Hey friends! It seems like it's been forever since I posted anything for you. It's been a real adventure having the heart surgery and then recovering from it. Why do the doctors always make it sound like it's no big deal, but it really knocks the stuffing out of you? It would be helpful to be forewarned that you just can't pick up where you were and get on with life in a day or two. Today's the first day that I don't feel totally exhausted and in a spacey mind fog. Hallelujah! Before I go on, I wanted to give a big thank you to all of you that knew about the surgery and were praying for its success. I know those prayers made a huge difference for me.
Okay, let's get on with the card making, shall we?! Since I made these cards before I went into the hospital and had planned to post them right away, I didn't write down what stamp sets, dies and DSP I used. So instead of lots of in-depth info, this time around it will be more about the measurements and then you can use the ideas for a jumping off place to create your own masterpieces. Disclaimer up front: I was in the mood to use some of my retired DSP to clean up my storage shelves a little. So, you won't be finding all new stamps and DSP to dazzle you. Just retired goodies. Hope that's all right with you.
I love this fun fold because you get to really see and appreciate the gorgeous designer papers that are available. So often I have trouble cutting into the 12" x 12" sheet because I want to maximize the lovely patterns and don't want a bunch of little strips left over that are hard to use. For each of the cards I'm sharing today, I started with a print that I liked both front and back together. That doesn't always work, but I found some prints that I really love together.
First make sure you have the print in the correct orientation if there is a directional print. Cut the DSP to measure 12" x 5 1/2". Then cut a 3/4" strip off on one edge to make it 11 1/4" x 5 1/2".
The next step is the scoring. Score at:
1", 4", and 7". This folds up to be a W fold with the short 1" side as the front flap.
Next up was die-cutting the different layers for the front and inside the card. For the front layers on each on my cards, I used the Branching Out dies. I love the shape of these and keep going back to them all the time. The layering cardstock for this card is Petal Pink. It's cut with the 3rd largest Branching Out die. The white layer on the front is cut with the 4th largest die in the set. The inner sentiment layer is cut with the 5th largest die so it can easily tuck behind the larger dies on the front of the card.
The layering on the back inside of the card is just straight cut. The Basic White measures 2 1/2" x 5" and the Petal Pink layer measures 2 5/8" x 5 1/8". All of the layers, whether pink or white, were all softened along the edges with Petal Pink ink and a Blending Brush.
For this card, the images and some of the sentiments come from the Happiness Abounds set. I love how easily these images can be colored with Blender Pens. The little Fresh Freesia flowers tucked in around the images are from a Forever Florals die. I like how they add just a little bit of extra color to the design.
The tiny pinky-coral heart embellishments are from a Paper Pumpkin kit from maybe 4-5 years ago. If I'm honest, it's probably even longer. Yes, I tend to hang on to things forever. You never know when they will be the perfect accent you needed to finish the project.
This is the next version of the fun fold I made. I just love this fruity-floral print on the dark background. It's so striking! Alas, it's also retired so it needs to get used to make room for some fresh new ideas.
The layers on this card have all the same measurements as the previous card and used the same Branching Out dies. The layering on this card uses Secret Sea cardstock.
Some of the sentiments, along with the pear stamps on this card, are from the Perfectly Pears bundle. The image on the front was colored with Blending Brushes and ink before being die-cut. The inner image was colored with Stampin' Blends to get the colors I wanted.
The white layers were all softly colored on the edges with Blending Brushes and Mossy Meadow ink. They were also spattered with a Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends.
A little strip of the DSP print was added along the bottom of the back sentiment layer. That little bit seemed to make a big difference when putting the card together.
Coral gems were added in several places to the card. These picked up the pretty coral-toned flowers scattered throughout the print.
Do you remember this gorgeous Magnolia DSP? It's just so lush and stunning that I've been hanging onto it. I was happy to see I had a complete 6" x 12" piece that I could cut to the correct proportions and use for this card.
Again, the same dimensions and directions for cutting and scoring the DSP. Also, the same Branching Out dies were used for the front and inner page. The layering cardstock for the card is back to Petal Pink. This same color was used in the Stampin' Blends for the flower petals. The inside of the flower was Light Daffodil Delight. I totally messed up my Mossy Meadow Blends, so I used the new Peaceful Pine for this. It's not a great color match, but my replacements have been on backorder for about 2 weeks, and I sort of gave up waiting to finish the card. Oh well...
This is the last card I made with this fun fold. Again, the dimensions and directions for scoring are the same for this card as the rest. The Branching Out dies were the same for this card.
The DSP is something to do with Peonies. Sorry I have no further details.
The flowers stamped this time are from the Gallery Blooms stamp set. Again, just a bit of coloring with Petal Pink Stampin' Blends for the flowers. Centers are Daffodil Delight Light. Not sure what I ended up using for the leaves. Looking at it, I can see both a yellowish green and a more blueish tone used over it.
I don't know if you noticed, but only the pear card used the stamp set that originally coordinated with the DSP used. My big take-away from this fun fold post is to find things that coordinate well together. You don't have to use the same stamp set that originated with the DSP. Find things that you like together and try something different or unexpected. Let me know what you try! I always find it very inspiring seeing (or hearing about) what other people are creating. Everyone has their own take on projects which inspire the next person. And on it goes. And make sure you send out those cards too! Sometimes I start stockpiling the cards I've made, but that doesn't spread any cheer or encouragement along. I think that is an important part of being creative - sharing those bits of he'art' with others.
Happy stamping and creating,
Sharon
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