Sun Prints Card

Oh dear, here we go again.  It's so hard to say good-bye to so many of my favorite products.  Today's post revolves around the lovely Sun Prints Designer Series Paper.  The organic look and colors of all these prints remind me of blue batik patterns that I love.  And do you remember doing sun prints on specialty papers when you were a kid?  I always thought it was so cool how the sun could bleach out the paper and leave this awesome design behind.  That's what these papers remind me of on the blue side.  The other side has cute little prints in Gray Granite.  Together it's just awesome, and that's what I'm using for today's card.  I thought the blue and white would work both for ladies and men and I needed a slew of cards for the shut-ins this month.  This is just one of the card designs I'm working on.

It's all in blues with a little white and silver thrown in for an interesting accent.  Here's how it's made.  Start with a card base of Night of Navy.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  Next is a layer of Basic White that measures 5 1/2" x 4".  This will fit right up to the top and bottom edges of the card, but with navy showing on both sides.

The Sun Prints DSP is the next layer.  I chose the print that has white fern-like sprigs and maybe dandelion stems on a mottled blue background. It measures 5 1/4" x 3 3/4".  It's attached to the Basic White layer with adhesive.  Then these layers are attached to the card base with adhesive also.

The leafy branches are from the Lighting the Way stamp set.  I stamped it in Night of Navy ink on Basic White.  The I used the coordinating die to cut it out.  The Lighting the Way Bundle is in the January-April Mini Catalog.  Unfortunately, the 10% off the Bundle price is gone at the end of April.   But I'm so happy it's carrying over into the new catalog and I can continue to share it with you.

Can you see the other two die-cut stem pieces?  They are much more prominent in real life.  First, I chose the skinny branch from the Harvest Dies.  This is such a wonderful basic branch to put behind other stems for a filler.  Alas, it is being retired.  This time I used some Silver Foil Paper to die-cut the branch.  

I also cut two butterflies from the same Silver Foil Paper.  Can you see the embossed detail the dies make when cutting?  I like having that extra detail on them instead of just being flat.  The butterfly dies come from the Meadow Dies.  These are also a carry over to the new catalog.

The second stem is cut from Vellum Cardstock.  This is one of the leaf dies from Poppy Moments Die set.  It has the look of a fern type of leaf to me, so it was the best choice for what I wanted to do.

First the silver branch was attached to the card front near the left side.  Then the vellum fern was attached over a little to the right of the branch with the stems coming together.  Lastly the stamped branch was attached on top of the others.  The two butterflies were attached with Dimenisonals.

The last thing I did was add a sentiment.  And wouldn't you know it, none of my other pictures actually show the sentiment on the card?!  At this point I wasn't even sure I was adding a sentiment.  That's why my pictures are bare.  But I did decide a sentiment was needed to fill the space.  I used a piece of Basic White that measures 3/4" x 2 1/2".  The sentiment comes from the Happy Labels stamp set.  It's stamped with Night of Navy ink.  The coordinating Happy Labels Pick a Punch was used to make those notches on each end.  The label was attached to the card front using Dimenisonals.  It's positioned just slightly over the stems to bring them all together.  Remember to go to the top of the post to see the totally finished card.  Guess I didn't have my mind fully in gear when I was taking the pictures.  So sorry!

The countdown is almost done.  May 2nd the new catalog goes live and we can order anything from it we want.  Woo Hoo!  As demonstrators we were only allowed to purchase certain stamp sets.  I wasn't a huge fan of the ones available, so I'm still playing with my old stamps.  It's time to bring on the new!  I can hardly wait to order.

Thanks for being here with me today.  I appreciate the time you take to visit.  You mean the world to me.  Remember if you're one of my customers, start looking in the mail for the envelopes I'm sending out.  And thank you for all your good wishes on my birthday yesterday.  You are a true blessing to me!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Dainty Delight in Greens

Hello Friends, hope you're enjoying your day today.  Today I'm sharing a card with some old, retiring items and some that are going to hang around for a while longer which is a good thing in my humble opinion.  I'm using both the Dainty Delight Bundle and the Quiet Meadow Bundle which are both very versatile.  I look at these two sets as basics because both the floral images and the words are very nice, and the matching die sets are truly fabulous and can be used just about anywhere.  Give it a look.

Here's my last hurrah for Pear Pizzazz too.  I'll miss this color so much!  But there are other green colors that I'll soon love just as much.  For this card, I started out with a base of Pear Pizzazz cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.  

Next a layer of Old Olive cardstock was cut.  It measures 5 1/4" x 4".  I used the largest die in the Meadow Die set to cut into the center of this piece.  (thrifty!)  Both of these pieces were set aside until I was ready for them.

That lovely gold-printed paper is called Naturally Gilded 12" x 12" DSP.  There are 6 sheets with 3 patterns, so you get two of each.   This design is gold on ivory, there are silver on white and copper on white designs too.  Simply gorgeous!  The number is #161639 and can be found in the Online Exclusives for $10.  It's worth every penny!

Here you can see how the ivory background was changed to green.  I used Pear Pizzazz ink and a Blending Brush to just swirl color on it until it was as dark as I wanted.  I actually went over it about three times to darken it enough, otherwise the gold print got lost in the green.  I love how you can totally change the look of this paper just by blending in some color over the design.  Just think of the possibilities!  After I was done, this layer was attached to the Old Olive layer that was already cut.  I used adhesive to attach these together.  

A little more die-cutting was needed.  The two thin branches were cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock.  After trying a few different colors including some different gold papers, I ended up with a Glimmer Paper that's been retired for awhile.  It's a lovely green that showed up nicely.  For this piece, I used a die from the Dainty Delight set.  I thought it looked cute here.  All of the die-cut pieces were attached with adhesive.

One last piece was die-cut.  It was the label from the Meadow Dies.  This is cut from Very Vanilla cardstock.  The sentiment is also from the Quiet Meadow stamp set and fits in the die-cut piece perfectly.  It is stamped with Old Olive ink.  Two Dimensionals were added to the back at this time.

Instead of just wrapping a ribbon around for an accent, I cut a 4" piece and a 6" piece of Parakeet Party 1/8" Metallic Woven Ribbon.  Add tape on the back where you want the left side of the ribbon to be.  Thread the ribbon through the center hole then wrap to the back and attach to the tape.  Thread the 6" ribbon through the other side.  Take off the backing from the Dimensionals and center them over the stems.  Then wrap the ends of the ribbon to the back of the right side and attach.  To finish, tie a small bow from the same ribbon.  Use a Mini Glue Dot to attach this where the right ribbon connects to the label.  

All of this is attached to the folded Pear Pizzazz card front using Dimenisonals.   A piece of Very Vanilla was cut to fit inside the card and it was finished.  With the gold printed DSP, sparkly Glimmer Paper and metallic ribbon, I didn't think it needed any more bling.  Now if you're a real 'bling-aholic', you could always add gold sequins or rhinestones.  There are several choices that look really elegant with the card.  Your choice.

Have you been keeping track of all the different colors of green that were used on the card?  I think it's wonderful how so many of the colors blend nicely together.  If you want to know, there are 5 different greens on the card.  Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Parakeet Party, and the Mint Macaron of the Glimmer Paper die-cut.  Wow!

That's it for today.  Hope there are a few ideas you might have picked up on here.  Be inspired and be creative!  And have fun!!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Goodbye, Wisteria Wishes

Hello there!  I've spent the last week rearranging my stamps and inks into areas that are current or retired.  And wouldn't you know it, every once in a while, I needed to sit down and play with one of the retiring sets.  I'm so sorry to see some of my favorites being shunted to the retired area.  I'll truthfully say, once they hit that area, they just don't get as much love and attention as they should.  The lovely Wisteria Wishes was moved to that area earlier this week.  But before it was banished, it needed to have a last hurrah.  Or something like that.  Last I checked, it's still available for the next few days if you're interested.  So here you go.  You probably won't see this on my blog anymore.  I'll still use it for my personal pleasure, but it's not business anymore.

As you can see, I had to make two cards.  They are very similar.  One card uses retiring In Colors, the other uses current In Colors that we still have for another year.  I love how these cards might be pretty much the same layout.  But because of the colors used, they still look fairly different.  One is soft and feminine, while the other has a much bolder approach to it.

Let's start with the Fresh Freesia card.  First of all, did you hear that Fresh Freesia will be one of the new core colors?  I'm so happy about that as it's a definite favorite of mine.  Woo Hoo!  Now, if they would have just kept Soft Succulent in the lineup, I would have been ecstatic.  But alas, they didn't so this is a goodbye to my favorite green.

The card starts with a base of Soft Succulent cardstock the measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half for your basic card layout.  The first layer is from the Dandy Designs that was a favorite Sale-a-bration item.  Well, if I make a card that's featuring retired items, I guess this counts too.  I loved the colors in this DSP, especially the Fresh Freesia prints.  This layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the card front using adhesive.

The next layer is made from the Fine Shimmer Paper in the Soft Succulent tone.  Isn't it absolutely lovely?  Of course, it is not in the new catalog, but there is a new Soft Shimmer paper that will be available in colors that look so yummy.   This time it's die-cut with the Scalloped Contours Dies which leaves this lovely stitching inside the scallops.  Oh by the way, the Scalloped Contours dies are in the next catalog!

For the white layer I used Basic White cardstock and it's cut to fit right inside the stitching lines.  It measures just under 2 3/4" x 4".  There's actually nothing stamped on this layer.

The 'wisteria' (or maybe salvia or bluebonnets because I used them upright) were stamped on another piece of Basic White.  I inked them with Fresh Freesia then tapped in some Highland Heather ink near the bottom edges of the flowers.  The stems and leaves were inked with Soft Succulent ink and then tapped in with Evening Evergreen ink to get that two-toned look.

After die-cutting with the matching dies, these pieces were attached to the white layer.  The stems are attached with adhesive while there are Dimensionals under the flowers for lift.  There is a quarter inch piece of the Soft Succulent Fine Shimmer paper attached across the stems.  Then this layer is attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

The final touches on this card include the sentiment that's from the Go To Greeting set that is stamped with Soft Succulent ink on a Basic White strip.  The sentiment set is carried over to the new catalog thank goodness because I use it often.  The ends of the strip are flagged with the Banners Pick a Punch which is also carried over.  The sentiment is attached with Mini Glue Dots.  I've found if I roll them a little before attaching, they are slightly lifted off the base, but not as much as Dimensionals.  Sometimes I want just a bit of lift, and this works great.  

There are three of the pink Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins.  These are also carried over to the next catalog which I'm very happy about.  They seemed to be the perfect addition to the flowers.

Now for the next card...

The card base used here is Starry Sky - one of the In Colors that's sticking around for another year.  It's a lovely dark blue, and if you haven't used it yet, you should.  Take my word for it, you'll like it.  The cardstock is cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" like the first card, but then a 3/4" strip is cut off the front flap.  

There is a layer of Basic White for the inside of the card that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  The white layer on the card front measures 5 1/4" x 3 3/8".

The plaid layer is cut from the In Color 6" x 6" paper in the retiring catalog in Starry Sky.   This is cut at 5 1/4" x 3 1/4".  There's also a strip that measures 5 1/4" x 1/2" for the inside edge of the card.  Attach both of these pieces to the white layers, then attach to the front and inside of the card.  The layer on the front of the card needs to shift right to the edge of the front flap.

Next is the focal point of the card.  Both the Basic White and Silver Foil layers are cut with the retiring Stitched Rectangles Dies.  What will I do without these??  Oh my, I just realized the Silver Foil Specialty Paper is also being retired!  What??  OK, calm down Sharon.  You'll figure it out and find new papers to use.  Anyway, I used two of the Rectangle dies to cut these pieces.

For this card, I used Lemon Lime Twist for the stems and leaves and tapped on Granny Apple Green ink for the 2nd color.  These I stamped directly to the die-cut white piece.  The flowers were inked first with Starry Sky ink, then was tapped on with Night of Navy ink.  I was surprised there was such a difference between those two colors.  The flowers were die-cut then attached with Dimensionals.  

The same Go To Greetings stamp was used here.  But this time the sentiment was die-cut using that really skinny Stitched Rectangle die to match with the other layers.  It is attached to the card front using Dimensionals making sure part of it is outside the front layer.  There are three of the 2022-2024 In Color Matte Decorative Dots in Starry Sky added for a little extra bling.  These Dots are not carrying over to the next catalog which is too bad.  They were definitely a fun addition to projects.

Okay, that's it for now.  I need to get back rearranging my stash so everything fits.  Last I checked, these items are still available in case you're interested.  If you need to place an order for any of these items, please use the host code shown at the top of this blog page.  I'd love to hear what you think of the new catalog - what your favorites are from the new and what you'll be missing from the old.  It's an exciting time whenever there is a change with all kinds of goodies to get used to.  Have fun checking it out.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

More Playing in the Rain Cards

Hello, hello!  Hope you're having a fabulous day today.  I had so much fun creating with the Playing in the Rain Suite the other day that I got some of those same pieces out again today and did a different fun fold card.  I just adore this cute Rain or Shine DSP and I'm so sad it's retiring at the end of this month.  It's just a fun combo of colors and prints that always seems to make me smile - especially when it's raining (or just about to start up again)!

Here it is and isn't it sweet?  It's an easy fun fold card and I'm going to walk you through it.  Start with a card base that measures 8 1/2"x 5 1/2".  Score this at 4 1/4" and fold in half.  Open the card and cut 1" off the front flap on the card.  This allows you to add a cute DSP strip as an accent.  Cut another piece of cardstock that measures 3 1/4" x 4".  Score this at 1/2" on the long side and fold over to the back.  This gives you the flap that opens on the right side of the card.  Oops, forgot to mention that I used Mango Melody cardstock for my card.  It's one of those colors that are on the way out because of the Color Refresh.  If you like this color, pick up an extra pack right now.  There really isn't a color in the new color lineup that is anywhere close.

To make this card, we're going to start on the inside and work our way out.  So the next piece of cardstock you need is Basic White.  This is cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4".  The strip of checked DSP is from the Rain or Shine DSP.  It measures 1" x 5 1/4" and is attached to the Basic White piece right at the edge using MultiPurpose Liquid Glue.  

I used a piece of Tear & Tape along the inside 1/2" flap on the smaller Mango Melody cardstock.  Line the flap up carefully with the DSP and fold it around to the back side of the Basic White to create the front flap of the card.  After this is attached to the white, use adhesive to attach this layer to the center of the inside of the Mango Melody card as shown.

I used two different prints from the DSP.  The measurement for the left flap is 2 3/4" x 5".  It's attached to a Balmy Blue layer that's 3" x 5 1/4".  These layers are attached to the left flap of the card using adhesive.

The DSP layer on the right flap is 2 7/8" x 3 1/8".  This is attached to a Balmy Blue layer that is 3" x 3 1/4" using adhesive.  Then this is attached to the front flap of the card using adhesive.

The cute fox is die-cut from the Rain or Shine DSP using the coordinating dies.  Easy peasy.  The cloud was punched from Basic White using the Cloud Punch on page 153 in the Annual Catalog. The sentiment is stamped with Balmy Blue ink on it.  Then it's popped up on the card flap using Dimensionals.  The fox is also on Dimensionals and just barely over the cloud.  Some of the blue Pastel Adhesive-backed Sequins were added for a little rainy bling.

I haven't done any stamping inside the card.  I'll either save that for another day, or maybe just write out a note inside.  We'll see.  But wait, I'm not done yet...

I liked the last card so much, I sat back down and made another one.  This time I changed the background DSP to the umbrella print.  Thought that was really cute.  The fox is also changed for the bunny dancing in the rain.  Looking at these two cards together, I think I should have used the 'rainy-er' piece of the raindrop DSP print on the foxy card because she has an umbrella.  Oh well, maybe next time.  I really do think these cards came out so cute!  I wish this Rain or Shine DSP would be carrying over to the next catalog like the Playing in the Rain stamps and dies.  Oh well, I guess I can't have everything I want, now can I?  That means I have to be thankful for what I have and enjoy using it too!

Thanks for stopping by today to see what's new around here.  I've heard from some of you that your new Annual Catalog has arrived.  Woo Hoo!!  Hope you're having fun checking out everything that's new!  Please remember that you can't order anything from this new catalog until May 1st.  But you can still get some of your favorite retiring stamps, cardstock, ink, and embellishments until the end of April (if they are still in stock).  Some items are already sold out, so please don't wait too long.  Thank you!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Happiness Abounds WV Fun Fold Card

 Hello Friend,  I'm shocked that I haven't made a single post yet this month.  I have to admit it's been a little bit crazy around here, but really!  That's just way too long to go between postings.  I'm sorry I've been off the grid for two weeks.   I do have a nice fun fold for you today.  I've made a similar card to this before, but I never had a name for the fold before.  So that part is new.  Now about the old.  You know it's time for the new catalog to appear very soon, and that means so many of my favorite products are retiring.  Today's card uses some of those items that I'll miss a lot.  As of this moment, the items I'm sharing with you are still all available.  But I really have no idea how long they will last.  So if what I'm using today is still on your wish list, you might want to get a move on to make sure you can still get them!  That said, let's get to the stamping and creating part.

Here's my WV Fun Fold card for you.  As you can see it folds up to fit in regular envelopes, so there's not a problem looking for a different size.  The card starts with a base that measures 5 1/2" x 11".  This is scored at 1 3/4", 3 1/2", 5 1/4", and 7".  This is for the W fold of the card base.  I used Night of Navy for this piece.  There's also a piece of Night of Navy cardstock that measures 3" x 6" and this is scored at 3".  This will provide the V for the card.

Flirty Flamingo cardstock was used for the layers on the card.  These measure (4) 1 1/2" x 5 1/4", (2) 2 3/4" x 2 3/4", and lastly (1) 3 3/4" x 5 1/4".  For the Hues of Happiness DSP, you need (2) of the small print that measure 1 1/4" x 5", and (2) of the floral print with the navy background that measure 2 1/2" x 2 1/2".  Yes, that's a lot of measuring and cutting, but the card is worth it when you've got it finished.  

As you can see, I used another sheet of this awesome DSP to die-cut the additional floral pieces both for the front design and the inside of the card.  The coordinating Blossoming Happiness dies make it so easy to die-cut these images.

This picture gives you a much better look at the WV aspect of the card.

Two of the 1 1/2" x 5 1/4" pieces and the largest piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock were all embossed with one of the new Online Exclusive embossing folders - Basics 3D Folders that is a set of three.  Each of these embossing folders give you a totally different look and feel to your project.  I chose the one that sort of looks like an overall floral or starfish design depending on what I put with it.

After embossing these, the Flirty Flamingo layers get attached to the card front.  Panel one - embossed, panels two and three - plain, panel four - embossed, panel five - large embossed.  Still with me??  I attached my panels with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  Then the two square panels were attached to the 3" x 6" cardstock piece.

Next the Designer Paper panels were attached to the card front.  The two embossed panels have no DSP.  The two plain panels have the tiny print added to the center of the panel.  The two square panels are attached to the 3" x 6" sections.  

I die-cut the rest of the flowers and leaves on my last piece of Hues of Happiness DSP.  They were perfect for the card.  I chose a large Flirty Flamingo pink flower and a small Pool Party flower along with two of the leaf clusters for the focal point of the card.  I also chose a navy and a yellow flower to use inside the card.  The two flowers on the front were positioned then attached with either adhesive or a Dimensional for some depth.  

For the sentiment layer on the inside of the card, I started with a Basic White panel that measured 2 3/4" x 2 3/4".  The sentiment is from the Charming Sentiments set and is stamped with Night of Navy ink.  It's attached to the center of the back making sure that when the card is closed it doesn't show.  The yellow flower was tucked behind the top of the white panel and the navy one is layered on top of the flower and also over a little bit of the white.  This way it shows when the card is closed and just adds to the design on the front.

To add a little bling, three of the Adhesive-backed Pastel Sequins in the gold tone were attached at the bottom right corner on the back layer of the card.  With all the prints here, they are just a small, subtle addition to the card.

Remember, this mini catalog and the big Annual Catalog are only current through the end of April and that time is quickly approaching.  There are so many items retiring and I know I'll miss many of them.  The Happiness Abounds set and coordinating dies are on the retiring list along with the absolutely lovely Hues of Happiness DSP.  If you're interested, the time is running out quickly and they'll no longer be available.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Again, I apologize for not posting for two weeks.  My life really got away from me.  Just a little bit out of control.  lol  I hope you had a blessed Easter and are enjoying some nice spring weather.  Love to you all!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon