Country Birdhouse Friendship Card

 Hello my friends!  It's been too long since I posted, and I truly apologize for the absence.  We spent a week back in Michigan visiting friends and family.  That was so much fun!  Then we had the 11 hours on the road to get back home again.  That seemed to poorly affect each one of us that went of the trip.  I've spent the last two days recovering from the trip, but I think I'm back on track now.  All that said, it's time to share a card I made before the trip.  It uses the Country Birdhouse stamps and dies bundle but doesn't even use the birdhouse from the set.  I'll get around to that soon, I hope.  This turned out to be such a sweet card.  I hope you like the idea and give it a try.

My first thought was to use the gorgeous woodgrain DSP found in the coordinating Country Woods Designer Series Paper.  These woodgrain prints will be perfect for anything country, masculine, or beach themed.  In fact, today's card fits into the country theme and this print is a perfect fit.  

The card base is Misty Moonlight which is one of my favorites.  It's cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", then scored and folded in half.  I wanted to conserve my DSP print, so it's cut only 3" wide and 5 1/2" tall.  To frame it on the card front, I layered a piece of Moody Mauve behind it that measures 3 1/4" x 5 1/2".  These two are layered onto the card base using "green glue" to attach.  This gives me the canvas to create the card.

One of the Everyday Details Dies was used to cut a Basic White circle to anchor the design.  This die set is still available as an Online Exclusive item.  It is a wonderful basic set that you'll use over and over again.

The bird from the Country Birdhouse set was stamped in Misty Moonlight ink on a Basic White piece of cardstock.  Using a Blender Pen, the edges of the stamped bird were softened, pulling the color into the design.  A Daffodil Delight Marker was used to add color to the beak and feet.

Two sets of leaves from the Layering Leaves set were stamped on Basic White using Garden Green ink.  The detail on these was also softened with a Blender Pen.  These were punched out with the Boughs Punch.  There were also two sets of leaves punched from Garden Green cardstock to fill out the design.

Three of the tiny flowers from the Birdhouse set was stamped with Moody Mauve ink onto white also.  The Blender Pen was used to soften the color on these too.  A Daffodil Delight Marker was used to dot in the color for the flower center.

The bird and flowers were die-cut using the coordinating dies to the stamp set.  The hanger and bow were die-cut from Misty Moonlight cardstock.  Now it was time to get all the pieces together to put the design together.

The first thing was making sure the white design circle was in the right place so the bow and hanger would reach the top of the card.  These were both attached with adhesive.

The solid green leaves were placed and attached with adhesive.  Then the stamped leaves were carefully attached over these using adhesive.  

The bird was attached over the leaves using Dimensionals.  One of the flowers was tucked into the leaves.  The other two were added to the design using Mini Dimensionals.

The sentiment used here is from the same Country Birdhouse stamp set.  It's stamped with Misty Moonlight ink on a piece of Basic White cardstock that is about 3/4" in height.  The two ends were angle cut to give it a little different look.  It's added to the design using Dimensionals.

To add a little more interest, three of the 2023-2025 In Color Opaque Sparkle Dots were added to the design.  These are the Moody Mauve color to match the design.  If you look really closely, you can see the sparkle in the dots.

There you have it, a country looking friendship card.  If you need a specific type of card, you can easily switch out the sentiment for something that fits.  I'm definitely happy with the card design as is.

Thank you for being patient with me.  This is going to be an interesting summer with several different trips planned.  Though none of them will require so many hours of travel.  Whew.  I am so definitely NOT a good traveler.  I like being where I want to be, but not the traveling to get there and back.  But with one comes the other.  Guess I can't have it both ways.  So happy you stopped in today to see what's new.  I'll try to be more timely in my posting for now (at least until the next trip 😁).

If you're thinking of placing an order, I'd love to be your demonstrator.  Consider using the Host Code at the top of this blog page.  I'd greatly appreciate it!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Another Encircled in Nature Card

 Hello friends!  I just love the Thoughtful Journey Designer Series Paper.  I keep grabbing it to make cards that I need right away.  It's so easy to create a beautiful card when you're starting out with some beautiful, printed paper to begin the process.  Today's card is sort of a mix of the window style card and the pretty paper as a focal point.  Hmmm.  The card is for a gentleman that I've never met in person but have gotten to know through mail and email over the last year.  He's one of the shut-ins at church that has been conversing with me.  He's such a sweetheart and he's turning 90 this month.  Wow, what a milestone that is!!  I can't imagine living that long and seeing all he's seen.  Amazing!  I wanted to make a special card for him that has a strong masculine look to it.  He's mentioned that he loves the outdoors, so that was a starting point.  Here's what I created to celebrate him.

I chose a print from the Thoughtful Journey DSP, which set the color scheme for my card. I decided on the new Basic Beige as a suitable neutral for the card base, measuring 8 1/2" by 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.

Next came a layer of Boho Blue cardstock that harmonized well with the sky in the DSP print. It measures 3 7/8" by 5 1/8".  On top of this, I placed a small frame of Basic White cardstock, measuring 3 3/4" by 5".  I adhered these two layers together with adhesive, then attached them to the front of the card base with adhesive.

Next is a layer of the Basic Beige cardstock that measures 3 1/2" x 4 3/4".  This has a window cut in it using one of the dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies.  It's about 2 3/8" square and is lined up about 1" from the top of the piece.  This gives you lots of room for the sentiment underneath.

I cut a 3" x 3" piece from the Thoughtful Journey DSP print to use.  I attached this to the back of the window by using Dimensionals.  The layer is then attached to the card front with Dimensionals too.

Next the row of evergreen trees die in the Encircled in Nature Bundle was used to cut some Old Olive cardstock.  I thought this matched well with the evergreen in the print but needed just a little tweaking.  Using a Small Blender Brush, I added touches of Mossy Meadow in several areas to bring in some of the darker green look.  Using adhesive on just the left tree and the bottom areas of all the rest, the trees were added to the card front.  The tops of all the other trees are loose and stand out from the print.  If you're looking for this bundle, you can find it only in the Online Exclusives area of the shopping sight.  You don't want to miss it.

Next comes the sentiment.  Okaaay.  I was sure I wrote all the information down for the card while I was making it.  But somehow, I missed adding the sentiment stamp set to the list.  I just spent 20 minutes looking through stamp sets to figure this out and came up with nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  There were several similar sentiments, but just not the one I actually used.  Sorry!  I have absolutely no idea what set this sentiment comes from.   I would suggest finding a stamp that fits the space and the occasion and use it.  I stamped the sentiment onto Basic Beige with Boho Blue ink.  There is a Boho Blue piece of cardstock that is layered behind this.

I wanted a bit of bling but not too much because this is a guy card after all.  The birds from the Brushed Brass Birds and Dragonflies I added were a nice touch.  Just enough to draw the attention, but not too girlie.

Big reminder here!  Free Shipping on Tuesday May 21st only.  Your order must total $75 or more to qualify for the free shipping.  Enjoy your shopping and stock up on some basics or even new sets or bundles.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Happy Sunday!

Hello my friends!  Hope you are having a terrific Sunday.  It's always a good day when you can start it out at church praising Jesus for all His goodness and grace.  This morning was a little different though.  The children presented a musical play portraying both Daniel in the lions' den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  There were some glitches and laughs, but all in all the kids did a great job sharing the stories.  What an interesting way have a church service.  

This afternoon I was in the mood to create with the new Layers of Beauty Bundle and the coordinating Layers of Beauty Decorative Masks.  I tried making something with this yesterday, but it was just a little too bright for my tastes.  So today, I worked on a pastel version of my original card.  Oh, my goodness!!  I just love how it turned out and wanted to share it with you right away.

I started with 1/4 sheet of Basic White cardstock.  The large floral image in the Layers of Beauty stamp set was stamped onto this using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The white layer had just a smidgen of adhesive in two of the corners to hold it in place for the stenciling.  Each of the Masks has a number in the corner to make it easier to color the design in the correct order.  The 1st Mask was held in place with a small piece of Washi Tape on opposite corners.  I used a Blending Brush with Lemon Lolly ink for the first layer on the roses.  The little flowers got a light layer of Fresh Freesia ink.

Lift off the Mask and place the 2nd Mask with another couple tiny pieces of Washi Tape.  This time I switched to Daffodil Delight and added a very light layer.  Another layer of Fresh Freesia went on the little flowers.

Change Masks to #3.  This was another layer of Daffodil Delight ink on the roses.  I made it a little darker for the inner part of the roses.  For the little flowers, I used Daffodil Delight on the flower centers.

Mask #4 was a light layer of Granny Apple Green on all the leaves.

Mask #5 was a darker layer of Granny Apple Green for the shading and detail on the leaves.  Looked good to me so the floral image was die-cut with the coordinating die and set aside until I was ready for it.

Checking the roses against cardstock colors, I chose to use Lemon Lolly for the card base.  I die-cut a 1/4 sheet of Basic White with the 2nd largest Deckled Rectangle die.  I was going to leave the layer plain, but decided a little embossing would add to the design.  Of course, I used the new Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder for this.  (yep, I'm hooked on this!)  There is also a small amount of speckling added using the Granny Apple Green Marker.  Then it was attached centering it on the Lemon Lolly card base using "green glue".

I decided to cut off a section of the rose design to save for the inside of the card.  The larger piece is attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  It is flowing off the white layer to overlap some of the Lemon Lolly base.

The sentiment is from the Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set.  It's stamped on a 3/4" strip of Basic White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  A small piece of Lemon Lolly cardstock was cut to layer this.  They are attached together with adhesive.  Then attached to the card front using two Dimensionals.

The bling added to this card are the Iridescent Foil Gems.  These are so pretty and have just a hint of a purple/berry color in the tinsel inside the gems.  It was like it was made to go together with this card.

Here's the inside of the card.  The Basic White layer measures 5" x 3 3/4" and is attached with adhesive.  The little floral spray that was cut from the original image is added here.  It's attached with adhesive.  I think it's the perfect touch for the inside of this card.  It really could have stayed as part of the front design, but I kinda like it here.

Hope you love this Layers of Beauty Bundle and coordinating Decorative Masks.  Don't be intimidated by them.  They really are easy to use.  My one really big tip is to start adding the color lightly through the masks.  You can always add more if you want a bolder color.  But once that color is on there, you can't take it off.  My first attempt was overly dark for my tastes.  Hopefully, I'm still going to work it onto a card design, and I may find I totally love it.  We'll see.

Just a quick reminder about the free shipping on Tuesday May 21st on any order of $75 or over.  Don't miss out on the savings!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

P.S.  I almost forgot to mention cleaning the Masks.  I wiped them down with a damp cloth when I was finished using them.  Easy peasy.  They're now ready to go for the next project.

Use Up Those Bits and Pieces

Hello again.  I mentioned yesterday at the end of the post that I'd share the card made from the leftover pieces that were die-cut to make the card for that day.  I made a quick card that uses those bits as promised and I added a few more bits and pieces that I had sitting around.  Let's get creative.

This card is all based on the two pieces of the Delightful Floral Designer Series Paper that was the focus on yesterday's design.  They were originally cut out with the 2nd largest rectangular die from the Nested Essentials Die set.  

To match the DSP, I chose to base my card on a piece of Fresh Freesia cardstock to pull out that color from the DSP.  There is a Basic White layer that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  To add interest, this piece was embossed with the new Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder.  Seems like I tend to grab this one whenever I want an embossed layer lately.  It's just such a pretty pattern to tuck behind your designs.  After embossing, it was attached to the card base with "green glue".

After playing around with the two pieces trying to place them this way and that, I decided it needed another piece of DSP in the mix to balance the design.  There was another piece of the same DSP but in a Fresh Freesia shade that was perfect.  It measures 4" x 1 1/2".  This is attached down the center of the card front using adhesive.  

The two rectangular pieces of DSP were staggered on the front and attached with adhesive also.

The sentiment was a little tricky.   I wanted something that fit the design and wasn't too big.  I loved the size of this little sentiment.  And it fit right onto this interesting sort of rectangle.  Both the sentiment and die are from the Wonderful Thoughts Bundle.  Perfect.  The sentiment was stamped with Pretty Peacock ink in the center.  Then it was added to the design using two Dimensionals to attach it.

There were two butterflies cut from Fresh Freesia cardstock using the Meadow Dies.  These are attached with a Mini Dimensional under the body part of each butterfly.  

For a little bling on the card, I used three of the Purple Fine Shimmer Gems in the berry color.  Two of the smaller gems are attached to the bodies of the butterflies.  The larger gem is attached at the bottom of the design.

That's it for this design using up the leftovers from other card designs.  I know you all have those bits that are too good to throw away, but if not used they start piling up to a formidable stack.  Don't forget to through them every once in a while, and then play around creating with these odd bits and pieces.  It can be a lot of fun and you never know what fabulous design you'll create!

A big heads-up people!!  Stampin' Up! is having another free shipping day on Tuesday May 21st only!!  You must order at least $75 to get the free shipping.  If you've been considering placing an order, why not wait until the 21st?  Combine some new stamps/bundles along with cardstock, ink, and or other goodies and take advantage of the free shipping.  You can always combine your order with a friend if you can't spend that much.  Happy shopping!!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Peek A Boo Windows and More

Hello friends!  I've just gotten back from our trip to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.  Oh my!  How fascinating and a truly thought-provoking couple of days.   It was amazing to visit the ark and get a glimpse of what life might have been for these eight people and all those animals.  Just the work of feeding and watering each of them each day would have been so time consuming.  If you ever have a chance to visit these two places, please go.  You'll be amazed, but hopefully enlightened too.  Okay, I came home wanting to make a thank you card for my grandson's teacher for allowing me to tag along on this class trip.  Well before the trip, I had seen a couple videos that featured this style of card that was new to me.  Of course, I forgot to save the videos for future reference.  Duh.  So... that means I'm sharing my version of the cards that I saw a week or two ago.  Here we go...

When spending a little time talking to his teacher, she mentioned she liked flowers a lot.  So this is the card I made first.  I love this pretty Delightful Floral DSP.  I needed a DSP print that the front and back sides coordinated nicely, because both would be showing on the card.  The DSP measures 10 1/2" long x 4" wide.  If you have a print that is directional like this one, make sure it is cut up and down so the print is correct on the finished card.  You also need a coordinating piece of cardstock that measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" for the card base.  I used Fresh Freesia cardstock for this design. 

After folding the DSP in half, I used the 2nd largest rectangle die from the Nested Essentials Dies set.  The die was positioned about 1" from the top fold.  It cut through both layers of DSP at once.

Next the folded DSP was attached to the Fresh Freesia cardstock piece using adhesive.  Watch out for the directional pattern!  You should be able to see the Fresh Freesia cardstock from the card base showing through the window at this point.

The sentiment comes from the Irresistible Blooms stamp set.  It's stamped with Pretty Peacock onto a scrap of Basic White cardstock that measured about 2 3/4" x 2 1/2".  I used one of the many dies in the Unbounded Love Die set.  (this is an awesome set and will be a staple in my crafting!)  It was attached to the inside of the card through the window to make sure it's centered.  I used Dimensionals to add this piece.

I had a sheer ribbon that is Fresh Freesia colored that matched nicely, so it was wrapped around the front layer and tied into a soft knot.

This is the inside of the card which shows the other side of the DSP.  You can see where the ribbon was tied around the card and also the card base showing through with the label on top of it.

A butterfly was cut from Fresh Freesia cardstock using the Meadow Die set.  (I'll probably never let this die set go because I love the silhouette dies in the set so much!)  The butterfly is only attached by one of the wings because it overlaps the sentiment area.

One of the Adhesive-backed Pearl Trio gems was added for a little bit of bling.  I thought about adding more, but it just got too busy for my taste.

I was on a roll with this style of card, so I thought I'd do another one to have on hand.  This time I used the Winter Meadow DSP as my inspiration.  The DSP is cut a 10 1/2" x 4" again.  This print was much more forgiving, and it could go in any direction.  The same Nested Essentials die was used to cut through both layers of DSP like the last card.  It was attached to a card base of Blueberry Bushel cardstock that measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4".

Because the inside of the card was a rather dark blue watercolor look, I added a layer of Basic White inside that measures 5" x 3 3/4".  It's attached inside with adhesive.  One of the pieces of DSP that were die-cut was used to add the blue layer inside the window of the card.

The same sentiment and die were used for the center of the window on this card too.  This time it was stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink.  It's attached with Dimensionals to the blue DSP.

There is a sparkly light blue ribbon tied around the card front.  The color is Seaside Spray for those of you that have been around a good number of years.  It really isn't a matchy-matchy color, but it seemed to work.  I almost went with a white ribbon, but this one was sitting there needing some love and attention, so why not use it?

The same butterfly from the Meadow Die set was used to cut one little Blueberry Bushel butterfly.  It's carefully attached to the card front so no adhesive shows on the inside.  Another of those Adhesive-backed Pearl Trio gems was used on this card.  They each have such an interesting, multi-toned pearlized color that blends with many of the cardstock colors we have.

Two cards made quite quickly.  One to use now and another one for later.  It's always a good thing to have extra cards on hand when the need arises.  I hope you're interested in this fun fold card idea. It's a quick design for a beautiful card.  You can change the sentiments and designer paper to cover any occasion.  Just remember to ensure both sides of the DSP coordinate together.  And be mindful of any directional prints you might have on the paper.  You certainly don't want to get your beautiful card finished and find the print is sideways or upside down.  Enjoy!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Courage and Faith Card

 Hello my friends!  Things are sunny and quite hot outside today.  If it's this hot in May, what's it going to be like in August?  Sounds like I'll be spending time inside, a lot!  That will give me more time to stamp and create my cards.  That's a good thing, right?  Today's card was made with the new Unbounded Beauty Designer Series Paper as the starting point.  Basically, I had a piece of this print cut already, so I built the whole card around the DSP.  Not a bad way to proceed. 

Isn't this a pretty print with all the differing shades of pink here?  My accent colors are Berry Burst, Bubble Bath, and Basic White.  I think these colors blended together to make a striking looking card.

To start, there is a card base of Berry Burst which measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored and folded in half as usual.  The pink layer is Bubble Bath cardstock which measures 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the card base with adhesive. On top of this is the layer of Unbounded Beauty DSP that measures 5" x 3 3/4".  This layer is centered on the card front and attached with adhesive.  

Next was deciding what kind of sentiment would work on the card.  I really like the Courage & Faith stamp set and have used it many times so that was my choice.  I haven't used it with the Countryside Corners Die set that would be the perfect shape to fit the sentiment.  I used the 5th largest die to cut a piece of Bubble Bath cardstock.  Then used the 4th largest die to cut a Basic White layer to accent the sentiment.

The sentiment was stamped onto the Bubble Bath layer using Berry Burst ink.  Then the Bubble Bath layer was attached to the center of the Basic White layer using adhesive.  I tried this on the card, but it needed something else to define it.

I had a 1/4" strip of the DSP left over from trimming down the side of the piece.  I thought about layering it with the Bubble Bath, but that wasn't enough.  So, I added a strip of Berry Burst cardstock along with those two and that worked out perfectly.  The three layers are attached about 1 1/2" from the bottom of the DSP.  The layers are all attached with adhesive.

The sentiment layers are then attached over the accent strip with multiple Dimensionals.  This is not centered on the card front, but off to the side.  

For a little added interest, two small butterflies were added to the sentiment layer.  These are a lovely, shimmery cardstock, but I'm not sure where this paper actually came from.  The butterflies were already cut, so not sure what was used whether a punch or die. It matched, so it was used.  Don't you have a container with those little bits of extra goodies floating around that you aren't sure where exactly they came from, but are just what you needed?  Sometimes my container is sort of overflowing, but I can usually find just the perfect piece to use no matter where it originated.

There you have the latest card in my stash to mail out to friends and family.  Hope you like this idea.  I don't know why I never used the Countryside Corners dies for this stamp set before, but this won't be the last time.  The dies fit perfectly with the sentiment and are so pretty framed up with the next size larger die.  Hope you give this a try.

Thank you for sharing some time with me today.  Hope you're doing well and finding time to create.  It's good for mental health, right??

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Butterflies and Lavender Collection

Hello folks.  Today's post is a little different than some.  I came across a package of the Paper Accents Butterflies which are a carryover in the current Annual Catalog.  I challenged myself to make four cards using the different butterflies.  To make it more interesting, I had a package of the Perennial Lavender DSP sitting out and decided to use this on each of the cards along with the butterflies.  This was so much fun.  The idea of using most of the same products but trying to make each one of the cards look and feel different.  Hmmm.  It was a little tricky and challenging, but it was an enjoyable afternoon creating.  So, I think I met my challenge.  What do you think?

There are four different prints from the same DSP pack.  Each card has a butterfly on it. There are three different ribbons that were used.  Two different sets are used for the sentiments.  Five different colors of cardstock were used.  Each card is a mix of old (retired) and new (current) products, so you can see that many retired items work perfectly well with the new colors too.

Would you like to see each one a little closer?  Carry on then.  Each one is pictured and has a short list of the materials used in case you want to give some of these cards a try.  

This is the first one I made.  This isn't the first time I've used this print, so it was the most comfortable print to work with.  I was experimenting with the new Basic Beige cardstock which I love.  The card base is Highland Heather.  I wasn't sure how the Basic Beige would work with this, but because of the background of the print, it worked out quite well.   First layer is Basic Beige that measures 5 1/4" x 4 1/4".  The right edge has about 1/4" or so ripped off.  Next is a layer of the Perennial Lavender DSP that measured 5 1/8" x 4".  The right edge is ripped to make it just a little smaller.  They're attached together with adhesive.  A retired Highland Heather & White striped ribbon is wrapped around and tied into a knot.

The sentiment is from the Unbounded Love Bundle in the Annual Catalog (pg 54).  It's stamped on Basic Beige cardstock with Gorgeous Grape ink.  It's die cut with the coordinating die and attached with some Mini Dimensionals.  There's a 1/4" x 3" piece of Highland Heather Glitter Paper tucked under the sentiment.  There are three of the purple Glossy Dots Assortment added for a little extra interest.  And of course, the butterfly.

This is another one of the gorgeous prints from the Perennial Lavender DSP.  It has a very serene look to it, so I thought it would be a perfect get-well type card.  After trying several colors to back this print, I chose Summer Splash for this card.  The card base is Basic White to coordinate with the white butterfly and the white square cut with the Stylish Shapes dies.  

The sentiment is from the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Die and Embossing Folder set.  I used Pool Party cardstock and Pretty Peacock ink that is added to the embossing folder to stamp it.  Cool.  It's stamped, embossed, and die cut all at the same time.

A sheer retired Pool Party ribbon is wrapped around and tied into a bow.  The white square is tipped to be a diamond shape and the sentiment is added with adhesive. Then it's attached with Dimensionals over the ribbon.   This time a larger butterfly was used.  There are three Ombre Matte Decorative Dots in the Pool Party color added to finish.

I love this print, but it was a struggle to decide what to put with it.  This has a Highland Heather card base again.  The layer is Basic White that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  To give it a skinny white frame, the DSP was cut a little larger than normal.  It measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  They are attached with adhesive.  Then a Highland Heather sheer ribbon from several years ago is wrapped around the layers and tied in a knot at the side.  Then the layers are attached to the card base using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is a different one from the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid die and embossing folder.  The same colors are used here too - Pool Party cardstock and Pretty Peacock ink.  To help them stand out from the card, a 5/8" x 3 1/2" strip of Basic White was used.  The sentiment is attached with adhesive to the white, then it's attached to the card front with Dimensionals.

The same butterfly was used but it was flipped over to face the other direction.  Several more of the Ombre Matte Decorative Dots were used again for this card.  I think they show up quite nicely here.

The last card of the four just might be my favorite of them all.  For this one, I used a smaller piece of DSP, only 4" x 2 5/8".  This was cut with the Radiating Stitches die set.  It's attached to a piece of Gorgeous Grape cardstock that measures 4 1/8" x 2 3/4".

The base of the card is Basic White with a 5 1/4" x 4" layer of Basic White cardstock on top of it.   The layer is embossed with the new Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder which is so pretty.  The layer is attached to the card using "green glue" because it works so well holding embossed layers together.

The DSP layer is attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  The sentiment is another one from the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Die and Embossing Folder.  This time I used Gorgeous Grape for the ink color, and it's "stamped" on Basic White cardstock.

This card uses another of the largest butterflies from the pack.  I like that the butterfly is out over the edge of the layer looking like it's just flying past.  The gems are new in the Annual Catalog - Adhesive-backed Pearl Trio.  These colors are gorgeous and rather iridescent.  This helps them to match and blend with multiple colors.  They are very rich and elegant looking.

Well, that was a fun way to spend my day.  Hope you liked the ideas and were inspired to make a batch of coordinating cards too.  If you start with one pack of DSP that you love, there's just so many possibilities when it comes to creating.  How many ideas can you come up with?  Let me know what you're creating.  I love to hear from you.  If you have any questions or I can help you in any way, please get in touch with me!  Hope to hear from you soon!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Birthday Bonanza

Hello my friends!  As many of you know, my birthday was last week Sunday.  Not giving away my age though!  But I do want to share a quick look at all the handmade cards that were sent to me be my lovely and thoughtful friends.  There are some very unique cards in the batch, and they're all beautiful.  Thank you for pouring your time and talents into your cards and then gifting them to me.  Cards were showing up about one or two a day for a couple of weeks.  But I think this is the end.  I didn't want to miss out on sharing any of them so you could enjoy them too.  Let the parade of birthday cards begin...

Created by Diane Wallace

Cute fun fold card. I can't believe she fussy cut all those birds and branches!  Just Fabulous!

Created by Jean Mazurek

More of those fussy cut birds!  Love them!  And thanks for the note inside too.

Created by Judy Bur

So serene in blue and white!  Lovely look.

Created by Jan Hollmann

Isn't this such a cool alcohol-ink background?  The black silhouette is just perfect for this!  Very dramatic.

Created by Connie Juengel

So feminine and lacy looking!  So very peachy!  So me!

Created by Sue Fabris

I wish you could see this in person.  The colors are so soft and delicate.  And the design is awesome!  This is a real wow!

Just another peek at how the card is made.

Created by Anita Wright

You are the Cricut Queen!  This card is 6" x 6" when it's closed and thick like a book.  But wait...

Look at the cool inside of the card!  Love it!  Love the rainbow of butterflies.

Created by Shirley Krone

Very Dramatic!  Thank you so much for sending the letter too.  Your travels are worthy of those awesome photo books you make.  

Created by Kathy Hintz

So gold and ivory.  Always an elegant combo.

Sent by Barb Collins

Hmmm, this looks familiar.  Thanks Barb.

Created by Roxanne Owen

She made a fun fold card that's so pretty.

Created by Diane Wallace

I started and ended with Diane's cards.  This one is not a birthday card, but it came at just the right time and was too pretty to ignore.  I really love the yellows mixed with the magenta butterflies!  What a standout card!

Thank you, ladies, for your fabulous cards.  It really made my birthday special getting each one of these.  You're all so talented and creative.  Love you all so very much!

Hope you didn't mind going through all these cards.  I'm sure you might fine an idea or two tucked in among these cards.  I have to admit though, each of these cards is more beautiful in person than the photos can show.  There's just something special getting the mail in and opening it to find one of these treasures!    Thank you for stopping by today to see what's new here.  The regular programming will resume shortly.  😄

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon Carr

Fun Fold with Designer Paper

Hello, hello!  Here we are into May already.  A full quarter of this year has already slipped by.  Whew!  And we're really gearing up for Travel Baseball season where we're on the road a lot of weekends.  This weekend isn't too bad - a little less than an hour to get there.  This isn't a time to forget things you might need because you can't run home quick to get it!  So, every time we go it consists of packing a cooler with water or pop, lawn chairs, sunscreen for me, snacks, etc.  Sounds like we're packing for a trip!  Enough of that.  On to stamping.  It's that time of month for me to get the cards made to send to the shut-ins.  I made an easy fun fold card that shows off both side of the Designer Series Paper.  Liked it so much, I made multiples.  Then I tried it with different DSPs to see how different they would look.  Oh my, with each change of DSP, the rest of the card ended up going through a make-over too.  Let me share what I did.

I wanted to try out the new Unbounded Beauty DSP, so that is what I started with.  This print looked like it needed a good dose of white to off-set the color, so I started with a base of Basic White cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  The length of this was trimmed to 6" long, scored at 4 1/4" and folded.

I cut the DSP in half across the 12" width.  Pay attention to the design of the paper.  You want your design going up and down.  And make sure the back side of the print compliments the front.  The DSP is cut 3" wide.  You need to cut the extra 1/2" from the bottom of this, so it measures 5 1/2".  Keep this to use later on the design.

I added adhesive to the very right edge of the Basic White folded over front of the card.  Line up the DSP along the open right side of the card and have both top and bottom edges even then attach to the area that is taped.  This gives you a full-size card and when opened shows the other DSP print.

The next step is cutting a 5 1/4" x 1" strip of cardstock that will fit in the open area on the left.  I used the new Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder to add interest to this piece.  Then it's attached to the card front.  I used "green glue" for this because I find it works very well holding an embossed design to my card.  

The sentiment on my card is from the So Sincere stamp set.  It's stamped on a 2 1/2" x 1" piece of Basic White using the new Petunia Pop ink.  Such a fun, plummy color!  It reminds me of Sweet Sugarplum that was a few years back, but has a richer look to it.

There is a 6" piece of the new Petunia Pop 3/8" Bordered Ribbon from the new Annual Catalog.  It is loosely folded in half and added behind the sentiment.  The sentiment layer is attached with Dimensionals.

The inside of the card is finished off to bring the design on the front inside.  A Basic White layer is cut 3" x 5".  The 1/2" strip left over from the card front is attached to the bottom area of the white. This is all attached to a Petunia Pop layer that measures 3 1/4" x 5 1/4".  Then they are attached to the center of the inside of the card.  Isn't it a pretty addition that coordinates with the DSP on the left?

After finishing the card, I felt it needed something else added.  I took the spiky leaf die from the Painted Lavender set and die-cut a piece of the new Summer Splash cardstock.  I added adhesive partially to the back of it and tucked it in under the ribbon area.  I liked it so much better.  Then I added a pinkish sequin from the Adhesive-backed Shiny Sequins to the sentiment label.  I loved how this turned out.  I was able to make 4 of these cards with 1/2 sheet of DSP. 

Since I liked this look, I thought I'd try the idea with a piece of Simply Zinnia DSP.   So pretty!  I used the embossing folder that coordinates on the side of this.  The sentiment is from Simply Zinnias and stamped with Melon Mambo ink.  The cardstock piece measures about 5/8" x 4".  The frosted dots are from a few years back, but I liked the pink and yellow colors.

Inside is a layer of Lemon Lime Twist because I like how it goes with the backside of the DSP.  Easy peasy, another 4 cards were finished.

Spoiler alert!  The next card uses some current products, but a lot of retired items are thrown in because they worked!  Don't look if you only want new!!

Next, I tried the Painted Lavender suite of products.  I thought the Crumb Cake cardstock worked well with this DSP print.  An old, retired Meadows Embossing Folder was used for the 1" strip.

For some reason, I just love the spiky leaf stem and die-cut both Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather pieces.  Then I switched to the floral stem and cut one from the Soft Shimmer Paper Combo Pack.  I also die-cut a few tiny butterflies from this paper.

The label is from the Meadows dies.  It's cut from the new Basic Beige cardstock and stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink using a sentiment from the Quiet Meadow stamp set.  Dimensionals were used to attach it to the card front.

A double bow using Linen Thread is attached to the sentiment with a Mini Glue Dot.  Three Purple Fine Shimmer Gems are attached to finish the card.

There you have a slew of ideas using this easy Fun Fold card idea.  I just tried to find an all-over print that had an interesting and coordinating back side to make these.  Really, the ideas are endless if you have double-sided designer paper like Stampin' Up! has.  Have fun coming up with your own combos with the stash you have at home, or you can always order new DSP through me!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon