Embossed Trees for Christmas

Hello my friends!  Today's card is an idea that I had as soon as I saw the new Painted Trees Embossing Folder.  Surprisingly, it was very quick and easy to make.  And it turned out pretty much the way I envisioned it.  That sure doesn't happen too often!  I really like the looks of it finished, but I still want to try the same idea with several different green tones.  That might necessitate changing the card base color to match.  So, I might end up with an entirely different looking card.  But that's for another day and another post (but only if it works out ok).

For this card, I started with the Basic White cardstock.  It measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This was embossed with the Painted Trees Embossing Folder.  This folder is found in the September - December Mini Catalog.  It's shown as part of a suite of products, but it does just great standing on its own.

For the color on the trees, I used a Water Painter and Soft Seafoam ink refill first.  The color is just dabbed on the raised tree images, not painted solidly.  This already gave me a couple different green tones depending on the concentration of the ink.

The greens were not dark enough yet, so Garden Green ink was added to them.  Again, I was just dabbing on the color with the Water Painter, so the colors are very mottled with different depths of color.

Next, to add a little color into the sky area, I used a Pool Party Dark Blending Pen to flick colorful speckles on the card.  In the pictures you can see them better on the left side of the card.  The speckles are quite a light color but add just enough color, so the sky doesn't look too stark.

The sentiment is from the Greetings of the Season which is one of the Online Exclusive items available now.  It's stamped with Real Red ink to give it a pop of contrasting color on the card.

Next a Real Red card base was cut that measured 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4" and folded in half.  This is all I planned to do with the card.  But a piece of Silver Foil was out on my desk.  I just slid it between the two layers and wow.  This was such a lovely addition I had to use it.   A piece of Silver Foil was cut to measure 5 3/8" x 4 1/8".  This was just the perfect tiny frame peeking out between the layers!  Before attaching the layers together, I die-cut a rectangle from the center because I couldn't bear to waste all that lovely silver.  So now I have a perfect layer for another card.  

The embossed layer was attached to the silver layer using "green glue" to hold.  Then the glue was used again to attach the silver to the folded red card.  The sparkly embellishments used here are my favorite standby - the Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  This time I sprinkled five of them throughout the sky area to represent stars or maybe snowflakes.

Like I said earlier, this is a quick and easy card to make.  The embossing folder really does the work of defining the trees for you.  Of course, you can use other colors to suit your tastes.  But I'm really happy with this first foray of using the Painted Trees Embossing Folder.  Hope you try this idea out.  I'd love to hear what colors you used and what you thought about the technique.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Easy Layout Two Ways

Hello people!  Hope you're having a good week.  We're back to rainy weather and it's definitely cooler.  You can really feel the difference in the temperature.  That 10 - 20 degree difference from a week or so ago really changes things.  That means autumn is here as far as I'm concerned, so all the pumpkins need to come out and the summer displays need to be packed away for another year.  I really love autumn when you have the crispness in the air and all those wonderful colors displayed on the trees.  Definitely God's handiwork!

When I was wandering around Pinterest, I came across a card sketch that really appealed to me.  (Yes, I spend way too much time there!)  I sat down and made one card from the sketch.  Then couldn't help myself, I made another one just changing the colors.  Basically, I used the Golden Greenery suite for both cards, and I think both of them are simply gorgeous!  You can only find this suite of products in the Online Exclusive area of the Stampin'Up! shop.  Make sure you check it out.

Neither of them shows up as gorgeous and bold as they do in person.  You'll have to take my word for it, or else make these two cards yourself.  You can stamp right along with me.

I started with the green and gold card first.  All the main parts of this card are the different prints of this DSP.  They all look so perfect together on this card.  The base of the card is Old Olive that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

Next is a beautiful layer of the Season of Green & Gold Designer Series Paper.  I love this green print with all the colors of green and sketched out with gold.  How elegant!

The green/gold print layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  There are three strips of another green print with sketchy stripes next.  These are cut to measure 5 1/4" x 1/2".  These three strips are attached across the center of the card as shown using adhesive.   Then this layer is attached to the card front with adhesive.

A piece of Old Olive cardstock was cut next.  It measures 3" x 3".  To add to this layer, a piece of a 3rd print of the DSP was cut to measure 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" and is attached to the Old Olive layer with adhesive.  This print is a darker mottled two-tone green print that I thought worked well for the base of the "greenery".

Two greenery dies from the Golden Greenery Bundle were used here.  The larger round-leafed stem was cut from Gold Foil.  The smaller stem was cut from another print (4th) from the Season of Green & Gold DSP. There is a die that matches the print perfectly to make it easy. After cutting these, the gold stems were attached to the square layer using "green glue" on just the parts that will touch the square base.  The green stem was attached with several Mini Glue Dots under the leaves, but with "green glue" on the stem.

A small bow was made from the Gold & Silver Trim Combo in the Annual Catalog.  It was attached over the stems with a Mini Glue Dot.  Then the entire square was attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

The sentiment comes from Shepherd's Care stamp set.  It's stamped on a 1/2" strip of Basic White using Old Olive ink.  It's trimmed to fit under the leaves and attached with adhesive.  

There are three gold sequins scattered for some bling.  They are from the Neutrals Adhesive-backed Sequins.

That's the first card.  On to the elegant gold and vanilla card.

The first change is using Very Vanilla for the card base.  Next is a layer of another (5th) print from the Season of Green & Gold DSP.  This measures the same as the previous card.  There are the same three strips added across the card base this time in Gold Foil to accent.  

The Very Vanilla and Gold Foil squares are the same measurements as the first card.  The larger leafy stem is die-cut from Very Vanilla, and the smaller stem is cut from Gold Foil using a different die from the same set.  They are attached the same way.

The sentiment is from the Everyday Greetings set that is an Online Exclusive item.  The piece of Very Vanilla cardstock measures 7/8" x 2 3/4".  I used Pecan Pie to stamp the sentiment.

For this card I used three Adhesive-back Sparkle Gems as an accent.  The ribbon is a retired Vanilla & Gold Ribbon that I had on hand.  

This layout is really quite simple.  I have a notebook that I keep adding layouts that I like for future reference.  It comes in handy when I'm kind of stumped for an idea.  Hope this gives you some ideas and gets you stamping.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Lavender and Butterflies

Hello and happy Saturday.  We have a perfect day out here and the boys ae playing a baseball tournament just a little too far away for us old folks.   We're paying attention to the play-by-play on GameChanger so we can see how they're doing.  They tied their first game this morning and are just starting the second game.  Oh, you didn't come here for game information?  Okay, we'll get back to card making instead.  On Thursday I met with four ladies, and we made the cards for the shut-ins.  Two were totally new and didn't even know how to use a tape runner.  But they jumped right in, and we all had a great time.  I had prepped for two cards that were the same layout but used different colors.  Thought you might like to see both of them.  Here's the first version.

Start with a card base of Highland Heather cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored and folded in half as usual.

There is cut a layer of the same color next that measures 5" x 3 3/4".

Next is the Perennial Lavender Designer Series Paper.  There are three strips of three different prints on each card.  The strips all measure 1" x 4".  The three strips are attached to the layer of Highland Heather.  Two of the strips are attached closer to the left side and one closer to the right side.  This makes them staggered with about a 1/2" overlap on each side as shown.

After the three strips were attached to the layer, it was embossed with the Dashing Designs 3D Embossing Folder.  This gives the whole layer a wonderful texture, even the DSP.  This layer was attached to the card base using Dimensionals to raise it up.

The sentiment for the cards comes from the Layering Leaves stamp set.  It's stamped onto Crumb Cake cardstock using Gorgeous Grape ink.  The sentiment is punched out with the Heartfelt Hexagon Punch.  This is attached to the center of the card front using Dimensionals.  

The final touches on the card really make it stand out.  The butterfly is one of the Paper Butterfly Accents that come already die-cut.  You just pop them out and add some adhesive to attach it.  Easy peasy.  For this butterfly, I used a Mini Glue Dot under the body to hold it in place.

There are also three gems added from the Tinsel Gems Three-Pack.  I used the light purple gems, but it was fun seeing the ladies choose other colors or even one of each color to add to the design.  It's funny that all three of the colors looked really pretty on this card.

Are you ready for the next version of this card?

The next batch of cards used the very same layout and stamp set, but they look so different because of the colors and the DSP used.  

I started with Old Olive for the base and layer.  I used the Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper for cards with a more masculine feel.  The DSP is retired, but this just looked like a good choice for this card design.

The whole layer is embossed with the same folder as the first card.  I just love the overall texture you get with this folder.

The sentiment from Layering Leaves was used again.  This time it is stamped on Crushed Curry cardstock using Early Espresso ink.

One of the open-work leaves from the set was stamped on Crushed Curry with Early Espresso ink then punched with the Bough Punch.  An extra leaf was punched from Mossy Meadow cardstock to accent the design.  

For embellishments on the card, this time I used the Adhesive-backed Textured Dots.  These look sort of old gold or maybe bronze, so I thought they'd be a good addition.

All in all, we put together 24 cards.  The insides were all finished and signed by all.  Then they were tucked into envelopes, stamped, and ready to go.  One of the ladies even offered to go to the Post Office to drop them off so I didn't have to.  So helpful!

I think these cards will cheer up the people that receive them.  Now it's time to start planning the cards for next month.  Yep, I'm thinking fall here.  Which way should I go here?  Pumpkins?  Spiders? Leaves?  Scary?  Sweet?  Silly?  So many choices!  You have any suggestions or ideas??

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you enjoyed these cards.  I love embossing for the added texture on designs, but I seldom think about embossing the DSP too. And this design is a terrific way to use up those beautiful DSP strips that you just can't throw away.  Bonus!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Unbounded Beauty Card

Hello Friends!  I've been busy getting the cards ready to mail to the shut-ins here at church.  I'm so excited that I have five ladies that are meeting with me to put all the cards together, sign them, get them in printed envelopes and into the mail.  It's quite a production when these ladies have little to no knowledge of card making.  But I hope to change all that tomorrow!  Anyway, in the midst of all this craziness, I've still made a couple quick and easy cards that I thought I'd share with you.  Today's card features the Unbounded Beauty Designer Series Paper.  I made these with different color combinations, but then I forgot and some of them are in the mail already.  No pictures!  Oops!  Guess you only get one version today.

I've been so focused on autumn lately and I just needed a break.  So that's why this pretty summery floral card came about.  The card base is Calypso Coral that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored in half and makes a portrait style card. 

Next is a layer of the Unbounded Beauty DSP.  Several of the different prints would work on this card, but I chose this open, delicate design.  It's cut to measure 5 1/4" x 3 1/2".  This is attached to the left side of the card front using adhesive.  

I wanted to use circles for the sentiment and frame so next it was going through my sentiments looking for just the right one.  This sentiment comes from the Simply Said stamp set.  It's very generic so this card can be used in many ways.

The Layering Circles Dies were used for this.  The Basic White circle measures about 1 5/8" in diameter.  The Calypso Coral circle measures about 1 7/8" in diameter.  The sentiment is stamped with Berry Burst ink.  Then the coral circle was slightly edged in the Berry Burst ink to give it more definition on the card.

For this card, I cut a strip of Calypso Coral cardstock about 1" wide and 3 1/2" long.  The one end was scored and folded at 1/2".  The other end was flagged using Paper Snips.  The 1/2" that was scored on the end has Tombow Liquid Glue on the back and is attached about 1 1/2" from the bottom of the card.  This will fold over the front of the card to close it.

The inside of the card is a piece of Basic White that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  There is a small 1/2" strip of the same DSP print that is attached at the bottom to carry the design inside.  The white layer is attached inside the card using adhesive.  If you know what sentiment you plan to use on the inside, I suggest stamping it before attaching it to the card.  (Just in case!)

The card is closed and the flap folds over it.  I find sometimes it's just a little too snug to close nicely.  If so, trim off just a tiny 1/16" off the front flap to help the fit.  You might not need to do this if it closes perfectly.  The sentiment circles were added to this flap.  I just put a strip of adhesive right across the center to hold the circle onto the flap.

To add a little colorful bling to the card, I chose to use the Adhesive-backed Sequins Trio.  I thought the many shades of pink added a pretty touch to the finished card.

Now for more information, I also made this card using either Berry Burst or Petunia Pop for the card base. Both of them worked nice with this print or different ones from the same pack of DSP.  I added some Pretty in Pink color on the flap for interest.

Another change could be the fold-over flap.  This piece could be cut 1/2" shorter and just attached to the card front.  I think I would use Dimensionals to attach the circle sentiment over this.

Hope you liked this pretty summery card for another last hurrah of summer.  Our temps are going back up into the low 90's, so we are definitely not done with summer yet!  In fact, two of my azalea bushes have been in bloom for the last two weeks.  The blossoms are a gorgeous happy Melon Mambo color, and I love looking out my window to enjoy them!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Delicate Forest Autumn Card

 Hello friends!  It's been wonderful weather that I'm enjoying to the max.  But all those fall color changes will be coming soon, so I thought I would get a jump on it ahead of time.  On yesterday's card, I used a piece of the Country Woods Designer Series Paper that I had die-cut.  Today, the card uses the rest of the piece of DSP that framed the piece that was cut for yesterday.  Sometimes my extra pieces sit around for days (or weeks) before I get around to utilizing them.  I made sure to get this one used right away.

I started this card with the piece of 4 3/4" x 3 1/4" Country Woods Designer Series Paper.  The center was cut from this using the largest rectangle die in the Everyday Details die set.  I love how the frame has all the open-work dots all around the opening.  It just gives it a little more interest than a straight cut.

Next is the piece of Very Vanilla cardstock to layer the frame on.  This measures 4 7/8" x 3 3/8" which gives it just a skinny frame of vanilla around the wood grain piece.

The tree from the Delicate Forest Bundle was used for the main image.  I measured where the frame opening would be so I could place the tree.  The stamp was inked with Pumpkin Pie ink then dabbed on with Cajun Craze ink to meld the colors together.  There is another stamp in the set that is a bunch of scattered leaves.  I added just a few coming from the tree and just two tiny leaves up higher near the tree.

The wood grain frame was attached to the Very Vanilla layer after the stamping.  I used Tombow Liquid Glue for this so it could be carefully maneuvered into place.

The card base of Cajun Craze was cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  A layer of Early Espresso cardstock was cut at 5 1/4" x 4" to add next.  This is attached with adhesive.  The Very Vanilla layers are attached next using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is one of my current favorites and it's from the Winterly Tree Tops stamp set.  It is stamped on a 7/8" x 2 3/8" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used Cajun Craze ink for this.  This is layered onto a piece of Cajun craze cardstock that measures 1" x 2 1/2".  They are attached together with adhesive.  Then this is attached to the card front with Dimensionals.

The embellishments for this card are simply 2 golden birds from the Adhesive-backed Dragonflies & Birds bling.

Hope you've had a chance to peruse the new mini catalog and all the new items in the Online Exclusive and Kit section.  There's a wonderful selection right now.  If there's anything you're wanting that is back ordered, be patient.  The items will all get back in stock soon.

Thank you for sharing some of your precious time with me today.  I've got several more cards lined up ready to be posted.   Just need to find the time to do it all.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Autumn Latte Card

Hello my friends.  Do you like those autumn specialty beverages?  I love pumpkin spice lattes, chai teas, and spiced cider.  When fall rolls around, I'm ready for some wonderful, tasty beverages.  For this first card I've made using the new More Than Autumn Bundle, I went with a pumpkin spice theme.  Next one?  Who knows.  It'll probably depend on which one I'd like to be drinking at the time!  Grab your favorite autumn beverage and let's make a card.

Doesn't this just make you want to grab a pumpkin spice latte?  Yum.  For this card, I stayed with the basics of Cajun Craze and Very Vanilla with a few other colors thrown in for contrast.

Start with a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock that measures 5 1/2" x 5 1/4".  This is scored so there is a 1" flap on the left side.  

Next a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock is cut to measure 5 1/2" x 4 1/8".  This is embossed with the Distress Tile 3D Embossing Folder.  A Blending Brush and some Crumb Cake ink added a light blending of color over this layer.  The Very Vanilla layer was lined up with the backside of the card.  Adhesive was added to the inside of the card's front flap, then it was folded down to hold the Very Vanilla layer in place.

A 3/4" strip was cut from a print from the Iconic Celebrations 6" x 6" DSP.  The strip was trimmed to measure 5 1/4" to fit the card.  It's attached to the front flap with adhesive for a nice contrast of color and texture.

A piece of the Country Woods Designer Series Paper was cut to 5 1/4" x 3 1/4".  The largest rectangle die from the Everyday Details set was cut from the center of this.  The outer edge was saved for another project and the inner rectangle was used here.  A 4" x 2 1/2" piece of Cajun Craze cardstock was cut to frame this.  The two pieces were attached with adhesive.  Set aside.

A strip of 1/2" Very Vanilla was used to stamp the sentiment with Cajun Craze ink and trimmed to fit after stamping.  The sentiment is from the More Than Autumn Bundle.  A 3" x 3/4" piece of Cajun Craze was cut to frame the sentiment.  Set aside.

A 3/4" x 2 3/4" piece of Early Espresso cardstock was backed with an Adhesive Sheet.  Then it was die-cut with the "Nothing's Better Than" die from the same set.  The rectangle that was previously made was positioned on the card so it and the die-cut sentiment would fit.  The rectangle is attached with Dimensionals.  The backing from the adhesive layer was stripped from the die-cut and then the sentiment was attached above the rectangle.  Adding this adhesive layer is the easiest way to attach these word die-cuts.

A cup was stamped with Early Espresso ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  The pumpkin image was added by stamping with Cajun Craze ink.  The cup was colored with Blending Pens - Pool Party Light & Dark and Crumb Cake Light.  The pumpkin was colored in with a Blender Pen just moving the ink that was already there.  The whipped cream was stamped with Crumb Cake ink onto Basic White cardstock.  The Blender Pen softened the edges of the whipped cream before cutting.  Both the cup and the cream were die-cut with matching dies from the set.  Both the cup and cream were attached to the rectangle with Dimensionals.  The sentiment that was done earlier was attached diagonally to it using Dimensionals also.

After trying multiple embellishment ideas, I settled for the Adhesive-backed Swirl Dots that are an Online Exclusive.  They echoed the swirls in the cream and also in the woodgraining.  I liked the subtle coloring for this card too.

The inside of the card has a 5 1/4" x 4" layer of Very Vanilla cardstock.  The sentiment is stamped with Early Espresso ink.  The pumpkins along the bottom are the same as on the cup.  They are stamped with Cajun Craze ink and a Blender Pen is used to soften the color as on the front.  I love how you can still see the detail of the embossed layer when the card is open.

Hope you love this idea and want to try making it too.  You can use many different images to go on the rectangle if you don't have a hankerin' for some latte or cider.  Think flowers or trees for fall.  Use your imagination and have fun trying your ideas.

Just a reminder that the new 2024 September - December Mini Catalog is available for you to shop from right now!  There is an abundance of cute and interesting new products to choose.  Stampin' Up! has your stamping needs covered from now through Halloween and Christmas!  There's just the right item in there for you.  Have fun making your list and dreaming about all the wonderful items you'll be creating in the coming days!  Then go shop!  Don't forget to shop in the Online Exclusive area too.  There are new items that have just been added.  If you'd like to have me for your demonstrator, I'd be happy to help you out.  Please use the Host Code shown at the top of this blog post.  Thank you!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon