Lighting the Way Foliage Card

Greetings Friends!  Glad you stopped by today.  I'll be sharing a really gorgeous card with you today.  Well, at least I think it is.  I saw these colors used together on a card that I believe Mary Fish made.  Who would ever think that Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, and Pretty Peacock would turn out to be fabulous complimentary colors?  I don't think I would have ever thought to put these together - well maybe in the fall.  And this would be a great fall card!  But instead, I'm using it for right now!  Let's get to creating this card together.

We'll start with a base of Very Vanilla cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.  Next, cut another piece of Very Vanilla that measures 3 5/8" x 4 7/8".  This is what we're stamping on.

Using the largest branch stamp from the Lighting the Way stamp set (page 24), ink it with Crushed Curry then stamp it close to the left side just at the bottom.  Next ink the 2nd largest leafy branch from the set using Cajun Craze ink.  This is stamped just to the right of the previous branch.  Stamp it just a little lower than the first one so it will be going off the bottom of the cardstock.  Ink up the Crushed Curry stamp again and stamp to the right, leaving a space for another branch between and continue to stamp lower than the last branch.  Ink up the Cajun Craze stamp again and stamp at the right edge.  Now take the 3rd leafy stamp from the set.  Ink it with Pretty Peacock ink and stamp it in the center of the bottom of the card.

Here's where I went off-script from Mary Fish's card.  I added a small amount of Pretty Peacock ink to the bottom edge of the card front.  Using a Blending Brush and a very light touch, just blend in ink lightly on the bottom edge of the card.  The color barely comes up the sides maybe an 1".  I can't stress a light touch enough!  That means inking the Blending Brush then going on scrap paper to take off most of the ink before you even touch it on your card.  Better to have to add more color to get it dark enough, than trying to figure out how to get the color lighter!!

At this point, I decided to add a sun to the card also.  I die-cut a 1 1/2" circle from a piece of scrap computer paper.  This is partially laid over the top corner of the card.  I used a Blending Brush and Crushed Curry ink for the sun.  Reminder, this again needs a light touch on the ink!

Next comes the layering.  Pretty Peacock cardstock was cut to measure 3 3/4" x 5".  The stamped Vanilla layer is attached to this using Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  Then a layer of Crushed Curry was cut to measure 4 " x 5 1/4".  This was also attached to the other layers with the Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  I'm getting tired of calling it Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  I'm going to refer to it as "green glue" (because it has a green cap) from now on.  

After attaching these three layers together, a 6" piece of the new 2023-2024 In Color 3/8" Textured Ribbon in Copper Clay was attached across the card near the bottom edge and taped on the back of the layers.  These layers were added to the folded Very Vanilla card base.  For this step I used Dimensionals.  I love how this new In Color ribbon blends so nicely with the Cajun Craze ink.  

For a sentiment, I chose this one from the new Circle Sayings stamp set (page 17).  This is stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock with Pretty Peacock ink.  I had trouble finding a new die set that fit this stamp correctly, so I pulled out the Stitched Nested Labels that are retired.  I liked the look of this one.  It's die-cut, then the Blending Brush with Crushed Curry ink was barely blended on the edges.  The sentiment was then attached with Dimensionals.

The bling used here was sort of a surprise to me.  I had the 2023-2024 In Color Dots sitting on my work table.  This uses the Wild Wheat color gems and I love them with this card!

You know me, after making one card, I had to sit down and make another.  This one has just two changes.  Yes, I know, always tweaking my cards.  

The sentiment was attached to this card straight on.  Not sure which way I like it better.   What do you think?

The other change was using the Copper Clay 2023-2024 In Color Dots.  Which do you think work better?  I think I'm leaning towards the Wild Wheat accents for this card.  Or should I have gone with a gold or maybe a bronze-y or coppery color instead??  Help me out here with your thoughts.

Hope you like the new color combo used on these cards.  I was very surprised by how much I liked these colors together.  Give them a try and let me know what you think.

If you're planning on ordering soon, please use the Host Code shown at the top of this post.  You know I truly appreciate you supporting my business.  You're what keeps me going with the creating and crafting, then sharing these cards with others.  Thank you so much!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon