Sideways Easel Fold Ladybug Card

Oh boy!  I'm so excited today.  I had seen how to make a portrait-style easel card a couple days ago.  It was such a cool idea.  I got out some retired products to try making one.  You have to understand that I tend to be somewhat challenged when making special folds cards.  But it worked out well and was so dog-gone cute, that I made another one right away.  Then I thought I'd try a landscape-style version for my ladybug idea that was floating around in my brain.  Well... guess I didn't figure too well.  It didn't work at all, and I was frustrated to say the least.  Tried it this way and that, but it just didn't work.  I've played with it the last two days and was about to give up.  When, Eureka!  It finally dawned on me what I had been doing wrong.  And it's such a simple change, duh!   Let me show you my cool ladybug card that I finally finished.  It makes me so happy just looking at it!

For this card, I started with a base of Granny Apple Green cardstock that is cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and scored at 5 1/2".  To determine where the next score line goes in, hold the folded card with the fold to the left side.  Score from the left bottom at the fold up to the top right corner to make a diagonal score line.  This will get folded in toward the inside of the card to display.  I think you can see where the diagonal score line is in this picture quite easily.

The next step is deciding which Designer Paper you want to use.  If it has a definite one-way design, be careful when cutting to get it correct.  I found it easier to use an all-over design with no distinct direction.  The one I chose for this card is from Pattern Party Designer Series Paper which is a Hostess Reward choice in the Annual Catalog.  The colors are bright and cheerful on one side, and the flip side is all black and white prints.  Awesome prints for so many different occasions, from elegant to cutesy and everything in between.

The green print I chose was cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  Then it is cut at a diagonal as shown from bottom left corner to top right corner, so it matches the score line you just made in your card front.  This is attached to the card front using adhesive.  If you want to use the other half of the DSP print on the other half of the front, go ahead.  I just wanted there to be a definite difference between the two sides of the front, so I didn't add it there.

The focal point starts with the 3rd largest rectangle die from the Scalloped Contours die set.  The sentiment is from the Hello Ladybug stamp set and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

The ladybug's body was punched from Basic Black cardstock using the Ladybug Builder Punch.  The Stamparatus was used to stamp the black dots onto the Poppy Parade cardstock for the wings.  To get a real dense black for the dots, it was stamped 2-3 times.  When I was happy with the color, the wings were also punched out with the Ladybug Builder Punch.  I used just a thin line of Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue right by the neck to attach the wings to the body.  This allowed the wing tips to hover above the body and not lay so flat.

The large leaf was stamped with Granny Apple Green ink on Basic White.  The set of 3 flowers were stamped twice with So Saffron ink onto white also.  Then all these pieces were fussy cut.

The leaf was attached flat to the label using adhesive.  The ladybug was popped up onto the leaf using Dimensionals.  The flowers were tucked under and around the leaf with only one popped up with a Dimensional.

For the inside of the card, I used a layer of Basic White with another layer of Poppy Parade underneath to bring the red inside the card.  A small piece of Basic White was used to stamp the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  It was trimmed down to 7/8" x 3/4".  It was layered onto a small scrap of Granny Apple Green that was then trimmed down to fit.  Two Dimensionals were used behind the sentiment layer to attach it inside the card at an angle.  I had two extra flowers left over, so they were tucked in near the sentiment.

Lastly the bling was added.  After trying a few different options, the 2021-2023 In Color Jewels were chosen.  One of the yellowish-toned jewels was added to the center of each flower on the front.  Then I decided the flowers on the inside needed jewels too since the card is displayed open.

That's it for this card-making adventure.  Thank goodness it doesn't usually take 3 or 4 days to complete one card!  I'd never get anything done that way.  But I think it was worth it to figure out how to make this card fold the way I wanted it to be!

Disclaimer - not sure why, but the colors on the pictures are really not correct looking.  Tried to take the pics twice and kept coming up with the same color tones.  Go by the colors in the directions to get the correct colors.

Here's the original card I made with some of my retired products.  I think it just adorable.  The penguin is fussy cut from the DSP.  I made a 2nd one the same except for cutting out a snowman from the DSP.

Cardstock - Misty Moonlight, Basic White

Ink - Just Jade 

DSP - Penguin Playmates - retired

Dies - Scalloped Contours dies 

Bling - Iridescent Snowflakes -retired

 

As you can see, I added extra DSP and Basic White cardstock on the inside to change the look.  

Any which way you make these cards, they are just stinkin' cute!  Have fun giving this fun fold a try.  If you run into problems just ask.  I'd be happy to help you figure it out.  Hopefully it won't take you as long to figure it out as it took me!  ha ha  

Thanks for stopping in today.  Hope you're inspired to get out there and create.  It always makes me feel awesome when I've accomplished something new.  It may be a small thing to someone else, but to me it was a small triumph!

Stay warm with all this cold weather blowing in!

Sharon 

Paradise Palms Fun Fold

Hey everybody.  Glad to have you stop by today.  I haven't made a fun fold card in a while, so I figured today was the day.  I actually started out with a different fold, and I made a test card using all retired products.  It turned out so cute!  So then, I figured I'd make another one using all current products.  That's when things sort of went sideways in the planning.   I scored the fold in the wrong direction.  Oops!  Could it still work out somehow?  Ummm, not so much.  Needless to say, there are parts of the card stashed on a corner of my desk, and I moved on to another type of fun fold that could use a part of my other disaster.

The focal image on this card was made first.  The 2nd largest rectangle die from the Scalloped Contours Die set was used to cut a Basic White cardstock piece.  The trio of palms from the Paradise Palms stamp set was inked with markers to get the two colors on one stamped image.  Soft Suede and Old Olive were used for this.  They were stamped onto a scrap of Basic White cardstock, then were die-cut using the Palms Die set.

