Hello stamping friends! What a beautiful day we have today! (that's a little sarcasm there) Chilly, damp and cloudy. Sounds like the perfect day to get downstairs and do a little creating, doesn't it? Well, I do feel a little better today. My heart isn't quite as rambunctious as it has been lately. So, I thought I should take advantage of this energy and do something. Let's see, housework, laundry, or stamping? Hmmm. Boy, that was a real hard choice, right? Are you laughing out loud yet?
I felt the need to send out some thank you cards for a few gifts I received for my birthday. Looking at my stash of DSP, and knowing I'll be getting more very soon, I thought I should use some of my retired stash to make more room. You remember that cute True Blue Florals DSP that was a Product of the Month a couple months back? I had a bunch of odds & ends pieces that needed to be used up, so that was a really good place to start.
This is a look at most of what I made today. There are a few others that didn't fit with this grouping of cards. Maybe I'll share them at a later date. As you can see, there were several strips of DSP in different prints. I'm always surprised by how many of those strips are always left over when the paper pack is almost gone. This was a great way to use some of them up.
On the majority of cards made today, the focal image used was either the larger roses stamp or the single small flower from the Charming Day stamp and die bundle. Sorry, this is a favorite set of mine and it is retired. Then I couldn't resist trying out a few images from the Artisan Sketched Garden DSP. That's in the new catalog and will be available to purchase on May 5th. Those images are awesome! You need to fussy cut the images if you want to use an individual design, but that only takes a minute or two. Not a big problem.
Let's start with two cards that are very similar. The card base on these cards is Balmy Blue that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2". They are scored and folded in half.
The strips of True Blue Florals DSP on each card is about 1 7/8" x 5 1/2". Both strips are backed with a layer of Night of Navy. The top card is 2 1/4" x 5 1/2". The bottom card has a wider layer of Night of Navy - 2 1/2" x 5 1/2".
The sentiment on each of these is from the Wonderful Thoughts stamp set. (It was on the Last Chance List, but it just sold out. Bummer!) It's stamped on a 1/2" strip of Basic White. Then the ends are trimmed with paper snips.
The roses are stamped with memento Tuxedo Black ink on Basic White cardstock. They are colored with Stampin' Blends:
roses: Balmy Blue Light & Dark, and Azure Blue Light
leaves: Granny Apple Green Light & Dark
I've never colored these roses in blues before, but I love how they turned out!
The card base for this one is Basic White Thick. It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2". The DSP strip measures 1 3/4" x 5 1/2". It's backed by a Night of Navy strip that measures 2 1/2" x 5 1/2".
This time the sentiment strip is also layered onto a Night of Navy strip measuring 3/4" wide. This makes the horizontal strip so much bolder to define it.
This flower is also from the Charming Day set. When coloring, I also added just a small touch of Blueberry Bushel Light Stampin' Blends to the flower.
The tiny flowers are from the Forever Florals stamp and die set. They are die-cut from Balmy Blue cardstock to mimic the main flower and also to give more heft to the focal image. It didn't look substantial enough without the added mini flowers and extra leaves. A sprinkle of three Rhinestone Basic Jewels was added to finish the design.
This is where things got a little different. I'd wanted to try the new Artisan Sketched Garden DSP since I saw it. It finally came in the mail, so why not use it here? I cut a strip off the bottom of this sheet of designs and picked one to color. I had a little problem finding a punch or die that could get the whole image but manage to not cut into the surrounding images. I used my very old Layering Ovals Dies to cut both the DSP and the Night of Navy layer behind it.
The image is colored with the same colors as used on the other images.
The card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of Night of Navy on top of it. The DSP piece measures 2 3/4" x 4". It's attached in the upper left corner with adhesive. The ovals were attached to the center of the DSP layer using Dimensionals.
A small Basic White circle was cut using one of the Spotlight on Nature dies. The sentiment is stamped with Night of Navy ink. Three of the new Sunset Sparkle Sequins in a bluish tone were added under the sentiment.
This last card is my very favorite of the whole batch of cards. This time I have a Basic White Thick base. It's layered with a full layer of one of the Balmy Blue designs from the True Blue DSP pack. This time a 1/4" strip of Basic White cardstock was added near the bottom to anchor the vase when it was added.
The vase of greenery is from the same Artisan Sketched Garden DSP. This time it was fussy cut after coloring. I used Stampin' Blends again.
water: Balmy Blue Light
leaves: Granny Apple Green Light
The Basic White sentiment piece measures 7/8" x 2 1/8". It's stamped with the new Basic Black Hybrid ink pad. There is a 1" x 2 1/4" layer of Basic Black attached behind to frame it. Both the vase and the sentiment are attached with Dimensionals. Three soft blue pearls are added to the white strip as an accent. These are Tahitian Tide pearls from several years ago, but I liked the look here.
Whew! That's it for my card making marathon today. Maybe I'll get around to the last several cards if I find the time. I hope you've gotten some ideas about using those leftover strips of DSP from other projects that you have laying around. Just check if there is a directional print, then orient your design in the proper direction.
Remember May 5th is the date you can order from the new catalog! Are you counting down the hours? I hope you're as excited by the new catalog as I am.
Happy stamping and creating,
Sharon
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