Window-Style Card Collection

Hello my stamping friends!  Hope you're enjoying your spring and getting a few things done outside.  I guess the outdoor vistas inspired me to make this series of cards.  My sister, Connie, also shared a couple of window-style cards with me a couple weeks ago when I saw her.  That was my starting place, but you'd never know it from the looks of my cards compared to hers.  Anyway, I have five cards to share with you today.  They all have the same premise of looking through a window to the great outdoors. 

This is the collection that I ended up making.  As you can see, there are lots of different colors used and several sets of dies used too.  Four of the cards use the Meandering Meadow DSP but one uses the new Thoughtful Journey DSP that is coming in the new Annual Catalog.  Both of these paper sets have the most gorgeous water-color style of designs you can imagine.  I love them!  And they are so easy to use to create interesting cards for any occasion.

The first card I'm sharing is the last card I made.  It uses the new Thoughtful Journey DSP along with the Everyday Details Dies.  To make the card, start with a card base of Mossy Meadow cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

Next comes a layer of Basic Beige cardstock.  What?  Yes, this is the newest color that's now part of the neutral basics line-up.  Love this color!  (You can order this May 1st).  This layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  The largest Everyday Details die is used to cut a window on the left side of this layer.  Don't you love the dotted frame around the window?  Of course, keep the cutout piece for use another time.

The DSP is a piece of 6" x 6" that is cut in half.  The top and bottom of this piece is trimmed a little to hide behind the Basic Beige layer.  It's attached behind the window area with adhesive.  

I left a little extra room on the right side of the beige layer to add a ribbon accent.  After trying several different ribbons, I came across an Old Olive twine that seemed to be the perfect accent.  It's wrapped around twice and tied into a bow.  After this is added, the layers are attached to the center of the card front using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the Perennial Postage set.  It's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto a 5/8" strip of Basic Beige cardstock.  After trimming the ends to fit, a little bit of Mossy Meadow ink is added to the edges of this using a Blending Brush.  The sentiment is attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  

Ok, that's the last card of the batch that I made and it's also the most involved.  Let's move on to the rest of the collection of cards to see what catches your fancy.

I was looking to make several get well type of cards.  Seems like there are a lot of surgeries going on among my friends, so I was looking for something bright and cheerful.  This is a cheerful and super quick card to make.  

Start with a card base of Daffodil Delight.  A layer of Garden Green cardstock is cut to 4 3/4" x 3 1/2". Next a layer is cut with the Deckled Rectangle dies from the Meandering Meadows DSP.  This piece measures just under 3" wide, so you can get two of these from one piece of DSP.  The print is attached to the green layer with adhesive.  Then this is attached to the folded card base using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the new Unbounded Love stamp set.  It was a perfect sentiment for the card.  It's stamped with Garden Green ink onto a 1/2" strip of Basic White cardstock.  The end is trimmed with the Banners Pick a Punch.  Then it's attached with Mini Dimenisonals.  To finish, three dragonflies from the Birds and Dragonflies accents that are an Online Exclusive item were added.  Thought they looked nice with the scenery.

This next card uses the other half on the DSP sheet from the last card.  The card base for this one is Crushed Curry.  There is a layer of Basic White next that measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  The largest square die from the Stylish Shapes die set is used to cut a window this time.  The DSP is trimmed to fit top and bottom of the card, then attached behind the window with adhesive.

The sentiment for this card uses one from Perennial Postage stamp set.  It's stamped with Garden Green ink onto the bottom area.   

The accents on the card are Brushed Brass Butterflies that will still be available in the new Annual Catalog.  There is also a double piece of twine tied into a bow added to the corner of the design.  The color is Cherry Cobbler and was retired several years ago.  I liked how it picked up the color of the reddish flowers.

This card uses another of the Meandering Meadows prints.  It's cut with one of the Everyday Details Dies that shows all the dots around the print as an accent.  

The card base is Starry Sky cardstock that is retiring soon.  This is the only card that has a landscape fold.  The layer used on it is Bubble Bath.  The sentiment from Unbounded Love is used again on the card.  It's stamped with Starry Sky ink.

The DSP layer is attached with Dimensionals.  This makes the die-cut edge show up nicely.  The bow is made from Bubble Bath ribbon from the Sheer Ribbon Combo Pack.  It's attached with two Mini Glue Dots.

The last card uses the back-side of the previous card's print.  The card base is Blueberry Bushel this time.  There is a layer of Basic White that I used the new Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder.  I think this is a pretty background texture that will be very versatile.  The rectangle window is cut with one of the Everday Details dies.  The DSP is attached behind this using adhesive.  I have to admit, once I got the DSP trimmed to fit, I wasn't sure which side was up anymore.  So, if it doesn't look right to you, it's all my fault!

Before attaching the layer to the card base, the same Bubble Bath ribbon was used to wrap around the side of the layer and tied into a knot.  Then the layer was attached with Dimensionals. 

The sentiment is from the Perennial Postage set again.  It's stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink onto a Basic White piece.  It's die-cut with the smallest rectangle die from the Everyday Details dies.  It's attached with Dimensionals.

And that's it.  Five cards using the same window style layout with a scenery print DSP with it.  I needed a number of get-well cards, and I think these cards will fit nicely.  As I made each card, I was thinking about the person it's going to and trying to fit their style with the cards I made.  I hope the cards will underscore that I care about each person and hope things improve for them.  It's a perk to be able to make similar cards but tailor them to fit each person.  That's one of the things I love about stamping and card making!

Are you watching the calendar?  It's just about time for the new Annual Catalog to be available.  I still have a few things (lol) I'd like to get.  I've been working on my wish list.  Have you?

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Show Off Those Prints!

 Hey!  How are you today?  I've been playing around with ideas to enjoy both sides of your print paper designs.  Most of our designs are beautiful and coordinate both front and back.  It's so hard to choose which side to use to create your project.  I have to admit, there are times when I only like one side of the DSP, so there's not a problem deciding.  But sometimes, it's hard to choose.  And when the prints work so well together, it's a no brainer - use a design that showcases BOTH sides of the paper.  Even though this DSP was a Sale-a-bration item and no longer available, I still like the prints and colors and wanted to use it.  I know you've got some of this tucked away and maybe need an idea for using it.  Right?  Of course, this layout will work for so many other prints that are currently available.  Just use this idea as a jumping off place and have fun creating this idea with any other DSP prints that coordinate on both sides!

I really like the Pool Party and Wild Wheat colors together.  I had trouble deciding which way to fold the Softly Stippled DSP for this card idea as both ways worked quite nicely.  But this is what I chose.  Let's get to the instructions so you can make this idea too.

Start with the designer paper that you want to use so you can find a coordinating color for the card base.  For mine, I chose Wild Wheat as it matches the main print on the DSP that I wanted to use.  This is cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

The Softly Stippled DSP measures 6" x 5 1/4".  This is scored at 2" and folded back on itself.  The piece is then attached to the folded Wild Wheat card base with adhesive.

When the front flap is open, there is room for an extra sentiment.  A Basic White cardstock piece was cut to measure 5" x 1 3/4" which will fit on the fold over flap.  One of the Courage & Faith stamps (pg 72 in the 2023-2024 Annual Catalog) was used to add the sentiment.  It's stamped in Wild Wheat ink at the top of the white piece.  To fill in the bottom of this, a small rose from the Stippled Roses (Jan-April 2024 Mini Catalog) was stamped using Pool Party ink.  Before attaching this, there are a few other things that need doing.

The front of the fold over piece has a 3/4" x 5 1/4" piece of the DSP print attached down the center of the flap.  To dress this up, a ribbon was added.  This is a current ribbon combo (with Real Red) in the Annual Catalog.  It's more a neutral color, but I think it blended well.  The ribbon was cut 7 1/4" long to lay across the front and fold and attach on the back about an inch top and bottom.  After attaching the ribbon, the white layer was added using "green glue" to attach in place.  This will help anchor the ribbon in place too.

On the front of the card, a piece of Basic White was cut at 2" x 2 1/2" and a piece of Wild Wheat was cut at 2 1/4" x 2 3/4" to frame the white piece.  The sentiment is from the Biggest Wish stamp set.  The large Hello was stamped with Pool Party ink and the overlapping friend is stamped with Wild Wheat.  These pieces were attached together with adhesive.  Then they were attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  Make sure the Dimensionals stay to the side of this, so it doesn't catch the back when the card is closed.  A spray of leaves from the Stippled Roses dies was cut from Wild Wheat cardstock.  A few leaves were trimmed from this to fit the card better.  It's just tucked in under the sentiment using adhesive to keep in place. 

The inside of the card has a piece of Basic White cardstock cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  A sentiment from Hope & Prayer (pg 72 in A. C.) was added.  This time it's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I love how these two faith-based stamp sets go together.

To add interest, the rose leaves from the Stippled Rose set was stamped with Wild Wheat ink in the bottom corner and the butterflies were stamped with Pool Party ink around the sentiment.

After stamping, the Basic White layer was attached inside the card with adhesive.

I thought a picture from a top angle would help to understand the special fold on this card.  

After looking at the finished card, I thought of the Brushes Brass Butterflies in the Annual Catalog that would be a good addition to this design.  They are small enough to add to the little sentiment tag and would coordinate with the butterflies inside the card.  That's it for this card.  But, I was on a roll with this DSP and tried another card...

Here's the next card made with this fun fold idea.  Changes to the design are minor.  The card base changed to Pebbled Path and a different DSP print from this paper pack was used.  A retired Calypso Coral ribbon was used this time.  

The same sentiment set as the first card was used with Calypso Coral and Pebbled Path inks instead, and the sentiment layer was changed to Calypso Coral cardstock.

The accents on this card are the 2023-2025 In Color Dots.  I added one of the Pebble Path Dots on each of the sentiment areas.

Hmmm, which DSP duo should I use to make the next card?  Any ideas or suggestions?

Hope you enjoyed this interesting way to showcase both sides of your DSP that you love.  I'm sure each card will be as unique as the DSP prints that are used.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Easter Card Challenge

Hello my friends.  Hope you're staying warm and dry wherever you are.  I'd said that rain and colder weather was on its way, and it's arrived.  So, what do you do when it's raining?  Stamp, of course.  I checked out the Global Design Project website to see what the challenge was this week.  This is what I created from the design.  

I pulled together many different current and (retired) Stampin'Up! products to make the card.  As soon as I saw the card we were to CASE, this idea popped in my head to use a cross for the center cascading images.  Do you see where I followed the idea?  I prefer having a meaningful and Christian card to send out for Easter, and I think this fits the bill.

Contributors were to CASE a card by Jay Soriano.   This is his creation.  I really liked the look of the vertical lines with the cascading fruits down the middle.  I just had to try this look.

To make my card, I started with a base of Basic White Thick cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that's scored and folded in half.  I knew I wanted to use the soft floral print from the retired Flight & Airy DSP that was a Sale-a-bration item previously.  It's cut at 5" x 3 3/4", then it's cut in half to make two pieces of 1 7/8" x 5".  

After trying several colors of cardstock to be the backing layer, the Boho Blue watercolor print on the back of one of the Flight & Airy DSP papers was the perfect look.  This measures 5 1/4" X 4".  The two flowery panels were attached to this with Tombow Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.

The crosses are two die-cuts from the Cross of Hope Framelits set.  Not sure how many years back this goes, but I love the size of these crosses and have used them often.  The filigree cross is cut from Basic White Thick cardstock.  The smaller cross is cut from the Gold Foil Sheets for a contrast.  They are layered together with adhesive then attached to the center of the card using adhesive also.

For the cascading images, I found the flowers in the Sweet Citrus set were about the right size.  Several were stamped from Boho Blue and another couple from Balmy Blue ink.  There is just a touch of the same colors used to color the inside of the petals.  The centers of the flowers were stamped with Daffodil Delight ink.   Then they were die-cut with the Sweet Citrus Dies.

The leaves are from the Stippled Roses Dies.  To get the leaf color that I wanted, both Garden Green and Shaded Spruce ink were swirled on a piece of Soft Sea Foam cardstock using a small Blending Brush.  After they were die-cut, a little more Shaded Spruce was added to the outer edge of the leaves.

The leaves are attached to the card front with adhesive.  The flowers are shaped by cupping into the palm of my hand and using the large stylus end on my Take Your Pick Tool to shape it.  These are attached with Mini Glue Dots.

The sentiment is from the new Easter Lilies set.  It's stamped in Boho Blue ink and the words are trimmed apart for the card.  Both pieces are attached with Mini Dimensionals.

This whole layer is attached to the white card base by using Dimensionals.

For a little bling, several of the clear Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added to the design.

This was a fun project.  I love getting out my retired (but still loved) stamps and creating with them again.  This card was a good mix of many sets, new and not-so-new.  Hope you like and are inspired with this project.  Please feel free to leave a comment for me.  Now I have one more card made for my Easter stash.  I better get making a few more because they need to be mailed soon.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Now is the time to get out those stamps and goodies to create your own project.  If there are any products that you need to order for your next project, I would be happy to help you out.  Please consider using the current Host Code shown at the top of my blog page.  It is much appreciated.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Easter Lilies in Pink

Hey my friends!  Hope you're having a great day on this sunshiny Thursday.  We've got to enjoy the lovely weather today because the rain and colder weather is right around the corner again.  I'm trying to figure out how it manages to rain every weekend lately.  Today it's nice enough that my dear hubby is out doing yardwork like spraying for spiders, ants, wood bees, and wasps.  Doesn't that sound like fun?!  Guess it's spring when the wood bees come out.  Before we moved here, I'd never heard of them.  Quick lesson, they like to drill holes into wood and nest in there.  Who wants small holes about 1/4" - 1/2" in diameter drilled into their wooden deck? What a mess and we're not happy about it.  Wow, I surely got carried away there!  Did you say you came by here to get some stamping inspiration?  Ok, let's get back on track.  Today's card is using the lovely Easter Lilies Bundle found in the current mini catalog.  I'm just lovin' this set and the cards made using it.  Come create with me...

Isn't this lovely?  The colors just remind me of Easter dresses and pastel jellybeans.  Love it!  The card has an easy fun fold that shows off both sides of the DSP so it's perfect for the Hello, Irresistible Designer Series Paper that is still available as an Online Exclusive.  

 To start, I chose a piece of Soft Sea Foam green cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored at 2 1/8" and again at 4 1/4".  The right edge of the front flap is folded back on itself to make the fun fold.  See, I told you it was easy.

The Hello, Irresistible DSP used here comes as a 6" x 6" paper pack.  Pay attention to both the front and back of the piece of DSP you choose to make sure they go together nicely.  The front piece of DSP is cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4".  I cut a 3/4" piece from the top edge first (I wanted less yellow on the front of the card).  Keep that 3/4" piece for use inside the card later.  Then cut 2" from one of the sides to make the width 4".  Layer this piece onto the front of the folded card and attach only on the fold-back half of the front.  I used two strips of Tear & Tape that I attached to the fold-back front area, then laid down the DSP to attach.  Keep the edges nice and even.

Next up was creating the lilies.  The two lily pieces were stamped on Petal Pink cardstock using Flirty Flamingo ink.  The stem, leaves, and buds were stamped on Soft Sea Foam cardstock using Soft Sea Foam ink.  I used a Blender Pen and a little coordinating ink to add a little extra color to each piece.  The stamens on the open lily were colored with the Daffodil Delight Dark Stampin' Blends.  I got those a little thicker than I wanted but decided to stick with it.  To mimic the spots on the inside of lilies, I used a Copper Clay Stampin' Blends to flick a little ink on the open flower only.  Each piece was die-cut with the coordinating die and set aside for a few minutes.

The sentiment comes from same stamp set.  It's stamped onto a Basic White cardstock strip that is about 3/4" wide.  Copper Clay ink was used for stamping both here and inside the card too.  The strip was trimmed to 4" and added to the card front about 1/2" or so from the bottom of the DSP.

The lily pieces were placed on the card front to fit, then attached.  The open lily petals were curled back using a bone folder to give it some dimension.  To attach, only one Dimensional was used in the center of the flower.  The stem and leaves were attached with adhesive.  The partially open lily was attached with adhesive.  Then the buds were attached.  A Mini Dimensional was placed near the tip of each bud, but the stem end was attached with adhesive under the open lily.  I like how this makes the buds look like they're separated from the lily and not just flat.

This is a top view so you can see how the fold works.  The sentiment is stamped on a piece of Basic White that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  The 3/4" piece of DSP that was cut originally is attached to the side of the Basic White and trimmed to fit.  This pink print is the backside of the front piece.

The sentiment is stamped with Copper Clay ink onto the white.  This sentiment is not a Stampin'Up! stamp.  I find it's sometimes hard to get a holiday sentiment that says what I want it to say.  This stamp has a label that says 2003 so I don't think it's available anymore.  Then the piece was attached inside the card.  Make sure the layer stays hidden behind the front piece when the card is closed.

Last peek of this Easter lily card.  I love how it all came together.  And I especially love the gorgeous pastel colors here.  This card is one of the favorites of what I've created in a while.  It just makes me happy to look at it.  Oh my, is that a grinning smile on my face?  Yup, I love this card!

Enough about me loving this card.  What do you think of it?  Hope you like it too.  This fun fold is so simple, and I love how it stands up nicely by itself.  Guess this is a good one to leave sitting out on the mantle or dining room table.  Hope you give this a try and enjoy making one too.  Let me know how it goes.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Stippled Roses Again

Happy Monday to all.  The sun is shining, and I've just returned from the grocery store.  Can you believe it - I still have a few dollars left over.  My goodness - the hike in grocery costs is truly crazy.  Maybe it's time to rethink having a garden again.  It would be a learning curve all over again with growing seasons and the heat and dryness.  Do I really want to start that up again?  It definitely needs more thought.  What doesn't need any extra thoughts is how much I love the Stippled Roses stamp bundle.  The roses are so realistic looking, until I start coloring them anyway!  I thought some Pool Party roses would make a pretty card, but I don't think you're going to find that color in nature.  I guess that's part of the fun in stamping - you can be creative with color!

To go along with the Stippled Roses bundle, a sentiment from the Thoughtful Expressions bundle made a good match.  I not only made some Pool Party roses for this card, but I actually stamped and colored a number of these roses with an assortment on ink colors to use on different projects.  For some reason, the Pool Party ones just called to me. 

Let's start making the card.  Start with a sheet of Pool Party cardstock cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half to make a basic card size.  To soften the color, a piece of the Vellum Basics leaf print was cut to measure 4" x 5 1/4".  This was not attached until the images for the front on the card were finished and ready to place.

The roses are stamped onto a Basic White piece of cardstock using Basic Gray ink.  I thought the black would be a little too dark for the softer Pool Party color.  Using the Small Blending Brushes, Pool Party ink was blended on the roses and buds.  The color starts in the center and is swirled out to the edges.  This way the darker areas stay in the center of each rose.  It was a little difficult to stay on the buds and not go all over the place, but I tried to keep the ink on only an edge of the brush for more control.

After the Pool Party roses, it was time to color the leaves.  I used Garden Green ink to give bits of color to the leaves.  I was afraid to get too dark on the leaves and have it blend onto the roses.  So, after the color was added, I went back in with a Blender Pen and added small amounts of ink to the shaded areas of the leaves.  The sepals of the rose buds were colored in this way also and I made these a little darker than the leaves.  As a final touch, Wink of Stella was brushed over the roses for a bit of shimmer.  Unfortunately, none of the pictures really picked up this addition.  After coloring, the roses were die-cut using the coordinating die.

The sentiment is from Thoughtful Expressions.  The die used is the smallest rectangle shaped die from the set. The sentiment was stamped with Basic Gray ink to match the roses.

Putting the card together:  Several loops of the Simply Elegant Trim (pg 144 A.C.) in the silver tone were attached to the backside of the roses.  A couple of pieces of Tear & Tape was used to hold them in place.  After deciding on the placement of roses and sentiment, adhesive was used to attach the vellum piece to the folded card.  The adhesive was placed only where the roses and sentiment would cover it.  This keeps the edges free, and no adhesive shows through the vellum.  

The roses were attached with multiple Dimensionals to hold in place.  The sentiment was tucked in slightly under the roses and held in place with Dimensionals also.

For a little bit of bling, five of the Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added to the card.  This really enhances the silver color of the trim and gives the card that pretty sparkle.

Hope you enjoyed this idea.  I found it amazing how quick it was to color the roses and leaves with the Blending Brushes and ink.  The last time I used this set, I colored them with Stampin' Blends.  That was fun, but it was also time consuming.  So, when you're in a hurry, get out those Blending Brushes and give them a little swirl on the roses.  You'll love it!  Thanks for stopping by for another idea to create your own masterpieces.  I hope you get out your Blending Brushes often.  They are more versatile that you think.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Easter Eggs and Rockers

Hello!  Doesn't that title make you wonder what I've been up to lately?  I had so much fun making the Rocker birthday card for my friend that I wanted to make some more.  Since Easter is coming up, I thought this would be a great time to use the Excellent Eggs dies on a fun fold card.  Ready to create along with me?  I made one version that was pretty close to Susan Campfield's idea, and then I changed things up and made another version of the card.  Hope you like this idea and give it a try.

These are the two cards I made using mostly the same materials with some minor changes.  But they look so different because of the colors used.  Let's break them down so you can make them too.

The base of the rocker part of the card is Granny Apple Green cardstock that is cut with the Deckled Circles Dies.  The second largest die was used because the diameter of the die is just about 5 3/8" so the card will fit into a regular sized envelope.

This one is the first one I made and looks very similar to Susan Campfield's card.  The half-circle layer of green on this card is the back-side of one of the designs in the Delightful Floral DSP.  It is a soft, mottled light green print.  This is an Online Exclusive paper and is gorgeous.  To cut this in a half circle, the third largest die from the Deckled Circles Dies was used.  The die was positioned on an edge of the DSP so only half of a circle was cut.  It was a little big to fit the card base, so a little was trimmed from the straight edge so it fit nicely. The piece was layered onto the folded circle using "green glue".

The eggs were cut from two different prints from the Lighter Than Air DSP.  Love these soft pastel prints!  The smallest plain egg was used to die-cut the eggs.  The same size die was used to die-cut eggs from Granny Apple Green cardstock.  The print eggs were attached to the Granny Apple Green eggs to give the back of the card a finished look as you can see here.

Tip:  When you're adding the eggs to your card, make sure they are less than 4 1/4" high so then will fit a regular size envelope.

The bird from the Easter Bunny set was stamped with Balmy Blue on Basic White cardstock.  It was colored in with Balmy Blue Light and Dark Stampin' Blends.  Daffodil Delight Light Blends was used for the beak.

The sentiment comes from the Easter Bunny set and is stamped with Granny Apple Green ink.  It's stamped on a Basic White 3/4" strip of cardstock.  After stamping the ends were punched with the Banners Pick a Punch to flag them.  The banner was attached on the eggs using Dimensionals.  The little bird was added to the banner with a Mini Dimensional.  

For this card several of the new Rainbow Adhesive-backed Dots were added for extra interest.  This time I used the Fresh Freesia dots and one of the Petal Pink dots.  A bow made from the White Glitter Ribbon is attached with a Mini Glue Dot under the sentiment.

Switching cards now, it is made the same way as the first card, but the colors have gotten a little brighter.  The green print layer is from the Meandering Meadows DSP.  I love how this really gives the feeling of grass to the card.  The eggs are cut and layered onto the Granny Apple Green on the back like the first card, but the prints used have a little extra pizzazz.  

The sentiment is the same except the strip is only 5/8" wide.  It's also attached with Dimenisonals.  The bird was stamped with Lost Lagoon ink then colored with Daffodil Delight Light and Dark Stampin' Blends.  Then attached with a Mini Dimensional.  

The same package of the Rainbow Adhesive-backed Dots were used, just different colors to match up with the eggs.  These are Balmy Blue and Lemon Lolly colored.  Don't they accent the card perfectly?  A double bow made from the Parakeet Party Metallic Woven Ribbon was added for a bit of glitz.

The insides of the cards are finished very similarly.  A half circle is die-cut from Basic White cardstock just like the green DSP layers.  The sentiment comes from the Easter Lilies stamp set.  It's stamped in Granny Apple Green ink.

The daffodils inside each card are one of the stamps in the February 2024 Paper Pumpkin kit.  They are colored with markers directly on the rubber to get the two-toned effect.  Just a smidgeon of extra color was added to them by using a Blender Pen and ink.

How about just one more picture of these darling Easter Egg Rocker cards.  I'm so pleased with how they turned out.  If they make me smile, hopefully they'll do the same for someone else too.

Please go to my Online Store to see all the new Online Exclusive stamps, dies, papers and other goodies.  I'm so NOT tech savvy and I've given up trying to post them here.  Sorry.  My first order of the new products finally came today, so guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?  Stamping!!!  I'm looking forward to creating some fun cards to share with you very soon.

Sale-a-bration is over for now, but you can still purchase each one of the items I used for these two cards.  Let me know if you're having any trouble ordering.  I'd be happy to help.  Thanks for stopping by today.  And thanks for leaving a comment along the way.  I love hearing from you!   

Happy stamping and creating, 

Sharon

Translucent Floral

Hello everyone.  Hope you're staying warm and dry today.  My grandsons have their season home opener baseball game for the school team today.  At this time, the weather is only 38 degrees and raining heavily.  Hmm, maybe March 1st isn't the perfect day for a baseball game.  We try to support the boys by going to games, but that's not happening today.  Of course, if we did drive to the game which is 45 minutes away, they'd probably cancel the game and we'd have made the trip for nothing.  Argh!  So, we'll stay snug and dry at home this afternoon.  Instead of worrying about the rain, let's talk about the Translucent Florals stamp set and dies that are carry-overs from the 2023 Sept - Dec Mini Catalog.  I really hadn't taken the time before Christmas to play with these, so I was happy they are a carry-over item.  Plus, the coordinating Delightful Florals Designer Series Paper is available as an Online Exclusive item.  It's so pretty that I decided to focus today's post on the DSP. 

Looking through the DSP prints, I noticed one that was covered with larger single flowers or clusters of flowers that could easily be fussy cut.  So, that was the start of this batch of cards.  There also were the tiny cluster of leaves in a darker green and a couple partial leaves from the cut edge that I also used.  After I had my pile of flowers and leaves cut out, it was time to design my card.

For this first card, I chose Fresh Freesia for the card base.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is folded in half to make a landscape style card.

When going through the DSP pack, I found this tiny floral print that is so cute.  I cut a strip of this 4" wide, then cut it at 5 1/4".  I cut two of these so I could use the other piece for another card.  

I love the embossing folder that was a free item during Sale-a-bration.  It has a lovely delicate design that I thought would enhance the design.  After embossing the DSP, it was attached to the folded card base with "green glue" (Tombow Multi Purpose Liquid Glue).

A focal point was created using the third largest die from the Scalloped Contours die set to cut a Basic White label.  This wasn't attached to the card until the flowers were all attached, and it was ready to go.

The sentiment is from the Sale-a-bration Softly Sophisticated set.  I certainly hope you were able to get this stamp set and embossing folder bundle while it was available.  The font used on this set is pretty and feminine.  This time it was stamped with Blackberry Bliss ink to the right side.  The purple flower was attached with Dimensional and additional leaves were tucked under with a bit of adhesive on the bottom ends.  The daisy-type flower is die-cut with one of the Translucent Flowers dies from the backside of the scraps left over from cutting out all the flowers from the DSP.  The daisy is attached to the card with Mini Glue Dots.  It was also used between the two layers.  

The label was attached to the center of the card front using Dimensionals.   There are three gems attached to the card front that are from the Tinsel Gems Three Pack.  This is the Fresh Freesia color.  I wanted a little bow added to the card but couldn't find anything current that I owned that matched the card.  So...  I have a retired Soft Sea Foam sheer ribbon that worked okay.  It's attached with Mini Glue Dots.  Sorry, there are so many retired items here, but you get the idea for the card.  I know many of you have different embellishments and DSP going back a good number of years, just like I do.  Save those items because you never know when you're going to need them.

On to the second version of this card.  For this one, I chose a different color from the DSP for the card base - Berry Burst.  Right away this gives the card more brightness and spunk.  

This time I did not use the embossing folder on the DSP.  It's just directly attached to the folded card base. 

For this card, I used the second largest die from the Scalloped Contours die set. So, the label is a little bigger and leaves a smaller edge of the DSP showing.  The label was cut from the Basic White cardstock.  The same sentiment is stamped in the top right corner using Berry Burst ink to coordinate with the card base.

This time a flower cluster from the DSP was fussy cut for the card.  I love how these colors all blend together and pick up the mini flowers on the print layer.  The flower cluster is attached to the bottom of the white label using Dimensionals.

At this time, I used a water brush with a little Pretty Peacock ink and spattered lightly over the white background and the flowers.  I liked how this gave a subtle addition of color to all the white space.

The label is attached to the center of the card front using Dimensionals.  

The new Purple Fine Shimmer Gems were used on this card as accents.  These are the berry-colored gems from the pack.  So pretty with the card.

The card needed just a pop of something contrasting to pull it all together.  After trying several ribbon and twine options, I settled on the Black & White Gingham Ribbon to make a small bow.  It's attached with Mini Glue Dots.

Looking at these cards side-by-side, it surprises me how much a few color changes will make on a card.  I like them both, but maybe I like the berry card just a little more.  That pop of ribbon really sets it off.  Maybe I need to rethink the ribbon on the Fresh Freesia card.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for hanging out together with me on this cold and rainy day.  It's so much better spending time with friends.  Check back in a few days so I can show you the new Online Exclusives that will be available.  There are some truly awesome items that I can't wait to get my hands on.  Seems like the deliveries are getting slower each time I order!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Stippled Roses

Hello friends.  We're in the middle of a string of rainy days again.  So what can you do when it's raining?  Stamp, of course!  The card I'm sharing today was actually made three days ago, but I just wasn't happy with it.  I've been looking at it since then trying to figure out what I don't like about it.  After making three different changes on the card, I think it's worthy to share with you.  Do you ever get that way?  The card just isn't right, but you're just not sure what you don't like about it.  Change this, add that, and change some more!  I'm thinking I should have just ripped the whole thing apart and started over.  Give me a comment on what you think of the final card, so I know if it finally hit the mark or needs a complete do-over. 

My plan was to use the colors and textures in the Softly Stippled DSP that is one of the Sale-a-bration items.  I really hope you were able to get this Designer Paper - it's gorgeous!  The fabric-looking piece of DSP on this card is from that paper pack and is in the Pebbled Path color.  The card base is Pebbled Path cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  The layer on this is Lost Lagoon that measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I wanted just a tiny bit of the Pebbled Path to show behind this.

The Softly Stippled DSP piece measures 3 5/8" x 4 7/8".  I started larger and kept trimming down an eighth of an inch at a time to get the size I liked.  I wanted the Lost Lagoon to be a bolder frame around this and really show up.

Next, the Stippled Roses were stamped with Pebbled Path ink onto Basic White cardstock.  I wanted to see how this worked with the colors instead of the Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  This would be a little softer looking.

For coloring the roses, I used Stampin' Blends to play around with the colors.  The first layer on the roses was Pool Party Light.  Then I layered on shading of Pool Party Dark and then Lost Lagoon Light to darken some of the shadows. 

The leaves were colored in with Wild Wheat Light, then shaded with the Wild Wheat Dark.  To add extra deep shadows in places, Lost Lagoon Dark was added sparingly.  The leaves still looked too flat, so the Color Lifter was used in some areas to create highlights.  This really does a wonderful job of giving you an even lighter color when it is lightly stroked on just where a highlight is wanted.  When everything was colored to my liking, the roses were die-cut with the coordinating Stippled Roses dies.

I've been using a lot of Get Well type cards lately.  So that's what this one was going to be.  The sentiment comes from the So Sincere stamp set.  It is stamped on Basic White using Pebbled Path ink.  Then it is fussy cut with Paper Snips to get the shape.

When I laid the roses and sentiment on the card base, it looked quite unfinished.  It needed some extra greenery to fill out the design some.  At first, I only cut two of the leafy spray die that is part of the Stippled Roses dies using Wild Wheat cardstock.  The stem was cut apart into four sections to scatter the smaller pieces around the design.  I thought this would work well with all the Wild Wheat leaves that were already part of the design.  For this version of the card, you can see a couple of the leafy sprays were cut in Lost Lagoon also.  And some of the little flowers in the set were cut from Pool Party cardstock.

The roses are attached with Dimensionals, but all the leafy pieces have adhesive on the stems and are tucked in around the roses.  The little flowers have their centers colored with Pool Party Dark Blends just to give it a little color.  They are attached with a Mini Glue Dot holding each one.  The sentiment is tucked near the bottom of the card and is attached with Mini Dimensionals.

For this card, I used the gold color sequins from the Neutrals Adhesive-backed Sequins.  I think they blend nicely with the Wild Wheat tones on the card.

The inside of the card has a layer of Lost Lagoon that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  On top of this is a layer of Basic White that measures 5" x 3 3/4".  The sentiment is another one from the So Sincere stamp set.  It's stamped with Lost Lagoon ink.  In the bottom right corner, the extra Wild Wheat leafy spray that was die-cut has been attached to carry the design inside the card.

 

Just wanted to give you a peek at the way the card was put together originally.  No matter how I fussed with it, I just wasn't happy with it.  Let me give you a run-down of the changes I made.

- The leafy stems are all from Wild Wheat cardstock.  This just gave the card too much of this color.

- The gems used really didn't enhance the card.  I thought the Pool Party color would balance the card better, but it didn't work.  They were switched out for the gold sequins.

- The sentiment was stamped with Lost Lagoon ink.  It was too light and got lost on the design.

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Did this card give you ideas on layout and color balance?  Just because a card is finished doesn't mean "the card is finished"!  You can always dismantle sections and remake into a design you're happier with when it really is finished!

Only two more days for Sale-a-bration deals!  But don't worry.  There will be some new Online Exclusives coming out a little later in March.  So much good stuff looking forward.  Keep checking in to see what's new and what I'm creating with it!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

sharoncarr50@gmail.com  

Easter Lily Card

Hello all!  Glad to see you stopping by for a minute or two.  I really liked the new Easter Lilies Bundle in the Jan - April 2024 Mini Catalog.  It was one of the first sets I purchased, but it's taken me a while to try my hand at using this bundle.  I seem to struggle making these 3D flowers each time they come out with a new one.  But I'm so happy with the way this one turned out.  I think with all the color and print going on, the lily is very subtle but lovely.  What do you think?

Since the lily is pretty big, I didn't want it to be really bold.  Maybe I'll head in that direction next time but I'm really more of a softer-toned person.  I thought the translucent prints of the Delightful Floral DSP would make a lovely backdrop for my lily.  This gorgeous Designer Paper is an Online Exclusive item.  It's really worth the look to find it.  Here's how I made the card.

I started with a piece of the Delightful Floral DSP that measures 3 3/4" x 5".  The greenery on this print seemed like a good background here.  For this card I wanted the DSP edges to be roughed up or distressed a little.  I used the cutting edge of my Paper Snips to run against the edges of the paper.  Then two of the corners were also curled in on itself showing the soft Pool Party on the back.

This was attached to a Basic White layer by using adhesive.  The white layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  Then the layers were attached to a folded piece of Soft Sea Foam cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" for the base.  Dimensionals were used to attach it this time.

Now let's make the lily.  There are three dies to make the lily petals.  They have all this wonderful detail in them.  I tried something a little different on this.  I set the dies on the ink pad lightly before die-cutting the white petals.  Hmmm, didn't work like I'd hoped, so don't bother with that idea anymore.  If you look closely, you'll see some areas without detail that have smudges of Soft Sea Foam ink on them.  I liked this, so still used these pieces.  The stamens were die-cut from a small piece of Lemon Lolly cardstock.  The tips were colored with a Daffodil Delight Blends Dark marker.  The two leaves were cut from Soft Sea Foam cardstock.

Since the ink didn't show up in the detail cuts like I'd hoped, I used a Blender Pen with Soft Sea Foam ink to color along each of the detail lines.  I wanted a very light color on the details that made it look like a plain white lily.  The leaves were colored with a Blender Pen and Garden Green ink lightly on the detail lines with small touches of Pretty Peacock ink.  After adding the lines, I used a Water Pen and smoothed out the lines a little.  This made the leaves nice and pliable for shaping also.

The lily petals are curled back with a bone folder to get more natural looking petals.  The centers of the two and three petal pieces are held together with adhesive.  Then attached to the card base with one Dimensional in the center back.  The stamens were attached only at the bottom of them to the flower center area.  Then the last petal was attached over the stamen ends using a Dimensional.  

The two leaves were tucked in under the lily and attached only at the bottom end, so they have some movement.   A couple of Mini Glue Dots were used to attach each of these leaves. 

The sentiment for the card is from the Easter Lilies set.  First I die-cut a Basic White rectangle from the Everyday Details Bundle.  The smallest rectangle has tiny stitching dots instead of the larger piercings on the larger dies.  This one was the perfect size for the sentiment.  The sentiment was stamped with Pretty Peacock ink to tie in with the DSP colors.  The sentiment was attached to the card base with Dimensionals.

The inside of the card pulls in the colors of the DSP also.  The Basic White cardstock piece measures 3 3/8" x 4 1/2".  The sentiment is from the Easter Lilies set and is stamped with Pretty Peacock ink.  

The two palm branches are from the same set.  They are stamped with Soft Sea Foam ink.  The white is layered onto a Pool Party cardstock piece measuring 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached with adhesive.  Then it's attached to the inside of the card with adhesive also.

Back to the front of the card, the last item was deciding what form of bling will be used.  I thought about using something with Pretty Peacock, but I wasn't impressed.  Then I remembered these Glossy Dots Assortment.  Perfect.  The yellow gems accented the stamens on the lily and also brought out the yellow tones on the leaves.  It seems a really good match with this lighter toned lily.

Hope you enjoyed this post.  I'm happy to share what I learn as I try new things.  I was very disappointed that I couldn't 'stamp' with my dies, but now I know it doesn't work too well.  I just might try it again sometime and see if I can't get better results.

This really is a beautiful Easter lily set.  I've always loved lilies - Star Gazer lilies to be exact.  Maybe that will be my next attempt with this set!

Just a reminder (as if that's needed) that the Sale-a-bration sale is in its last days.  If you've still got your mind on an item and you've been putting it off, it's pretty much a now or never situation.  There are still some wonderful items to choose for free.  Hope you don't miss out.  If you don't have a demonstrator, I would love to be yours.  Feel free to contact me with questions.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

sharoncarr50@gmail.com

 

Happy Easter Eggs

Hello there!  Are you having fun today?  If not, get out your stamps and paper and take a little creative break.  It always puts a smile on my face when I do.  When I was reading my emails this morning, I came across this Global Design Project Challenge that was right up my alley.  It is a color challenge to use Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Flirty Flamingo on a project.  Oh boy, what fun!  I haven't participated in a challenge in a very long while (years!), but I had to do this one.  Hope you enjoy the idea that popped in my head as soon as I saw the colors.  Let's get creative!

Here's the idea that was in my head as soon as I saw the color challenge.  Of course, with those colors, it had to be Easter, right?  The card starts with a Basic White card base that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.

The colorful layer is also Basic White that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  I used Blending Brushes and ink to do the soft background colors.  I started with Daffodil Delight ink on the bottom 1/3 of the layer.  Then added another third of Pumpkin Pie ink across the middle blending the edges together.  Last is the Flirty Flamingo ink across the top.  The colors reminded me of a sunrise and made me so happy to look at it.

No matter how many pictures I took, the background just doesn't show as vividly as the real card.  It's by no means really bright, just deeper colors - more saturated I guess you'd say.

After coloring this layer, it was embossed with the Basics 3D Embossing Folder set that is an Online Exclusive item.  If you don't have these, you might want to consider getting them.  This crosshatch pattern is one I use very often.  After being embossed, it's attached to the folded white card base with "green glue".

Now it's time for all the Easter eggs.  The Excellent Eggs Die set was used.  Only the smallest egg is used here.  One each of Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Flirty Flamingo cardstock was die-cut.  

All the little pieces were taken from each egg and set aside for a minute.  Thinking about a way to attach all the pieces back into the eggs, I decided to use a strip of white cardstock behind each egg, trimming the edges top and bottom from any white sticking out.  Lining up the eggs the way I wanted them displayed, I took the top and bottom cut pieces from the egg next to it and tucked them into the eggs.  The middle pieces were from the egg on the other side of it.  This way each egg has all three colors on it.  The eggs are each attached with several Dimensionals.

I found a nice Easter sentiment in the Throughout the Year stamp set.  It's stamped onto a 3/4" white strip.  I stamped it with Pebbled Path ink which is a warmer gray to go with the other warm colors used.  The Banners Pick a Punch was used to flag the ends of this.  It was attached above the eggs using Dimenisonals.

I wanted some flowers in white to accent all the color.  I found a die not only for the bitty flowers, but for some pretty leaves too.  These came from the Thoughtful Expressions Bundle.  I thought these pieces worked out nicely with the design.  Each of the flowers and stems are attached with Mini Glue Dots.

The finishing touch on this design was adding some of the Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  I only used the smaller ones and added five to the design.  That's more than I usually use, but it seemed to work here.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Please leave a comment to let me know what you think of my Easter eggs.  Hope you like them!  Just a quick reminder that the end of Sale-a-bration is just around the corner.  It's always lovely to get items for free, and there are a bunch to choose from right now.  If you don't have a demonstrator, I would love to be yours.  Let me know if you need help ordering.  Don't miss out on this great sale!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

sharoncarr50@gmail.com