Checking the placement of the palms on the label, the sandy ground was stamped first using Crumb Cake ink.  The sentiment was stamped to the left and above the sand with Old Olive ink.

It needed a nice, warm sun to stay with the tropical theme.  It was stamped lightly with So Saffron ink on the top left corner.

The birds are the only stamp that isn't from the Paradise Palms set, but I think they fit in nicely.  They come from the new On The Horizon stamp set.  To keep them lighter to go with everything else, they were stamped using Gray Granite ink.

One of the fun new embellishments in the Mini Catalog are the Pebbles Enamel Shapes.  They come in 3 different shapes and 3 different colors and are just adorable.  Can I say that rocks are adorable?  Well, I think these are.  As you can see, I've used a few here to anchor the palm trees to the beach.

Now we need to make the card base for everything to go on.  I started with a half sheet of Old Olive cardstock cut down to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This was scored at both 2 1/4" and 4 1/4".  This gives it the extra crease in the middle of the card front needed for this fun fold.

There is a piece of the Sunshine & Rainbows Designer Series Paper (available free during Sale-a-bration for a $50 order) that is used on the bottom half of the card front.  It's supposed to be a cloud look on Pool Party background, but I thought it could just as easily be waves on the water.  It was cut to 4" x 2" and is attached with adhesive.

The focal image was attached to the cardfront by using Dimensionals only on the bottom half of the image, so it stands free when the card is tucked in.  The happy birthday was stamped on a piece of Basic White cardstock that measures 3/4" x 1 1/2".  Old Olive ink was used for stamping this.  There is a 7/8" x 1 5/8" piece of Pool Party cardstock layered behind this using adhesive.  Lastly, 2 Dimensionals were placed behind the sentiment layers and added to the inside of the card.  This gives you just enough of a 'bump' to tuck the front of the card under to stand it up for display.  

This is called an easel card.  So now you know how easy it is to make an easel card.  If you haven't made one before, give it a try.  It's fun and makes an interesting change from your normal cards.  Let me know how you do!  If you have any questions about making this type of card, just get in touch with me.  Now I've got to get back to my other fun fold card that I messed up and learn how to do it right.  Sometimes practice truly does make perfect (or at least correct!).  Leave a comment to let me know what you think.  Thanks for stopping by again.  I really appreciate any and all feedback from you.

Keep having fun creating your masterpieces!

Sharon

 

Simple Card with Designer Paper

Hi there!  Happy Sunday to you.  Hope you're doing well and staying warm.  This has been so crazy - leaving Michigan but having more snow here in the south than up there!  Who would have guessed?  Just goes to show that there are always surprises around the corner, and we need to expect the unexpected!  I guess my card for today's post is kind of unexpected for me.  I tend toward florals and pastels, and that sure doesn't describe this card!  There are bold colors, and very simple lines and shapes on this card.   These enhance the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper which brings it all together nicely.  Simple but elegant.

The theme here was to be black and bold.  The Pattern Party DSP has so many colorful and fun prints on one side and all black and white with more geometric type prints on the other side.  They made a good contrast together with the Basic Borders Die set to add another dimension to the design.  Both of these items are in the Annual Catalog.

The card design starts with a Basic Black piece of cardstock cut 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The Crushed Curry DSP floral print was cut 5 1/4" x 3 3/4".  The black with white dots DSP print was cut 5 1/4" x 1 1/2".

Using the stitched zigzag die from the Basic Borders Die set, cut between about 1" in from the edge.  These two pieces will be split to put the black and white print in between.  Make sure to keep the die straight while you're cutting.

Put adhesive on the back of the smaller Crushed Curry pieces along the stitched zigzag edge.  Attach the black and white print under this near the die-cut edge, covering all the zigzag edges.  Put adhesive on the rest of this and attach to the open edge of the card front as shown.  Make sure to line up the three edges evenly.  Put adhesive on the larger Crushed Curry piece all over and attach to the card front lining up the edges evenly with the piece you just attached.  At this point, you've got a black band about an inch wide going across the card.  Love those stitched zigzag lines - so nice and bold!

Since I wanted as much of the design to show when finished as possible, I looked for a sentiment to be the focal image and nothing else.  This sentiment is from the Sunny Sentiments stamp set in the Annual Catalog.  It's stamped on Basic White cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  After looking through my dies, I reverted back to the Seasonal Labels Dies from the just retired Mini Catalog.  This die was just the perfect size and nothing else I had really worked well.

When I tried the sentiment label by itself, it didn't stand out from the card like I had hoped.  After trying different solutions, I decided on the Black Glittered Organdy Ribbon from the Annual Catalog.  The little glitter bits reminded me of the white dots on the DSP and also gave just a little bit of glitz and glam to the card.  This was folded in half and attached to the back of the sentiment with adhesive.  The whole label was then attached to the card front using several Dimensionals.  The Dimensionals also helped to anchor the ribbon between the card and label.

After looking at the finished card front, I added three Matte Black Dots to draw the eye to the sentiment even more.  Just the accent it needed.  

Since the rest of the card looked bold, the sentiment inside needed to follow the look.  The Biggest Wish stamp set fit this idea for the card quite well.  First, the birthday stamp was placed on the Stamp-a-ratus and stamped with Crushed Curry ink.  Then the happy stamp was positioned on the Stamp-a-ratus and stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

I loved the look of the zigzag edge so much, it was carried into the inside of the card to match.  I used a strip of the same Crushed Curry print that was used on the card front.  This was cut 5 1/4" x 1".  The same die was used to cut it in two pieces.  The wider part was attached over the sentiment and the smaller piece was attached along the bottom edge.

Hope you enjoyed today's card idea.  It really is different from my usual.  Just stamping outside my box!  If you're like me and love your pastels, try bright and bold.  Or if that's your preferred look, give pastels a try. You never know - you might just find something else that you really love!  Keep creating and experimenting.   Try for the unexpected today!

Wanted to give a big thanks to each of you that have been ordering from me.  And those special calls from you that make my day.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you!

Blessings and hugs,

Sharon

Butterflies and Flowers

Good day friends.  Hope you've all managed to stay warm during this cold weather.  Rick was just telling me about the temps in Saynor, WI where some friends live.  Hmmmm, a lot of below zero degrees temps going on up there.  I'm so glad we aren't that cold!  Needing to think about something other than cold weather, I worked on a card yesterday that screams warmer weather to me.  Hope you like the idea.  You could do something similar with different stamps.  And the great thing is how easy it was to make!

To get the summery vibe going, I started with a base of Granny Apple Green cut 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The next layer is Basic White that is cut 5 1/4" x 4".  This was stamped with Granny Apple Green ink and the large floral stamp from the Calming Camillia stamp set.  In case this set isn't familiar to you, it's on page 17 of the 4th January - 28 February 2022 Sale-a-bration catalog.  You can earn this set for free when you either host a $300 party with friends or place a $300 order yourself.  It's one of the DistINKtive stamps that Stampin' Up! sells and I think it's pretty gorgeous myself. 

The floral image was stamped about 5 times to cover the Basic White layer.  While stamping, the stamp was turned in different directions so the image looks like an overall design on the white background.  After this the layer was attached to the green card base with adhesive.

A layer of Basic White cardstock was cut 2" x 4".  This has the butterfly from the Amazing Silhouettes set stamped multiple times with Daffodil Delight ink.  I love the reverse look of the stamps in this set.  Just so different from the usual look. This is backed with a Daffodil Delight cardstock layer that was cut to 2 1/4" x 4 1/4".  The stamped white layer was attached flat to the yellow with adhesive.  Both pieces were attached more to the left side of card front using Dimensionals.   

To accent the butterfly themed layer, the Brilliant Wings Dies were used to cut out 3 different sizes of solid Daffodil Delight butterflies.  There was a matching sized detailed butterfly cut out of Basic White cardstock.  This was layered onto the matching yellow butterfly with Mini Glue Dots down the center of the body.

The sentiment comes from the Calming Camillia stamp set used earlier.  It has six different sentiments that are useful and pretty general.  And I just love the fonts used on them.  Most likely, I'll probably be using these sentiments quite often.  This one was stamped with Granny Apple Green ink on a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  The ends were finished by punching with the Banners Pick A Punch.  A layer of Granny Apple Green was attached behind it after trimming and punching the ends to match the sentiment.

The sentiment was attached near the bottom of the stamped yellow layers.  It was attached with adhesive so it would lay flat and jut out past the edges.

The butterflies were each attached with Mini Glue Dots to the yellow layer.  After attaching the butterflies, it was necessary to add some bling of course.  The larger butterfly has 4 small 2021-2023 In Color Jewels in the yellow tone.  The two smaller butterflies each have just one small jewel in the Soft Succulent tone.  I didn't think these would match with the Granny Apple Green I'd used throughout the card.  Surprise!  With the look of iridescence on the jewels, they blended nicely.  It's always a surprise how many different colors those iridescent jewels will blend with.  Love, love, love those!

The inside of the card was finished off very simply.  The sentiment again comes from the Calming Camillia stamp set.  It's been stamped in Granny Apple Green on the Basic White layer.  The same large floral that was used on the front was again stamped with Granny Apple Green only partially onto the bottom right corner.  After stamping, this was attached to the inside of the card. Then it's all finished and ready to send out.  I'm pretty sure it took me longer to get the pictures taken and type out this post than it took to actually make the card.  😁 

Keep reading further for another card that's very similar but was made with a different color palette.

Colors are Polished Pink and Fresh Freesia

Stamps are Calming Camillia and Happy & Heartfelt

Punch is Double Oval Punch

Dies are Brilliant Wings Dies

Hope you liked today's card idea.  It's so easy to make your own background paper like this when you don't have anything that quite fits your idea.  Just play with stamps and ink and you can make any color and type of background you'd like.

With all this cold weather everywhere, why not stay inside and do a little creating with your stash of stamps and goodies.  That's sure to lift any winter-time blues you might have too!

Happy creating and stamping my friends, 

Sharon

Another Floating Layers Card

Hello friend!   Glad you stopped by today.  We're just staying in waiting for the expected freezing rain and snow that should be coming tonight and tomorrow.  The experts have changed the forecast a few times over the last several days.  We have no idea how normal this is for the area as we weren't here last winter.  It's all going to be an exciting surprise! Just hope we don't lose power.  That's one reason why I'm working on the blog now while I still can!  Today's card is connected to the "floating layers" card I posted last Wednesday.  When I die-cut the layer from the floating layers piece I made last time, there was some left over.  I thought it was too pretty to just throw away, so...

There was just enough of the "floating layers" prepped piece left to die-cut this piece from it.  It was a tight fit to get that die on there, but I love how it turned out.  The die is from the Tasteful Layers Die set, one of my favorites.

Because of the colors on the floating layer piece, I chose Mint Macaron for the card base.  It's cut 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  For the building layer, Crumb Cake cardstock was used.  I used a quarter sheet and die-cut it using the largest of the Scalloped Contours Dies to put the pretty lace on the edges.  Then the Stitched Greenery Die was used to make the delicate stitched detail on the layer.  This was attached to the card base using Dimensionals.

The flowers and leaves in the Friendly Hello set seemed to be the right size to use as an accent here.  I stamped the double flowers, the leaves, and the little accent flower on a Basic White cardstock scrap using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The coloring was done using Stampin' Blends:  Highland Heather Light & Dark, Mint Macaron Light & Dark, and Daffodil Delight Dark.  After coloring, all the pieces were cut out with Paper Snips.

The next problem was how to incorporate the "floating layer" into the card design.  (Remember, the "floating layer" is made with strips of cardstock attached to a Window sheet then die-cut into a shape.)  I checked all kinds of stamped sentiments and die-cut sentiments too.   I didn't care for anything current, so I plundered my retired stash of die-cut sentiments to find just the right one.  This is from the Well Written Framelits and was just the right size to fit the layer like I envisioned.  Every once in a while, things actually turn out the way I planned.  Woo Hoo!  Basic Black cardstock was used to die-cut the sentiment.  Multi Purpose Liquid Glue was used to attach the sentiment to the "floating  layer".  

Now that all the components were ready to go, it was time to play around with placement.  When I had a layout I liked, the "floating layer" was attached first with Mini Dimensionals placed only under the cardstock strips to hide them.  This was placed on the right side so the large flowers could be arranged to the left side.  The flowers were attached with Dimensionals.  The leaves were tucked underneath and attached with adhesive.  The small flower was tucked under the sentiment layer at the top right as an accent and attached with adhesive.

Now for the bling.  I had planned on using Black Matte Dots, but they seemed kind of heavy for the card.  I tried several rhinestones and pearls and really wasn't impressed with anything.  Then I remembered the Subtle Shimmer Sequins from the Winter Mini Catalog and tried those.  Just the soft, but not too shiny, look I wanted.  So sorry, that's two retired things I used on the card.  Yikes, I'm trying to stick with current items, but you know how it is - sometimes you just can't find what you really want for your creation in your current stash.

Guess that's enough for today's post.  I hope you give that "floating layer" technique a try.  It's really easy and fun.  And it gives a nicely different look to your card.  

Remember that Sale-a-bration is going on right now.  It ends February 28th, but don't wait until the last minute as products do sell out and you can't get them.  I'd hate for you to be disappointed and not be able to get what you'd like for free.

Well, we're still waiting to see what this winter storm is going to be like.   The rain was supposed to have started a couple of hours ago, but everything is still dry.  Hope that means it won't get too bad. While we're waiting, maybe I'll get myself downstairs and see what else I'm inspired to create.  It's always a good time to create and stamp.  Right?

Stay warm and cozy,

Sharon

Friendly Hello Bird Card

Hey there!  Glad you're back again for another shot of stampin' goodness.  Well, that might be an exaggeration, but hope you like what I've been sharing lately.  I'm not getting many comments, so I really don't know what you're thinking.  Hey friends, keep in touch, okay?  Since it's been so cold here (and getting colder this weekend) I was drawn to making a card that has more of a wintry feel to it - even though there are flowers on it.  Is that too much of a contradiction?  Nah, just put on your creative hat and it's all good!

See what I mean about a wintry feel with the blues and grays?  Can you feel the chill?  This card is kind of a mix-up of different images with some solid, bold ones and then the bird and flowers which are line-art images.  Maybe a little schizophrenic-ness going on here.  I just can't seem to decide if I love it or not.

The card starts with Misty Moonlight cardstock cut to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  A layer of Smoky Slate cut to 5 1/4" x 4" is added to this using adhesive.

The Basic White layer is cut to 5" x 3 3/4" and this is where the bold stamping comes in.  I had a piece of this stamped already left over from making Christmas cards, so I just appropriated it for this one.  To do this stamping, draw a light pencil line across the middle of the cardstock.  I used the Merriest Moments stamp set for these images and Misty Moonlight ink.  The leafy image was stamped 3 times above the line, and 4 times under the line.  The stems are overlapping the line you made as a guide.  It's not pretty at all and kind of messy.  But you won't see this because it's hidden behind the sentiment layers.  No worries.  Next is the fern (or evergreen) stamp.  It's stamped with Shaded Spruce ink and tucked in between each of the blue leafy stems.  To finish, the speckles are tucked in around the images and stamped with Smoky Slate ink.  Don't add too many of the speckles or it just gets muddled looking.

The bird image is from the Friendly Hello Bundle in the Sale-a-bration catalog right now.  You can choose to get this one free when you place a $100 order of merchandise from with the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog or the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog.  The stamps and DSP are both awesome when used either together or separately like with this card.

When coloring the bird, I wanted it to look similar to some that are outside my windows lately.  They are darker gray with almost white bellies.  This little guy was colored with Stampin' Blends Smoky Slate both Light and Dark.  The Color Lifter Blends marker was used to lighten up his belly.  Crumb Cake Light & Dark was used on the branch with Just Jade Light used on the leaves.  Misty Moonlight Light & Dark was used on the flowers with So Saffron Light for the flower centers.  After coloring, I used Paper Snips to fussy cut it out.  Surprisingly it didn't take long at all.  It always seems like it's going to take forever to cut out these images, but it really goes quickly.

The sentiment banner starts with Basic White cut to 1 1/4" x 4 1/2".  I'm not sure which set the sentiment comes from.  Usually, I try to write down everything I use to make each card, but this time I didn't.  So sorry!  It is stamped with Misty Moonlight ink on the right side to leave room on the left for the bird. It's layered onto a Misty Moonlight piece that's 5" x 1 1/2".  Then layered onto Smoky Slate that's cut 5 1/4" x 1 3/4".  This is layered across the center of the card using just adhesive to keep it less bulky.  

The bird and flowers are positioned on the left of the sentiment banner, then attached with Dimensionals.  To finish the card off, I sprinkled five of the Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels around the card.  These Night of Navy rhinestones matched up nicely with the colors here.

For all of my friends from Michigan, you'll be surprised to hear that the prediction is for SNOW this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.  Oh boy!  The grandsons are so excited.  They have Monday off from school and are hoping the snow lasts so they'll have several days to play in it.  We'll see...  I guess if we have snow, I should just stay inside and stamp, right?  Always looking for the silver lining among the clouds.  

Stay warm and keep creating,

Sharon

Blessing of Home Birthday

 Hey y'all.   It's official now.  I'm back on my "pastel" card kick again.  I just love the look of pastels and I keep heading in that direction.  I try hard to work with bright colors or the rich dark colors to appeal to others, but pastels are definitely my favorite.  And today's card certainly fits that category in spades!  Have a look...

It's pretty here in the picture, but in real life it's just simply gorgeous!  To keep the card from being too pastel, I started with a base of Basic Gray.  Dark, but not too overpowering.  This was cut to 11" x 4 1/4" to make a top fold card.

Next is a layer of the Friendly Hello Designer Series Paper that comes in a bundle with the Friendly Hello stamp set.  And yes, they are one of the free items in the Sale-a-bration catalog right now.  The prints and colors on this 12" x 12" set of papers are so pretty and I love them all.  (That doesn't happen very often, like almost never!)  

This card uses a pretty Pale Papaya and white print for the layer that is 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the Basic Gray card base with adhesive.

The Basic White layer with all the stamping is cut at 4 1/2" x 3 1/4".  The larger floral image is from the Blessings of Home stamp set.  It was stamped on the white using Basic Gray ink to keep it softer looking.  I added color very sparingly with Stampin' Blends. Fresh Freesia L & D, Soft Succulent L, Pale Papaya L & D, So Saffron L & D, Pool Party L & D, Cinnamon Cider L, Pumpkin Pie L, and Highland Heather L. 

To get this look, keep the color to the shaded areas of the flowers and leaves.  The trick is to leave most of the areas clear of color.  I found this to be challenging, because I usually lay in the light colors and go back to shade with darker ones.  This is such a different coloring technique for me, but so fabulous looking!

After coloring, the white layer was attached to a Basic Gray layer cut at 4 5/8" x 3 3/8".  Used adhesive to attach.  This gives a very thin gray layer that frames the image nicely.  It was attached to the center of the card front using Dimensionals.

The sentiments both inside and outside for the card are from the Blessing of Home stamp set.  The front sentiment is stamped in Basic Gray ink onto a small strip of Basic White that was 1/2" wide.  After stamping, it was trimmed on the sides to 3 1/4" long.  This is layered onto a Basic Gray strip that was trimmed to 5/8" x 3 3/8".  It was adhered directly to the focal image at an angle using adhesive.

The inside has a 3/4" strip of the Pale Papaya print (that matches the front) attached to the right side of the Basic White layer.  The sentiment is stamped with Basic Gray ink.  It's attached to the card with adhesive.

Lastly, I felt the card needed some bling to enhance it.  There is a new rhinestone in the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog that's fabulous - the Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  Totally awesome looking.  I put 1 large and 2 medium ones in the bottom corner.  Then I couldn't stop and added 2 small ones to the design too.  Oh, so lovely!!

Hope you enjoyed the technique I shared today.  I have no idea if there is a special name for it, but it is easy to do once you get the hang of not coloring in the whole image, just the shading.  Give it a try and let me know how it worked out for you.  Just leave me a comment!  I'd really love to hear from you.  

Keep stamping and creating!

Sharon

Floating Layers Card

 Hi friends!  Glad you stopped by today.  There's a technique that I've been meaning to try for months, but there was always something more important that I had to do first.  You know how that goes?  Well, today was the day for making a card using the "floating layers" technique.  It didn't sound hard at all when I had investigated it months ago, and it wasn't.  It just took a little thought beforehand to decide on colors, etc.  When I was finished with the card though, I considered taking the sentiment off and changing it to an Easter sentiment instead.  Even my grandsons thought it looked like an Easter card.  Will it work for a birthday card though?  I need some input here...

Does it have too much of an Easter feel to it to be considered a birthday card?  Should I change it?

It starts with a Highland Heather card base that's cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" then scored and folded in half.  The main layer of the card is Sahara Sand cut to 4 3/4" x 3 1/2".  This was attached to the folded Highland Heather card with adhesive.  Then both layers were embossed with the Tasteful Textures 3D Embossing Folder to give it some interest.  This is my favorite embossing folder right now and I tend to use it maybe too often.  Or is that even possible?  Anyway, the subtle texture here is just enough - without being too much.  Now on to the "floating layers".

Choose what colors you want to use for your colored strips of cardstock.  For this card, I used Highland Heather, Balmy Blue, Pool Party, and Mint Macaron.  The strips ranged in width from 1/4" to 1/2", and each strip was attached to the Window Sheet (sold in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog) with a very thin bead of Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  When attaching the strips, make sure you leave a small gap between each of them to get the "floating" effect.  You can add the colors randomly or in a sequence like I did.  It's totally up to you.  

When you have the strips attached, decide which die set you'll use to cut out the piece.  I used the largest die from the Tasteful Labels Die set. 

TIP:  Run the die through your machine at least 4-5 times to cut through all those layers!  Any sections that still didn't cut through can be easily cut with your Paper Snips.  The lines to cut on a quite visible from the back side.

My apologies here - I still have some of that gorgeous Be Dazzling DSP from the last Sale-a-bration.  I love it too much to quit using it as it's a fabulous glitter paper that die-cuts so nicely.  I keep tucking in little bits here and there on my projects.

For the focal dies, I used one of the Harvest Dies to cut the Be Dazzling DSP (retired).  Next I wanted the long-stemmed flower from the Meadow Dies added.  But it needed color, so I used Blending Brushes with Highland Heather and Mint Macaron inks to color a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  Then I die-cut the flower stem from that.  Very pretty.   

Both die-cuts were attached to the floating layer with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  This whole layer was attached to the card front with Mini Dimensionals.  Be careful to only put the Mini Dimensionals under the cardstock strips so they don't show through on the front of the layer!

A butterfly from the Meadow Dies set was cut from the blended-color cardstock also.  After cutting, a few strokes of Wink of Stella were added to the butterfly to give it some shimmer.  This was added to the card front with Mini Dimensionals

The last part of the card was the sentiment.  It's from the Inspired Thoughts stamp set.  This was stamped with Soft Succulent ink so it would be darker than the colors used so far, but still blend with them.  I also used a scrap of Soft Succulent cardstock trimmed up and layered behind the sentiment.  This was attached on the left side with adhesive and on the right side with a Dimensional to keep it flat.

That's it for this card - no other bling or doodads added.  I was happy with the way it turned out.  I love the floating layers technique, and it's so easy to do.  I have a segment of it leftover, so now I need to design something to use that up!  And then try different color combos and have some more fun creating.  

Hope you give this technique a try!  If you have questions about the technique, please get in touch with me.  I'd love to help you do this too.

Keep stamping and creating!

Sharon

More Rain Boots

Oh, my goodness.  Here I am with another Flowering Rain Boots idea for you.  Am I stuck on this set?  Well, maybe.  Do I enjoy making cards with this set?   You bet!  And if you read down to the bottom of this post, you'll see even more cards made with this set.  I really went overboard when stamping yesterday and made several cards.  Now it's time to get them posted.  Then I'll have to put that stamp set away for a little bit and find something else to obsess over!  😄 

This card is much bolder and brighter than the last card I shared.  It starts with a Crushed Curry card base that's cut to 11" x 4 1/4" then scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half. I used the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper that is a Hostess Rewards item from the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  There are so many fabulous patterns and color combos in the paper pack.  You can spend lots of hours just creating with this paper pack!  The colors for this card are taken directly taken from the print I chose to use.  The DSP was cut to a 5 1/4" x 2" strip.

I wanted to add a layer of the Granny Apple Green cardstock to accent the design and tried several different ideas.  The Brilliant Rainbows Dies has this lovely, scalloped edgework that reminds me of rainbows that is a perfect accent.  It's attached to the back of the flower print paper using adhesive.  Then it was attached to the left side of the card front.

The rain boots were stamped with Crushed Curry ink on Basic White cardstock.  The tulip leaves were stamped with Granny Apple Green ink and the flowers were stamped with Poppy Parade ink.  All the pieces were die-cut with the Rain Boots Dies.

A Basic White layer was cut to 3 3/4" x 2 3/4".  This will frame the boots and flowers to help them stand out.  The Granny Apple Green cardstock was cut at 4" x 3" to layer under the Basic White.  They are attached together with adhesive and then layered onto the card front with Dimensionals. 

The bottom edges of the tulip leaves are attached to the very top of the boots. All this was attached to the white layer with both regular and Mini Dimensionals.  The flowers were attached with Mini Dimensionals to the very tips of the stems.  I like the look of how the boots are slightly over the bottom edge, and the tulips are spread out over the top edge.  When stamping, many times I try to keep everything all tucked "inside the box".  Having these images creeping "out of the box" on this card is just aesthetically pleasing to me.

For adding a sentiment to the card, I chose the Special Moments for my sentiment.  This is one of the Level 2 Sale-a-bration items you can get for free when you've purchased $100 of regular merchandise from either the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog or the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog.  This is an awesome sentiment set that contains 21 sentiments that cover many every-day occasions.  Don't you love freebies are so versatile and useful?

The sentiment was stamped with Poppy Parade ink.  It was then die-cut using a small tag from the Ornate Frames Die set.  It was attached to the card front with adhesive by the leaves and a Mini Dimensional at the right end of it.

There is a double bow made from 2 strands of Linen Thread.  I kept it fairly small for this application.  It was attached to the tag with a Mini Glue Dot that was rolled into a small bar to hide under the bow.   That's the only 'bling' for this card.  It seemed happy enough already without anything more added.

The inside of the card needed a layer of Basic White for writing on.  This was cut to 5 1/4" x 4".   It looked way too boring as is, so a set of tulip leaves was stamped near the bottom right corner.  Granny Apple Green ink was used to coordinate with the front stamping and also the DSP print.  The tulip flowers were stamped again with Poppy Parade ink to finish it off.

So bright and pretty - it just makes me happy!

Are you ready for a few more ideas?  They're similar, and yet quite different.  There are different color choices used on each of them and slightly different layouts and die-cuts used too.  It's just so much fun coming up with different looks here.  You need to try these too.  Ready for more ideas???

Colors:  Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, Just Jade and Pool Party

Sentiment:  Best Year Yet

DSP:  Sunshine & Rainbows (SAB)

Dies:  Rain Boots, Ornate Frames, and Layering Ovals (ret)

Extras:  Blending Brushes, Linen Thread

Colors:  Smoky Slate, Basic White, Misty Moonlight

Sentiment:  Flowering Rain Boots (only the top line of the stamp is used)

DSP:  Sunshine & Rainbows (SAB)

Dies:  Rain Boots, and Stitched So Sweetly

Blends:  So Saffron L & D, Daffodil Delight D

Extras:  2021-2023 In Color Jewels

Hope you enjoyed the post with the extra ideas added.  It really has been fun playing with the Flowering Rain Boots and Dies.  Yes, I really do love them!  Enjoy the ideas and let me know if you've gotten hooked with this bundle too.  I know I can't be the only person who loves this set.  Come on, let me know what your favorites are in the new 2022 January - June Mini Catalog.  If I have your favorite set already, I'll try to post an idea or two for you.  But I have to know what you'd like to see - so let me know.  Or I'll just continue to play around with anything that catches my fancy and that's what I'll post.  It's up to you...

Keep stamping and creating!

Sharon

Flowering Rain Boots

Good morning everyone!   Since it's been raining here, a lot, I thought I'd play with the Flowering Rain Boots stamp set and dies.  A while back, there was a Paper Pumpkin kit that was all about rain boots and spring.  I loved that kit so much that I even got refills for it, and I hardly ever do that!  When I saw this set in the new 2022 January - June Mini Catalog, it was the very first set on my shopping list.  I'm so tickled with this, so I know I'll be using it a lot for my own cards.  And of course, some of those will be shared with you too. 

Here's one of the cards I made yesterday.  Doesn't it look like we're all ready for spring?  I'm sure those of you in the northern climates definitely have had more than enough of the cold and snow.  Unfortunately, I think there's still a lot more of that to come.

To make this card, I started with a piece of Thick White cardstock.  This was cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  Since I had already found the Friendly Hello Designer Series Paper print that I wanted to use, I took my color choices from there.  (The Friendly Hello DSP is part of a stamp and paper bundle in the Sale-a-bration Mini Catalog!  You can get it free when you spend $100 on merchandise from the Annual Catalog or the new Mini Catalog!)

I love the softness of the DSP print, and all the lines of squiggles in the pastel colors.  It reminded me of raindrops sliding down a window, so I just had to use it!  I chose to use Fresh Freesia as my accent color on the card.  This was cut to 5 1/4" x 4".  Because I wanted the Fresh Freesia color to stand out, the DSP was cut a little smaller at only 4 3/4" x 3 1/2". This is attached to the Fresh Freesia cardstock piece using adhesive.  A length of Fresh Freesia Open Weave Ribbon was wrapped around and tied into a square knot off to the side.

The rain boots were stamped with Misty Moonlight ink on Basic White cardstock.  The daisies were stamped with Basic Gray ink on the white cardstock also.  The daisies were colored using Stampin' Blends - Fresh Freesia L & D, So Saffron Dark, and Highland Heather Light.   After coloring with the Blends, the boots and daisies were die-cut with the matching Rain Boots Dies.

I used a die from the Tasteful Labels Die set to cut a label for the sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Flowering Rain Boots set.  It's stamped with Misty Moonlight ink.  A little Fresh Freesia color was added to the edges of the label with a Blending Brush.  Love that small bit of added color!  

The boots were attached with adhesive over the ribbon.  The daisies were positioned above the boots and attached with Dimenionals.  The sentiment label was attached near the top right corner with Dimensionals also.  After going through my stash of bling, the Loose Flower Flourishes were picked as an accent for the card front.  Don't they match up perfectly?  They are attached with Mini Glue Dots.

The inside of the card got a bit of special treatment too.  The sentiment here is from the Sunny Sentiments set in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  I thought the font semi-matched the font on the front, and it really said what I wanted.  

To dress it up more, I used a skinny strip of the Friendly Hello DSP that had been cut off the front piece to make it smaller.  I just couldn't let that cute little bit go to waste now, could I?  It's layered onto a 1/2" strip of Fresh Freesia to bring all the fun to the inside of the card.

There you have it, a fresh, spring-themed card to get you ready for blue skies and warmer weather.    Hope this inspires you, and I hope you love the Flowering Rain Boots Bundle as much as I do.  I promise you I'll be making and sharing more ideas and projects using this bundle, because I think it's adorable!

Keep on creating and stamping.  And don't forget to share all your beautiful creations with others.  Get them in the mail!  Or just hand them out when you can.  Whatever works for you.

Blessings and Hugs,

Sharon

A Friendly Hello Bundle

Oh, my goodness!  I've been having so much fun with a new Sale-a-bration bundle.  Yes, you heard correctly there.  After you spend $100 in regular merchandise, you can choose to get this bundle.  It has an awesome stamp set with 13 photopolymer stamps to start with that includes 3 sentiments.  And it has a gorgeous 12 x 12 set of Designer Paper that coordinates with it!  They're my sort of colors too - more on the brighter pastel side.  Woo Hoo!!  Can you tell I'm just a little excited? 

Here's the first one I made with both the Friendly Hello stamp set and the Friendly Hello matching Designer Paper.  It's turned out such a bright cheerful green as the main color on the print I used is Granny Apple Green.  It just screams 'spring!' to me.  To make this card, I started with a card base of Garden Green for some contrast.  This was cut 11" x 4 1/4", scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half to make a top fold card.  The layer of DSP is cut 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the card front with adhesive.  I wanted as much of this to show as possible, so I looked for a die that wouldn't be too small for the sentiment.  But it shouldn't cover the whole card front either.  The die from the Tasteful Labels Dies was just the right size and a pretty shape with a little outline detailing too.

The hello friend sentiment from the set was stamped with Garden Green ink more to the right side of the label.  That left lots of room on the left side for the pretty flowers that are part of the set too.  These were stamped with Garden Green ink onto a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  I also stamped 5 solid leaves with the Garden Green ink on the scrap of white.  

The flowers were just lightly accented with some water and a Water Painter brush to soften the shading lines inside each flower.  It actually makes the centers look like Granny Apple Green.  Who knew...?   

The flowers and leave were all fussy cut because there are no dies or punches.  Surprisingly, it took almost no time at all to cut the 6 pieces.  It was time to position all the pieces around the sentiment.  The flowers were attached only on the edge of the label die-cut.  Several of the leaves were tucked underneath the flowers.  The label and flowers were attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  The last two leaves were attached flat to the card front with adhesive.  This gave the flowers cluster more depth.

Looking to finish off the card front, I added a length of the new 3/4" wide Frayed Ribbon wrapped across the top of the card and tied into a square knot.  There is a bit of extra fraying going on with the ribbon edges on purpose.  I liked the shabby chic look of the fraying. This ribbon is pretty thick though, so I'll probably need to add extra postage when I mail it.

The flower centers looked really bare, so I added some Genial Gems which are found in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  There are some green gems, but they didn't look nice with the greens already going on here.  So I used the Pale Papaya ones instead.  These added just a bit of color without being overpowering.  The two flower centers are the larger gems.  Then I couldn't stop myself and added 3 of the smaller gems to highlight the sentiment.

The inside of the card got some special treatment too.  The sentiment is from the new Blessings of Home stamp set.  It is stamped on a layer of Basic White cardstock with Garden Green ink to match the front.

The Friendly Hello stamp set has a leafy branch that I thought would be a good accent.  It was stamped with Granny Apple Green in the top left corner and the opposite bottom right corner.  On the bottom corner, it was stamped once at full strength and then off-stamped two more times to fill it in.  I also like the look of the frayed ribbon wrapping around on the inside of the card.  Just an added benefit.

Thanks for stopping in today to see what's happening.  I'm enjoying playing with the new stamp sets I've already purchased from the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-bration bundle I received free.  It's always interesting to see how people interpret using the new sets.  Yes, I've been hanging out at Pinterest to see what others are doing.  It seems to jump-start my own creativity to see what's out there.  If you're like me and need a little push to get going, I hope my ideas will jump-start your creativity!  If there are any questions you have, feel free to contact me.  I'm here to help you be the very best stamper you can be - and have fun doing it!!

Happy creating and stamping!

Sharon

Sending Rainbows to You

Here it is already, 2022!  We have a fresh new year ahead of us.  Have you made any new year's resolutions?  My big one is to make a greater effort to stay in touch with my family and friends.  Sometimes I get off in my own little world and kind of shut the door behind me.  Well, I'll be working on doing a better job of staying connected and being there for my family and friends.  If you find me slipping, remind me.  OK?  One of my favorite ways to stay in touch is with sending cards.  Duh, as if you didn't know that already!  Today's card was made with that in mind.  It uses one of the new 2022 January - June stamp sets and a Sale-a-bration stamp set and a Designer Paper freebie too.  Lots of new goodies to play with.  Ready to have a Sneak Peek two days early?  Both of these catalogs go live on January 4th so you don't have a very long wait at all.

I figured this card would be perfect for letting someone know you were thinking of them and brightening their day.  What do you think?  The card uses a new set called Rainbows of Happiness.  I've always been partial to rainbows as they are a symbol from God to mankind that He would never destroy all of mankind again in a world-wide flood.  When still living in Michigan and having our basement flooding - not yearly, but way more often than I wanted, I always loved seeing rainbows.  They were a beautiful symbol of hope to me.

For this card, I didn't want a traditional fold, so I started with a Basic White base that was cut at 4 1/4" x 11".  It was then scored at 4", and at 9 1/2".  This gave me an asymmetrical gate-fold card to work with.  The designer paper is one of the free items from the Sale-a-bration catalog.  It's a perfect match for the Rainbow of Happiness stamp set and is called Sunshine & Rainbows.  This is a 6" x 6" paper pack with 48 sheets of playful prints that are bright and sassy.  Don't you just love these sassy prints?  It has both big, bold prints and some lovely, bright pastels too.  For this card I chose two different prints to coordinate.  The bolder, Misty Moonlight print is cut at 4" x 3 3/4" to fit the left side of the gate-fold.  The Mango Melody print is 4" x 1 1/4" for the right flap.  

TIP - When you're cutting this DSP, you need to be very aware of the direction of print.  For this card, you wouldn't want them going side-ways and looking weird.  Check twice before cutting!

Of course, I had to stamp a rainbow for the card.  Checking the size of the rainbow to the different dies, it fit nicely on the 2nd largest rectangle die in the Stitched So Sweetly Dies.  That was cut from Basic White cardstock for the focal point.

I decided to use the colors of the rainbows on the DSP print for my rainbow.  These aren't traditional colors at all, but they are fun (and matched too).  The largest color band is So Saffron.  Next up comes Pool Party.  This one also has the sentiment stamped over it in Misty Moonlight ink.  The 3rd band is Magenta Madness and the smallest is Petal Pink.  I added a few Magenta Madness teensy hearts over the rainbow to make it happy.  This was attached to a cut-to-fit rectangle of Magenta Madness cardstock using adhesive.  

When attaching the images to the card front of a gate-fold card, figure out where the left edge of the front flap is.  Do NOT attach your adhesive beyond this point.  I used four Dimensionals under the images only on the left side to attach this. 

After finishing the front, I felt it needed just a little bling.  There are three of the new Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels added.  You can really see from this picture how pretty those rhinestones are.  Just gorgeous!

When I got to the inside of the card, I might have gotten just a little carried away.  The sentiment comes from the Special Moments stamp set in the Sale-a-bration catalog that you can get free.   Lots of great sentiments in there!

Then I decided I wanted some sunshine inside the card.  This cute sunshiny guy is from the Sharing Sunshine set in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  Love how cute it is, especially with that smiley face.

There were two little strips of DSP left over, so why not add them to the card?  And of course, there just had to be more of those teensy little hearts added too.

That's it for today.  I hope you're inspired to try making a gate-fold card again.  Don't know why it's been a while since I've made one.  They're just so cute.  I need to make them more often.  (Along with all the other stuff I need to do!)  Stay happy and healthy.  And keep stamping and creating!

Sharon