Pretty "Pretty Perennials"

Well, I think I've found my new favorite stamp set from the January-June Mini Catalog.  And it's not the one I expected!  How funny is that?  When I saw the January-June Mini Catalog for the very first time, I picked out what I thought would be my new favorite go-to stamp set.  I sure was in for a big surprise.   I have hardly touched that stamp set (not telling what it is yet!), but I invariably keep grabbing the new Pretty Perennials set.  Yes, I'll admit I'm a flower junkie when it comes to new stamps.  They work perfectly for so many different reasons (and seasons too).  And the flowers in the Pretty Perennials set are so simple to use!

This is the 2nd version of this card idea.  The first time around I had used all pastel colors like Petal Pink, So Saffron, Seaside Spray, and Soft Seafoam.  The cards went out to some of my friends with a challenge to play around with some floral style stamps and make a "One Sheet Wonder" type of card.  This is where you use a sheet of lovely Designer Paper and make a bunch of cards from it.  This card had a twist though.  Instead of Designer Paper, you choose a stamp set and colors and you stamp your own designer paper!  This way you can make it in whatever colors you prefer and make as many cards as you want to also.

So far I've heard back from 3 of my friends that have made their own version of my card, and it's so fun to see what they've done with the idea!  After I get permission from the ladies, I'll share their ideas with you.

So let's see what was used to make these cards and the 'recipe'  that I used.  The stamp set for this batch of cards was Pretty Perennials along with the very versatile Happy Thoughts stamp set.  If you're looking for just one sentiment stamp set that covers the basics, this one fits the bill very nicely.  It has a birthday, thank you, congratulations, and thinking of you along with inside-the-card sentiments that are quite nice.  Can't go wrong with this one!

I started by trimming down a piece of Basic White cardstock to 10" x 7 1/2".   For the stamping, I started with the largest flower and Calypso Coral ink.  The first flower was a little off the very center of the paper and all the others are scattered about 1 1/2" away from the first and then out from there.  Try not to get them all lined up like little soldiers - randomly works so much better!

The next step is to stamp the large leaves for each flower using Granny Apple Green ink.  I mostly did two leaves per flower, but added a couple extra where needed.  

Next up was the smaller solid flower using Mango Melody ink.  I stamped these partially filling in open spaces.  These flowers needed the little solid, double leaf.  These were also stamped with Granny Apple Green ink.

The final flower to fill in the open areas was the open petal flower.  These are so cute and airy so I was able to use the darker Bermuda Bay ink without it being too overpowering.  Of course, it then needed the little open double leaves to match.  Again I used the Granny Apple Green ink for them.  I had ideas of using a different color green ink for the smaller leaves, but didn't like how it turned out, so just stuck with what worked.

At this point, I cut the stamped white cardstock to 5" x 3 3/4" so I had 4 card fronts from one piece of white cardstock.  As you can see, I layered these onto coordinating colors of cardstock, either Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay, or Mango Melody.  These each measured 5 1/4" x 4".  Then they were layered onto folded Basic White card bases.

The sentiments were stamped on Basic White cardstock that were punched out using the Tailored Tag punch.  For this batch of cards I used the Thinking of You sentiment for all of them stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The sentiments were kind of lost on the card fronts, so I used the handy Blending Brush and Granny Apple Green ink to lightly color the edges of the tags.  These Blending Brushes are a delight to use.  It's so easy to get just a small amount of color highlighting the tag and keeping the whole look very soft.

I had scraps of the same coordinating cardstocks that I had used to layer, so thought they would make great accents on the cards.  As you can see, I liked the look of changing up the accents with the layered cardstock to give it some added color and contrast.  The ends were banner trimmed and tucked under the Tailored Tag sentiments that were attached with Dimensionals.

With having most of my stamping supplies packed away, I had to improvise on some glitzy accents.  After digging around, out came some retired enamel dots that were Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive color.  Not the same colors, but don't they go well with the colors used on these cards?  

Two reminders for you:  First, Sale-a-bration will end on February 28th, and that's creeping up quickly.  For every $50 you spend before shipping and tax, you can choose one of the Free Sale-a-bration items.   If you want to get your freebies, now is the time to get your order in before items are sold-out.  I'd hate for you to miss out on getting something you've got your heart set on!

Secondly, if you are placing an order this month with me, please use the Host Code listed here.  I'll be sending out something for everyone that orders from me this month.  I can't begin to tell you how much you ordering means to me.  I truly appreciate each and every one of you ladies!  Thanks from the bottom of my heart!!

Happy stamping, friends.  Hope you give this idea a try.  If you do, please send me a text with a picture.  I'd love to see what you've made.  Thanks...

Sharon