Springtime Scenes Ladybug

Hello, my stamping friends!  I've taken a small break from making piles of Easter cards to play with a new bundle I recently received - Springtime Scenes.  Yes, that's what I'm playing with again.  It is really wonderful!  The stamps are pretty useful with grasses, assorted leaves, a flower, and a darling ladybug along with five interesting sentiments.  And let's not forget the awesome dies that coordinate with the images and expand the possibilities.  Like I said, it's pretty wonderful.  Today's card was designed with my great-niece in mind.  She's going through major medical issues from the aftermath of a brain tumor.  I needed something to make her smile as she faces the beginning of her chemo treatment.  So, what's not to like about sweet little ladybugs?  Don't they bring a smile to your face?  Let me tell you how I made this card.

Actually, I figured if I was making one, I might as well make two, so I'd have an extra on hand.  I didn't want it to be too in your face red, so I started with Strawberry Slush Two-Tone Cardstock for a softer reddish tone.  The piece measures 5" x 3 3/4".  It was embossed with the coordinating Ladybug Picnic 3D Embossing Folder with the darker side up.  After embossing, it was lightly sanded to enhance the ladybugs all over the design.

I haven't used the Two-Tone Cardstock too often yet.  I've just been 'getting my feet wet' so to speak just buying what colors I really love and getting a feel for possibilities to use this cardstock.  I will tell you that so far, I'm impressed with the quality of the cardstock and the fun of having more color coordination when creating a design.  I'm loving the light and dark versions of the same color.  Very helpful!

A 1" strip of the Two-Tone Strawberry Slush cardstock was cut.  Then it was cut into 5" lengths to fit across the card.  It's attached with the light side showing to give the design an anchor across the card to build the scene.

Let's get all the design pieces ready next.  The ladybugs were stamped on the leftover part of that 1" strip.  It's stamped on the dark side with Memento Tuxedo Black ink to get the outlines.  Then a Basic Black Blends was used to color in the dots and head section.  Then die-cut with the matching dies.

Next, the large leaves were stamped with Garden Green ink onto Garden Green cardstock.  Then die-cut with matching dies.  The leafy branches were die-cut from Two-Tone Old Olive cardstock.  The light side of the cardstock is what I used for contrast.

There are tiny flower dies in this set, but they seemed a little small for what I was envisioning.  Instead, several flowers were die-cut from Daffodil Delight cardstock using the flower cluster die in the Fragrant Layers Die set.  They have a lot of detail on them and are a great size to tuck in around a design for a little pop of color.

Lastly, we needed the sentiment label. This is another little bonus from the Springtime Scenes Die set.  So useful and a great size.  A label was cut from Basic White cardstock.  Then a sentiment from this same set was stamped with Secret Sea ink.

I decided to go with a Basic White Thick cardstock base for the card.  This measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored in half at 4 1/4" and folded.  To frame the Strawberry Slush layer, a layer of Secret Sea cardstock was added.  This measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" to give it a nice thin frame.  These layers were all attached with Tombow Liquid Glue to give me a little 'wiggle time' to get the layers lined up just right.

When arranging all the elements of the design, the sentiment label, one dark green leaf, and the ladybug were all attached with Dimensionals.  The other large leaf and two leafy branches were attached with adhesive.  Each of the flowers were added with a Mini Glue Dot to hold in place.  

For a bit of sparkle, Rhinestone Basic Jewels were tucked in around the design.  These are just a nice basic embellishment to have on hand.  I was surprised how much they drew my eye around the design.

Here's a last look at this darling design.  I just love this new Springtime Scenes stamp set.  If you compare this card to my previous post, you get a good idea of how versatile this bundle can be.  And this is just the beginning.  I'm sure I'll be grabbing this set often to create something fun and beautiful.  Hope you're inspired to give this set a try soon.

Thanks for stopping by and spending a bit of your time with me.  I hope you leave a comment and let me know what you think of the card and overall design.  I love to hear your feedback!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

A Little Springtime Scenes

Happy Saturday to you.  Disclaimer first - if you're only looking for current items, visit with an open mind today.  I've used retired cardstock, ribbon, gems.  Just look at the overall picture and you can see it in lots of other colors instead.  Now on to the cards and the design.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and maybe catching up on a few things.  I've been immersed in making sympathy cards to create a little stash because I've been going through them too fast lately.  I always find this task hard to do, especially when it's needed right then.  Since that's out of the way for a little while I hope, it was time to move on to something fun and new.  I love playing with new stamps for the first time when there are many possibilities out there, but I'm just not sure where to start.  Sometimes for my first attempt with a new set, I'll grab some cardstock from my retired stash in case I make something that is really ugly.  This time I liked the cards so much I'm sharing them with you anyway using an old favorite - Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  Remember that color?  Using it again reminded me of how much I miss it.  Anyway, these ideas will have to hold you until I get around to creating with current colors.

Since I was cutting the cardstock to measure 11" x 4 1/4", I decided to make two.  The cardstock was scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half.  I had planned on making the cards with the fold on the top but changed my mind as I went along.  

Another piece of cardstock was cut to 5 1/4" x 4" for a layer on top.  This was embossed with the Beautiful Pattern 3D Embossing Folder.  This gives the layer a very subtle texture to enhance the design.

Using the die set, I started with the circle with three leaves inside.  This cut a layer of Old Olive cardstock.  Behind this layer there is a layer of Pear Pizzazz that is cut with the circle with many leafy branches.  This totally got lost on the card base, so an open circle was cut from Basic Beige cardstock.  This tends to have a greenish tint to it when I look at it, so it seemed to be the perfect backing piece.

Before attaching these three layers together, I used a Sponge Dauber and a little bit of Old Olive ink to darken the leaves of the top layer.  Now they stood out better from the other leafy layer.  The three layers were attached together with touches of Tombow MultiPurpose Liquid Glue.  To keep the inner Basic Beige layer connected with the others, I added a few Dimensionals around the edges to catch both layers together.  

While I was doing the die-cutting, I also cut several each of the two different sizes of flower dies from Two-Tone Petal Pink and Two-Tone Pretty in Pink cardstocks.  I also cut several of the two different open-work leaf dies from Old Olive cardstock.  Now I had lots of pieces to work with to create these cards.

When putting the designs together, I started by mixing up the larger flowers with the different color centers, then spreading the pieces across the design area until I liked the look.  The circle layers are attached to the front with Dimensionals.  Then the extra leaves are tucked in underneath to peek out.  The large flower is added with a Dimensional and smaller flowers are tucked in flat around it.

The sentiments for both of these cards are from the More Messages stamp and die set that is retired.  I was just looking for skinny sentiments that wouldn't cover too much of the design, and these worked fine.

The first card made was the upper one shown with no ribbon.  I used pink gems on this because the pink seemed more dominant on the card.

The second card has a Petal Pink ribbon with copper edging added to it.  I think this made it look so much fancier and more girlie.  This time the peach gems were used to pick up the Petal Pink color more than the Pretty in Pink.

Either way, I love how these cards turned out and I'll definitely be playing with the Springtime Scenes stamp and die bundle again soon.  I love the layered look of the leaves in the circle.  Maybe next time I'll have to try each layer by itself instead of together.  We'll see.

Have you spent time perusing the new Online Exclusive items?  The Springtime Scenes bundle is one of the new items and so much fun.  If this one isn't your cup of tea, I'm sure you'll find something else that calls out to you.  Happy shopping!

Thanks for stopping in here to see what I've been creating.  Hope you were inspired to get stamping too.  Be sure to let me know what you've been creating lately.  I find it so relaxing and fulfilling to start with a stamp set and paper and end up with a card (or more!) when I'm done.  So very satisfying!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Last Chance Impressions Abloom

Hello friends!  Hope you're doing well today.  Have you got a favorite stamp set that you grab for all the time?  I do, and unfortunately, it's now on the Last Chance List.  It seemed important to me to make another card or two with this and share them with you one more time.  Do you own the Impressions Abloom set?  These florals are an easy two-step stamp and look so pretty when made.  I can't even begin to tell you how many color combos I've used for this set.  And I think they all turned out great!  So, let's take one last look at one of my favorite sets.

For this design, the Impressions Abloom set was paired up with the Lovely & Beautiful 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper.  Don't they fit together nicely?  Start the card with a Calypso Coral card base that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

There is a 2" x 5 1/2" strip of this gorgeous gold-accented DSP that is attached to the Calypso Coral card base.  To enhance the gold on the DSP, a 1/4" strip of Brushed Gold Foil was cut and added to the left of the DSP strip.  This really made the gold accents pop.

There is a gold foil circle cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies.  This is the largest of the circle dies.

The next smaller circle is used to cut a Petal Pink cardstock circle.  This is layered onto the gold foil circle and attached with adhesive.  Set aside while we make the flowers.

On a 2" strip of Basic White cardstock, stamp the larger flower detail stamp with Calypso Coral ink a couple times.  Then stamp the solid flower stamp with Petal Pink ink directly over these.  I lined the stamps up with the larger petal.

Next, stamp the 'daisy' flower detail stamp using Petal Pink ink several times.  I didn't stamp any extra color on these to keep them very light.

The flower centers were stamped with the correct size centers using Daffodil Delight ink.  The leaves are the detail stamp which I used to stamp some leaves in Old Olive, Garden Green, and Granny Apple Green.  I wasn't sure which color I'd use until putting the cards together.  I ended up using the Granny Apple Green and Garden Green leaves.  The other will be kept as extras to be used later.

Both sizes of flowers and all the leaves were die-cut with the matching dies.  This gave me a pile of flowers and leaves to play with when creating.  For one card, the largest flower was attached with a bit of adhesive just in the center, and in the other card I switched the flowers around.  The 2nd flower was attached with a Dimensional in the center.  Then an assortment of leaves were tucked in under and around the flowers.

I found a twiggy branch from another set that I die-cut some pieces in the gold foil to carry those lovely gold tones throughout the card.  Some of the branches were used whole, but some of them were cut into smaller pieces to tuck in. 

When the circles were fully decorated, they were attached to the card fronts using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is also from the Impressions Abloom stamp set.  It's stamped onto a strip of Basic White cardstock that measures 3/4" x 1 3/4".  Calypso Coral ink was used for this.  The label was attached using two of the Dimensionals.

The inside of the card has a Basic White layer of cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  There is a 3/4" by 5 1/4" strip of the same DSP print along the right edge for an accent.

With all the gold foil accents on the card, I decided to do away with any extra bling for these cards.  It just felt like it was detracting from the design instead of enhancing it.

Well, I am very sorry to see this great stamp set show up in the last chance list.  It has been used often in my stamping.  If you don't have it yet, it might be something you'd consider adding to your stash.  

Thanks for sharing some of your precious time with me.  I hope you're inspired to get in your stamp area and do a little creating today.  Remember that there are new stamps, dies, kits, and much more that will be available on March 3rd.  You'll find lots of new treasures that will coordinate and work well with some of the favorites that you already own.  Stay tuned...

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

New Cutest Crew Birds

Hello again!  Glad you're back for the latest installment.  Have I got a cute little card for you today.  I'm usually not into cutesy all that much.  But when I saw the Cutest Crew stamp and die bundle that is coming March 3rd to the Online Exclusives lineup, I was totally hooked!  I don't know what it is about the darling dogs and cats and those adorable little birds especially, but I just had to have them.  They finally arrived yesterday and I couldn't wait to put some of my ideas together.  Today I'm sharing the first of what I hope will be many cards using the Cutest Crew bundle.

Here's a cute and simple card that's sure to bring a smile.  There's texture, color, and lots of fun going on here.  Don't you just love these little feathered friends?  Yeah, I know.  They're not at all realistic, but definitely fun.  Wouldn't they be perfect for a child's birthday card?  But why save all the fun for the kids?  I want to send this to a friend just to make her smile!

To make this card, I started with the birds.  They are stamped on a 1" x 2 1/2" scrap of Basic White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then they're colored with Stampin' Blends in primary colors.

Left bird - Real Red Light & Dark

Middle bird - Azure Afternoon Light & Dark

Right bird - Daffodil Delight Light & Dark

Beaks - Darling Duckling - Light

Grass - Granny Apple Green Light

After coloring they were die-cut with the matching die from the set.

Then two Stylish Shapes circles were die-cut.  The 2nd largest from Basic White and the largest circle cut from Azure Afternoon to frame it.

The white circle looked too plain to just add the birds.  So, color was added with Blending Brushes and Balmy Blue and Granny Apple Green inks keeping it quite light.  This added the grass and sky to the circle.  

This circle was attached to the Azure Afternoon circle using adhesive.  The birds were attached across the center of the circles using some Mini Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the same set.  It's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then it's die-cut with the smaller label die in the Stylish Shapes die set.  I love all the stitching dots this set adds to the die cut pieces.  The sentiment was attached to the circles with Dimensionals.

Since I used Azure Afternoon for the circular frame, it was also used for the card base.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

There are two pieces of Basic White cut for the card that measure 5 1/4" x 4".  One was embossed with the Dashing Designs 3D Embossing Folder.  This is a retired embossing folder that came and went so quickly I didn't realize it wasn't current anymore.  So, if you don't own this one, pick one you like to match the design.

The embossed layer was attached to the card base using Tombow MultiPurpose Liquid Glue to ensure a good seal.  Attach the circular focal images to the card front using Dimensionals.

With that 2nd piece of Basic White you cut, a series of bird "foot" prints were stamped randomly across the bottom edge.  Smoky Slate ink was used for this so it wouldn't be too dark.

Since there are also three small dies in the set for single birds, I die-cut one each from Azure Afternoon, Daffodil Delight, and Real Red.  These are attached along the bottom edge to bring the design inside the card.

Now I have a question for you.  I did not add any bling to this design.  Do you think it needs it?  And if so, what would you recommend?  I kind of like letting the design stand on its own.  But I've also thought of primary color dots to coordinate.  Maybe even adding speckles or spattering on the white layer before embossing it next time.  Hmmm.. What do you think?  Any way I go, I know I love these cutesy birds and I'm going to be creating with them again real soon!

Just two very quick reminders for you.  Don't forget to redeem your Bonus Days coupons.  Final day to do this is February 28th.     Keep your eyes peeled for the many new Online Exclusive items and new Kits that will be available starting March 3rd.  There's everything from richly elegant to just plain fun.  You won't want to miss any of these.

Thanks for stopping by for a look at what's new.  This is a clean and simple card that is also very quick to put together.  I found myself smiling while creating it, so I hope it will bring a smile to my friend also.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

More Lovely Arrangements

Hello, my stamping friends!   Hope today finds you all doing well and feeling creative.  I seem to be having trouble leaving the Lovely Arrangements bundle alone.  First of all, that Lovely Blossoms Designer Series Paper is just so gorgeous.  I love the colors and patterns and pretty much everything about it.  So, that means I'm using it again today for a series of five fun fold cards.  If you don't like this DSP, just think of doing these fun fold cards with your favorite DSP.  I'm sure they would turn out lovely.  

First let me share with you the entire batch of cards.  The fun fold is the same for each of them.  There are two different prints in this paper pack that I focused on using with accents from the reverse side to enhance the designs.  They also use different wording and embellishments to make each of them a little different.

Let's focus on the cutting dimensions first.

lg card base - 7 1/2" x 4 1/4" 

score @ 2"

sm card - 8" x 2 1/2"   

score @ 4"

For all my card bases, I used either Cloud Cover or Secret Sea cardstock.

DSP measurements - 

inner piece 5 1/4" x 4"

left front flap - 4" x 1 3/4"

right front flap - 3 3/4" x 2 1/4"  I used the reverse side or a different print for an accent

Basic White inner piece - 3 3/4" x 2 1/4"

This is the first design we'll look at and create.  The Cloud Cover cardstock base is scored and folded on the left side.  The largest piece of DSP is attached inside this card using adhesive.  The 1 3/4" x 4" DSP piece is attached to the left front flap.

The smaller card is folded in half with the fold on the right side.  This is attached to the inside center of the card base.

An accent print piece of DSP is attached to the right front flap with adhesive.

The inner white piece is stamped before attaching.  I also had an extra flower that I attached inside for interest.  On the other cards, I used a partial stamp for the accent.

All the flowers are stamped with Secret Sea ink on Basic White cardstock and die-cut with the matching dies.  For this stack of cards, I used 6 full flowers and 5 half flowers.  The flowers were each attached with one Dimensional in the center so the leaves could be tucked in around and under the flowers.  I also die-cut a pile of leaves to pick and choose from while constructing the cards.  I used Old Olive, Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, and several from a print from the Beautiful Gallery 6" x 6" DSP.  Those made a lovely accent on one of the cards.

Now that you have a basic knowledge of how these cards all go together, let's take a closer look at each of the other cards.

This card has a Secret Sea base with the same print used on both the inside and left flap.  The print on the right flap is the reverse of the print on the last card.  The soft pink color was a perfect accent.  

The sentiment is from the same set and is stamped on a 1/2" strip tucked under the leaves.  The leaves used on this card are both Secret Sea and Cloud Cover.

The bling used on most of these cards is from the Moody Palette Glossy Dots pack.  I'm loving these low-profile pretty dots as accents! 

The left flap on this card uses the reverse side of the print above.

Instead of a DSP layer in the center of the right flap, I used a small Everyday Arches piece for the sentiment.

The flowers here have a bit of Cloud Cover ink blended in the centers to give the flowers more depth.

This time the Moody Palette Dots were added in a line to accent the sentiment.

This card is very similar to two cards back.  The sentiment is different.

The flowers have Petal Pink ink blended in the center for more color.  

The bling is little Petal Pink hearts from a Paper Pumpkin kit 2-3 years ago.  Only had a few left and thought they looked nice here.

Last card of the five and it has the most changes.  The Old Olive print is from the same pack of paper.

The left flap has the circles from a die in the set.  I thought that was an interesting addition.  

The flowers have Cloud Cover blended on them a little heavier than a previous card.  The leaves are a mix of Old Olive, and both Cloud Cover & several from a print from Beautiful Gallery DSP using a different die so they are skeleton leaves.  Just a different look.  

This sentiment if from a different company.  I'm having trouble finding get well sentiments for the cards I've been needing.

 There you have it - a lovely series of cards that use the same fun fold idea and the same DSP and stamps.  But don't they all have their own identity?  I hope you can see how easy they are to put together.  It would be fun getting one of these in the mail instead of a regular card.  I usually do more basic cards, but these were fun for a change of pace.

Don't forget to redeem any of your Bonus Days coupons.  You can only do that through the end of this month.  Don't lose out on them!!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I appreciate the time you take to visit my blog and hope you were inspired to get creative soon.  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of my cards or even what else you'd like to see.  I'm open for suggestions.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

5 cards with 1 Sheet DSP

Hey there.  Do you have problems trying to figure out what to do with those sheets of DSP that are broken up into segments of different pictures?  Like this one?

This is a sheet of the Lovely Blossoms Designer Series Paper.  I love the colors and prints in this pack of paper, and I've used some of it already.  But it comes with 3 sheets of this design, and it's been a struggle figuring out what to create with it.  All the images are lovely, but I'm more used to stamping or die-cutting the focal pieces on my cards and not just using something ready-made.  So, I chopped this one up and got ready to create with these pieces.  The 2" x 12" section along the bottom didn't get cut into 2" squares but left long.  I turned it over and used the flip side of the design.  Let's see what I came up with, and you can decide if it all worked out well.

Let's start with the design in the top left corner and continue from there.  This piece of the design measured 6" x 4".  It's trimmed down to 5 1/8" x 3 3/4" to fit a card front.  There is a layer of Cloud Cover behind it that measures 5 1/4" x 3 7/8".  This is just enough to give it a skinny frame of color.  The card base is Old Olive cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.

After attaching the print to the Cloud Cover layer, a piece of Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave Ribbon was wrapped around and tied into a bow.  Then the layers were attached with Dimensionals to the card base.

The sentiment is from the Banner Sayings stamp set.  I intended to use the full sentiment but ended up trimming between the words to get a smaller banner.  This is curled at the left edge a little and attached at the right edge only.

There are three of the green Moody Palette Glossy Dots used as an accent to the design. 

This is the 2nd design across the DSP.  Again, it measures 6" x 4".  The Textured Notes die was used to cut out the design.  Then the DSP was turned over and trimmed to have the DSP measure 5 1/2" x 4" with the die-cut area centered on the paper.  This was attached to a Secret Sea cardstock piece that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is folded in half.  

The die cut piece was attached in the center to cover the hole using Dimensionals.  Looking at the card at an angle you can see a slight edge of the Secret Sea peeking through.

The sentiment is stamped onto a Basic White die-cut using the Textured Notes dies.  It's stamped with Secret Sea ink.  A double bow of Linen Thread was added to the corner.

Three of the Secret Sea dots from the Moody Palette Glossy Dots were added for contrast.

The next card is the 6" x 4" design in the right top corner of the DSP sheet.  This was trimmed to 5" x 3 3/4".  It's layered onto a Secret Sea cardstock piece measuring 5 1/4" x 4".  A length of Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave Ribbon was wrapped around this and tied into a knot.

A card base was made from an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Petal Pink cardstock that was folded in half.  The layers were attached to this with adhesive.

The sentiment is from Banner Sayings and punched with the Three Banner Punch.  This was tucked under the knot in the ribbon and attached with adhesive.

Three of the white Moody Palette Glossy Dots were added to the design for interest.

Now we move down to the next row in the DSP design. This piece measured 3" x 4".  There is a layer of Secret Sea cardstock that's cut at 3 1/4" x 4 1/4".

A card base was made from Crumb Cake cardstock and measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  The bottom 2" strip of DSP was trimmed to 5 1/2" and attached along the left side of the card base using adhesive.

The layers were attached to the card base with Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from Banner Sayings and is stamped with Secret Sea ink onto a 1/2" white strip.  The ends were angle cut with scissors.  Then it was attached with Dimensionals.  Three Secret Sea Moody Palette Glossy Dots were added to the design.

This last card I made has a design piece that was trimmed to 3" x 3 3/4".  It's layered onto a Secret Sea piece that measures 3 1/4" x 4".

The card base is Cloud Cover that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  Another piece of the 2" wide strip of DSP was trimmed at 5 1/2".  This was attached on the left side of the card base using adhesive.  The focal image layers were attached to this with adhesive also.

The sentiment is from Banner Sayings again.  It's also trimmed at an angle with scissors.  Then it's attached to the card front with Dimensionals.  Three Secret Sea color gems from the Moody Palette Glossy Gems were added to the design.

Here's another quick look at the five cards I made from this one piece of the Lovely Blossoms DSP.  Seeing them all together, I think they'd make a really nice gift tucked inside a card holder that matched.  Hmmm, I'll have to consider that.  

There are still two pieces of the sheet of paper left that I have no plans for yet.  That will take a bit more thought also.  Hope you liked these card ideas.  They were a pretty easy way to get a card assortment done quickly.  If you don't need thank you cards, just change the sentiments to what you need.  They are all simple but pretty and I think they would definitely brighten the day of anyone receiving them.  

Have you heard about the free shipping Stampin'Up! is giving us?

There is Free Shipping for 3 days!  From February 18 to 20, you can shop and save on all qualifying orders of $75 or more.  You won’t want to miss this chance to stock up on all your favorite products from the catalog, Online Exclusives, kits, and more!

Plus, when your order total reaches $75 (after subtracting any rewards) you are eligible to purchase the Product of the Month for only $5 which is an awesome pack of the Painted Illusions Designer Series Paper!  This is a doubly - great bargain for you.

Thanks for sharing some time with me today.  If I can help you in any way, just get in touch.  I'd be happy to be your demonstrator if you're looking for one!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Lovely Arrangements Fun Fold

Hello my friends!  Are you having a good day?  I feel like I'm on a roll with getting this card finished and still have time to share it on a blog post today.  Don't you love it when things actually come together like you think they will?  It doesn't happen often so you need to enjoy it while you can!  Since I haven't made any fun folds in a while, it seemed like today would be a good day to do that.  I've shared before that fun folds are not what I'm good at - not at all!  But I have found some fairly simple ones over the years that I enjoy making, and the card today is one of those simple fun folds.  Today's card features the Brushed with Beauty Designer Series Paper.  This is such a pretty pack of paper.  I love the color mix, and the prints are great for designing.  Let's dive right into this card.

Here's the card all folded up and ready to go into the envelope.  You can see that the DSP really makes up the basis of the card with the folds giving the card its stability.  Let me give you all the information on cutting the pieces first and then we'll cut and score the DSP and put it together.

Using the Branching Out dies:

3rd largest - Mossy Meadow

4th largest - Very Vanilla

5th largest - Very Vanilla

Cut Very Vanilla cardstock at 2 1/2" x 5" and

1/2" x 2 1/2" (sentiment)

Also cut a 2" strip of Very Vanilla for die-cutting flowers

Cut Mossy Meadow cardstock at 2 5/8" x 5 1/8"  and 5/8" x 2 5/8" (sentiment layer)

Also cut a 2" strip of Mossy Meadow for cutting leaves

In the center area of both Very Vanilla Branching Out die-cuts, use a Blending Brush and Crumb Cake ink to lightly add a blush of color.  This will help the flowers stand out from the vanilla background.

Stamp two larger flowers and one smaller flower with the Lovely Arrangements stamps.  Use Crumb Cake ink and add Early Expresso marker onto the stamens before stamping onto the Very Vanilla strip.  Die-cut these 3 flowers with the matching dies.

Also stamp 3 clusters of three leaves using Mossy Meadow ink on Mossy Meadow cardstock.  Die-cut these with matching dies.  Die-cut the 2 single leaves from Mossy Meadow cardstock.

Stamp the birthday sentiment from the Lovely Arrangements set onto the 1/2" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  Use Mossy Meadow ink for this.

On the smaller vanilla Branching Out die-cut, stamp the first part of the sentiment (from Perennial Postage set) at the top with Mossy Meadow ink.  Clean and dry the stamp well, then ink up the 2nd part of the sentiment and stamp it at the bottom of the die-cut.

Stamp another sentiment from the Perennial Postage set onto the larger Very Vanilla piece for the inside of the card.  Use Mossy Meadow for this again.

Ok, I think we've got everything stamped, die-cut and ready to go.

Cut the Brushed with Beauty DSP print to measure 11 1/4" x 5 1/2".  Then score at 1", 4", and 7".  Fold this to make a W fold with the short flap on the left side.

Since this picture is right here, we'll start from the back.  Attached the vanilla to the mossy cardstock with adhesive.  Cut apart one set of stamped leaves and attach as shown.  Then attach layers inside the card making sure they don't show beyond the flap when it's closed.

The center flap has the smaller vanilla layer attached with the smaller flower and the two single leaves attached to the center of the layer.

Now for the front layer.  Attach the two layers of die-cuts together.  Attach the sentiment strip to the Mossy Meadow layer.  Position flower, leaves and sentiment on this layer.  Attach one flower flat tucking one set of leaves under this.  Attach 2nd flower with a Dimensional in the center.  Cut apart remaining leaves and tuck in under this flower.  Attach the sentiment with Mini Dimensionals making sure to keep them only on this layer.  None on the overhanging edge.

To attach this layer to the card front, I used Tear & Tape.  There is a strip along the left edge of the layer from top to bottom.  This holds the layer firmly on the small edge of the DSP.

This card uses some antique brass looking dots that blend nicely with the more neutral colors used here.  These are retired, but there are similar current ones.  

I hope these directions make sense to you as you create along with me.  If you have any questions, get in touch and I'll try to clarify any problems you have.  I totally love how this card evolved and the finished look.  Give it a try.  There are so many lovely DSP prints that it's a shame you can only see one side of them.  I like to find ways to get the full effect of the pretty prints.  If you make this with other prints, I'd love to hear what you've created!  Please share.

Since it's February now, that means it's also time to redeem any of those Bonus Days rewards you earned.  Don't forget, redemption is only in February.  That's it, so don't miss out!!

Thanks for stopping by again to see what's been going on here.  I've been having fun holed up in my stamp room trying to ignore all the cold, snowy-icy-rainy weather we've been having.  I think I need to come up for air pretty soon!  Where's that sunshine?

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon