Splendid Thoughts Today

Hello and Happy Sunday to you!  I hope you're taking some time out from your frenzied life for a little relaxing and refreshing your soul.  I always look forward to Sundays and going to church as a way to take stock in my life and look at life from another perspective. Today we went to a different church to find one that feels more like home to us all.  I don't think this one will be my new church home, but I do feel like I've learned something new that I can incorporate into my way of thinking.  Needless to say, I still have so much to learn and adjust in my attitudes and actions to live a more Christ-like life.  Praise God that He loves me - imperfections and all!

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by cards that Connie and I made on my past visit in June.  The originals used a product that was non-Stampin'Up! (shhh, don't tell anyone!)  I wanted to do a remake using one of the new Sale-a-Bration items - the Silver & Gold 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper that you can get free with a $50 order.  This DSP is so pretty and looked to be the perfect backdrop for my card design.

The card base is a half sheet of Basic White cardstock that's scored and folded.  A piece of the Silver & Gold DSP that measures 4 1/4" x 3" was layered across the center of the card using adhesive.  The small sentiment "sending hugs" is from the new Splendid Thoughts stamp set on page 65 of the new July - December 2022 holiday catalog.  It was stamped down in the bottom right corner using Soft Succulent ink.  This was set aside while all the other plants were stamped, colored, and die-cut.

Now we get to the stamping of the awesome images in the Splendid Thoughts set.  I just love the look of the eucalyptus branch in the set, so that was a "must use" item for the card. I'm not sure what the other plant is, but that was used too.  Both plants were stamped with Soft Succulent ink onto Basic White cardstock.  They were colored with both the Light and Dark Soft Succulent Stampin' Blends.  It was so easy to color in with the Light. shade with the Dark, and then go back and blend with the Light again.  I just love the look of these!  

The plants were cut using the coordinating Splendid Stems Dies.  There are the two dies that fit these plants, plus five dies for open-work leaves of different sizes to choose from.  Plus, it has a die for this cool half-circle that I used as a planter and a die for the bee in the set too.  Lots to choose from.  I die-cut four of the open-work leaves and the planter from Soft Succulent cardstock to keep the card quite neutral with all the tone-on-tone going on that I had done the first time around.

When I had all the pieces die-cut that I was going to need, I used Stampin' Seal on the back of the planter and started placing the pieces the way I wanted from the back.  You know, placing the front images on first and filling in around and behind them.  When they were all positioned, I carefully used more Stampin' Seal and also Mini Glue Dots to get everything attached to the front of the card.

The last step is of course the bling.  I thought about using rhinestones, but with the gold striping on the DSP, I thought the Brushed Brass Butterflies was a nice subtle accent without being too much.  I sure am using those little butterflies a lot.  They just seem to be the perfect touch!

Now that you've seen the remake, I thought you might like to see the originals Connie and I made.  Of course, we start out with the same basic design and then off we go down our own creative paths. 

My design is on the top here.  You can see I stuck pretty much with my original design, except for the Very Vanilla Cardstock used here.  The gold striping is from a wide Washi Tape Connie has that is truly beautiful.  I thought it looked better with Very Vanilla, but Connie preferred it with Basic White.  The Sale-a-Bration Silver & Gold DSP is shown on the right next to our cards for a comparison.  The gold lines are much finer and closer together for a really different look.

Connie and I used the same colors, but totally different layouts as you can see.  This is one of the best parts of stamping - the creativity!  No matter how many times you pick up the same set, you can always make just a few tweaks or do some major changes, and you always get something different and wonderful and totally you!!

Well, there you have it for today. Hope you enjoyed both Connie's and my take on the Splendid Thoughts stamp set.  It is really an awesome set and I plan on using it again soon.  I've already got more ideas percolating for this set!

Thank you, ladies, for your recent orders.  I truly appreciate each and every one of you!  I feel so very blessed to have a wonderful group of friends supporting me.  If you have any questions about my cards, or anything else, feel free to contact me.  I love hearing from you!  And a huge thanks for the gorgeous cards that have been coming in the mail for me.  It's such a blessing to feel the outpouring of love each time I get another card in the mail.  Love you so much!!!  Your ideas and creativity astound me and makes me want to stretch myself even further.  Thank you so much.

Blessings and many hugs,

Sharon