Eucalyptus Embossing Folder

Hello Friend!  So happy to be back in town and trying to get back to normal again.  What a crazy week was spent in Florida going to lots of baseball games and getting either fried or melted in the hot, hot sunshine!  Gotta say, I love my sunscreen!  It sure got a workout in Florida.  But it really did its job, and I didn't get burnt to a crisp.  Yay!  I did try to stay in the shade as much as possible, so that helped too.  For those of you who care, Carson's team was bumped up from being a double A team to AAA.  It was a real test of their abilities to even win two of the six games they played.  They really played their hearts out and didn't give up.  I'm so proud of Carson and each one of those boys on the team!  Now enough of talking about all that and let's get to stamping!

Today's card was made with a technique I had never tried before.  And I just love how it turned out!  I was visiting my sister Connie again and she had me try this technique.  Have you ever used Stampin' Blends to color an embossed image?  This spray of leaves is from the Elegant Eucalyptus 3D Embossing Folder.  It actually has two of the smaller embossing folders in the set, and I'll be sharing the other one soon.  It was first embossed then the images colored.  I've used chalks before to do this, and it gives a soft, misty look.  But coloring with the Stampin' Blends give such a lovely, crisp look.

I started with a piece of Basic White cardstock that measures 5 3/16" x 3 3/8".  This was embossed in the center with the Eucalyptus Embossing Folder.  My idea was to keep all the leaves and berries very soft looking.   Using the Soft Sea Foam Blends, I colored the larger leaves first.  Next, the eucalyptus branches were colored with the Soft Succulent Light Blends.  There were two berry-type branches that I colored with Gray Granite Light Blends.  There were still two triple berry sprigs that were left to color.  For these, I had run out of soft colors that I wanted to put together for this card.  So, Wink of Stella was added for a little bit of color and glitz.

The next step was to add this onto a Gray Granite cardstock layer measuring 5 5/16" x 3 1/2".  They were attached together with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  Then it was all attached to a Basic White cardstock base measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The layers were attached to the card base with Dimensionals.

We discussed several possibilities for sentiments for our cards.  She had a die that spelled out hope that I thought was perfect.  It was die-cut from Silver Foil paper and attached to the center of my leaves.  I used multiple rolled up Mini Glue Dots under the letters to attach this.  Because the glue dots were rolled to fit, it makes the sentiment stand up just a tiny bit from the card. There you have it - my finished card.  

Now when Connie and I stamp together, many times we'll start with the same basic premise and then we go off in our own direction.  She left the first white layer a little larger and backed it with Soft Sea Foam cardstock.  As you can see, her colors were much different too.  The larger leaves were colored with Granny Apple Green Blends.  The eucalyptus was the darker Soft Succulent Blends, and the smaller leaves and berry branches were colored with Soft Sea Foam Blends.  She also added Wink of Stella to the triple berry stems.  And if you look closely, you'll find she drew in a few extra berry stems to fill in more.  She used the same hope die-cut but placed her sentiment on the bottom right of the card.

Isn't it fun to see how two people can work on the very same project, but the end result really reflects the different personalities through color choices and the total finished look.  It's always great to spend time with Connie and be challenged by her artistic abilities.  Hopefully I'll get around to sharing another project or two that we put our own spin on!

Thanks for stopping by again to see what's been happening around here.  Give this technique a try when you have a chance.  It really is pretty and something a little bit different from the normal stamping.  

If you're placing an order soon, please use the Host Code found at the top of my blog page.  It's always appreciated.  If it gets too hot outside, go in an airconditioned room and get creative.  After you cool down, you can always go back outside again.  Enjoy your summer!

Happy stamping and creating!

Sharon