Another Gallery Blooms Card

 Hello to you on this rainy and cold Tuesday.  Not sure where our sunshine and warm weather went, but it's definitely not here now.  It got so cold in the house overnight I'm thinking of turning the heat back on.  As my hubby would say, "Sacrilege!".  But I don't care what month it is, I'm cold!  Anyway, that has absolutely nothing to do with card making.  Like I said yesterday, there's a second card using the Gallery Blooms bundle I wanted to share today.  The two cards were pretty much getting made at the same time, so they're slightly similar.

Here's today's card.  As you can see, it has a slight vintage look to it that is due to the interesting print from the Beautiful Gallery 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper.  This reminds me so much of an old tapestry hanging in a museum.  I almost want to touch it to see if I can feel the texture woven in it.  So, let's make this card and see how it works.

For the card, I chose a Basic Gray card base.  I thought it was a good backdrop for the DSP.  The Basic Gray measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.

The DSP print first has a 3/4" strip cut from the bottom of the piece.  (This was used on the card shared yesterday.)  Then it has a strip cut from the side that is 1 1/2" wide, and another strip that is 3/4" was cut so the back could be used.  I like the look of the two sides of the DSP used together.

Next a piece of Very Vanilla was cut that measures 5 1/4" x 2".  These three panels will line up and be the front of this card.  I had planned on using the Damask Designs Embossing Folder on this section of the card, but decided I wanted to try something a little different.  There is a floral stamp in the Beautiful Motifs set that intrigued me.  I wanted to know if it could make a nice background.  Of course, if I didn't like it, it could be turned over and the back used instead.  I inked the floral stamp with Secret Sea ink and off-stamped twice before stamping on the Vanilla piece.  I really liked the look, so this stamp was used four times for full impressions and then a few random corners were filled in too.  Looking at the background, you'd never know that this was a floral image on there.  Just what I wanted.

The DSP print was attached to the left side and the stamped Very Vanilla piece was attached to the right side of the card front.  Then the 3/4" strip of DSP was attached between them just slightly overlapping each of the sides.  I used "green glue" for this, so I'd have a little wiggle time to get everything just right.

As you can see, this floral stem is just like the one I made yesterday since I was making two at a time.  It's stamped on Very Vanilla with Secret Sea ink.  Then it was colored with a Wink of Stella brush and the Secret Sea ink.  Added ink is on the leaves to darken them.  You still can't see the shimmer of the Wink of Stella on the images, but it has a lovely soft shimmer all over the flowers.

There was a small bit of the mottled gray background print of the DSP that would be great for the sentiment.  It was trimmed down to about 1/2" x 1 3/4".  The sentiment from the Beautiful Motifs set was stamped on this with Secret Sea ink.  

After stamping this, both the floral stem and the sentiment were added to the card front.  Dimensionals were used to give them a little lift.

The design seemed to need a ribbon of some sort.  The Basic Beige 3/8" Ribbon that is part of the suite made up a nice little knot.  It's attached with Mini Glue Dots.

Of course, the design needed some bling, right?  I used three of the 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls in the Secret Sea color for an accent.  I love how these pearls have less height so can be mailed easily without a problem.  I think these dark gems look lovely on the design.

Now that the card is finished and I've looked at it for almost two days, I'm thinking I should have made it slightly differently.   I think the tapestry-type DSP should be a little thinner and the Very Vanilla that I stamped should be just a little wider.  But that's my opinion now that it's done and I'd totally ruin it if I took it apart to change it.  Oh well, I guess that just means I need to make another one and see which I prefer so I know for future reference!

Hope you enjoyed this second edition using the Gallery Blooms and the Beautiful Motifs stamp sets.  This has been fun and I'm sure I'll be creating with these sets again soon.  There are all the fun dies in both sets that I haven't played with yet and they are calling to me!  Wonder what I should make next?  Are you inspired to get out your stamps and play, ahem, I mean create?  In fact, since it's a cold and rainy day today, I should go right down to my stamp room and get busy!

If you have any questions or comments, I would be happy to hear them.  You can either comment on the bottom of this post, or you can email me at sharoncarr50@gmail.com.  If you're looking for a friendly demonstrator, you've found one right here.  It would be my pleasure to assist you in your stamping journey.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon