inspired embellishment theme even further. The loopy brads are primary colored brads with small loops on one end, making them perfectly suitable for passing ribbon or other fibers through. The sparkle brads are multi sized brads that have colored rhinestones in the center, perfect for use in flower centers.

For my first project, I used the papers and embellishments to create a layout documenting my daughter’s birthday cookie cake. I used the threading waters punch on the edges of the Orange Crush paper to create a scalloped patterned paper from it. A large off centered piece of the Birthday Celebration paper completes the layout background. The celebrate word rub on measures 8 inches long and is about 2 inches tall. It makes a large presence on the scrapbook page, making it a good option for a title. I chose to use the celebrate rub on as my title, placing it across the bottom to balance the off centered block.

Title: Celebrate!
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics Iced Orange)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster)
Rub on word(Karen Foster)
Sparkle and loopy brads (Karen Foster)
License plate (Karen Foster)
Paper Flowers (Prima)
Punch (Fiskars)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my second project, I decided to make a birthday card. I used the balloons and Birthday celebration papers to make the base of the card. I also used a large sticker from the sticker sheet as an accent. A loopy brad at the bottom of the balloon is the perfect holder for the ribbon for the balloon.

Title: Happy Birthday
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics Baby Blue Dark)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster)
Sticker (Karen Foster)
Ribbon (May Arts)
Loopy Brads (Karen Foster)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Karen Foster Birthday collection is a really cute collection of papers and stickers. This collection is easy to use and makes a variety of Birthday projects. If you have birthday projects to make, give this collection a try.

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Review by Tammy

Creating birthday layouts is something that I struggle with. I am not sure why I hit a creative block when it comes to these kinds of pictures so when the opportunity arose for me to work with the Birthday collection by Karen Foster I jumped at the chance hoping that I could learn something new!

With numerous awards behind Karen Foster Designs it stands to reason that the Birthday collection would be the hit of the party! The 12 x 12-inch papers which include Orange Soda, Birthday Celebration, Balloons, plus three sheets of coordinating cardstock is a great way to get any birthday party project started. The loopy brads, sparkle brads, and birthday license plate are all traditional items that are sure to add glimmer and shine. When you add the Happy Birthday and Happy Birthday Little Big cardstock stickers, Birthday Decorations Clearly stickers and the "Celebrate" rub-on, the party will be complete!

This picture of my youngest son and I sharing a birthday deserved to be showcased in something better than a dollar store frame. I had purchased some unfinished frames that were discounted after the holidays, and with the Karen Foster Birthday collection in my possession, it was time to give this picture frame a facelift!

I began by covering the base of the frame with the Orange Soda paper then added a mat of Balloons and tore it across the top. I cut a strip from the Birthday Celebrations, making sure the "Happy Birthday!" text would be visible, and added it along the top. I also used this to cover my chipboard number and as a mat for my large sticker. I have always been a big fan of the Sparkle Brads since they were first introduced, so I wanted to find a way to use them on my frame. Because the frame is made of wood and I did not want to drill holes for the brads to stick into I simply cut the metal tabs off of the back and adhered them to the frame with glue dots. I added some dimension to the stickers so I used foam tape to make them stand out against the frame and finished it all off by adding a small amount of white pen work. What a happy frame to showcase a day I will never forget!

Title: Birthday Frame
Products used: Patterned Paper (Karen Foster – Orange Soda, Balloons, & Birthday Celebration)
Brads (Karen Foster Sparkle Brads)
Stickers (Karen Foster Cardstock Sticker Sheet)
White Pen (Inkssentials, Ranger)
Frame (Hobby Lobby)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Now that I do not have little children at home anymore, birthdays are not as big of an event although we do try and do something special on that day. We had spent the majority of the day shopping for new clothes for my husband and my son wanted to get balloons to decorate with. Instead of putting them up in the house we decided to tape them to the big bag that we had put all of his presents in. Of course my husband thought it was funny that we had done that and while he was acting silly I got this picture. The Karen Foster Balloon paper was just what was needed to make this photo shine. I layered the Balloon paper onto a piece of the blue cardstock that was included in the package and used the Birthday Celebration paper to mat the photograph. I used a piece of Orange Soda paper to back the sticker from the Happy Birthday cardstock sticker sheet and added two Sparkle Brads along the edge. The Happy Birthday Balloon and Large Present both came from the Happy Birthday Little Big cardstock sticker sheet and I used foam tape to add dimension to the balloon. One of the last items that I used was the Celebrate word rub-on which would serve as my title. As I removed the rub-on from the backing sheet the top half of the first letter "e" was stuck to the backing sheet. I had never had anything like this happen before and since this was the title for my page, I needed to come up with a quick fix for the problem. Rub-on's are very delicate and can be torn or ripped easily so whatever I did had to been done with care. I first determined the exact placement of the letter and using my fingernail I gently pulled up the top half of the "e" that was stuck to the backing sheet. As I did this, part of it curled back on itself and I tried to straighten it but in fear of ruining the letter, I left it alone and placed it on the layout. I then added the bottom part of the letter and now I had a semi-easy fix for the word. The rest of the rub-on went on very easily and smoothly and adhered very nicely to the papers and photograph. I was very pleased with how it turned out! I then added a loopy brad to the end of my ribbon and placed a larger Sparkle Brad next to the Balloon and Present cardstock stickers and I now had a very fun birthday page completed!

Title: Celebrate
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (Karen Foster - Orange Soda, Balloons, & Birthday Celebration)
Loopy Brad (Karen Foster)
Sparkle Brads (Karen Foster)
Cardstock Stickers (Karen Foster - Happy Birthday and Happy Birthday Little Big)
Rub-on (Karen Foster)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink)
Ribbon (Misc)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I really liked how easily both of my projects came together and how all of the products coordinated so well together. As I was working with the different products I could see how you could make really cute party favors and/or invitations from the papers and embellishments too. The possibilities are endless when using the Karen Foster Birthday Collection.

I am so glad that I was chosen to review the Karen Foster Birthday collection. It took me out of my comfort zone and gave me the confidence I needed to create fun birthday projects that I can be proud of for years to come!

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