Charming Day in Pastels

Hey friends!  Hope your day has been filled with sunshine and warm breezes.  Talk about a perfect spring day!  You really have to get out and enjoy it a little when it's this lovely outside.  It's been so busy around here with getting cards ready for Easter for family, friends, and all the cards for the shut-ins also.  I think the last batch is now finished and ready to go in the mail tomorrow.  Whew!  That was done, but I was still in a pastel mood for my card making.  This time I wanted to work with the Lovely & Beautiful 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper.  It's so-o-o-o pretty!  Instead of choosing one of the prints to use, this time I used two of them - doubly pretty!  Are you ready to see it and maybe make a card or two for your stash?

See, isn't it just lovely?  The larger print makes a very nice background, and the Petal Pink and white print creates an interesting layer when it's embossed.  Are you ready to give this a try?

Start with a Petal Pink card base that is cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  The bolder print layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This is attached to the Petal Pink base using adhesive.

Next the Petal Pink and white print from the pack is cut at 4" x 2 3/4".  It's embossed with the Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder to give it texture.  I did use a sanding block very lightly over the pattern so more of the white core shows through and enhances the look of the embossed pattern.

To define that layer, I added a small mat of Calypso Coral cardstock behind it.  This measures 4 1/8" x 2 7/8" and the embossed layer is adhered to it with "green glue"

A piece of Gold/White 3/8" Ribbon about 5 1/2" long was wrapped at the left side of this layer.  The ends are attached in the back.  Then the layer is attached to the center of the card base using Dimensionals.

Now it's time to create this lovely floral focal point.  The small flower and the small leaf cluster from the Charming Day set were stamped on Basic White cardstock with Old Olive ink.  

The flower was colored with Stampin' Blends.  Petal Pink Light & Dark, Calypso Coral Light, Daffodil Delight Dark, and touches of Crumb Cake in the flower center.

The leaves are a combination of Granny Apple Green Light & Dark with a few light touches of Old Olive Light added.  Then the pieces were die-cut with the matching dies.

The sentiment is from the Textured Notes stamp set.  This was stamped with Old Olive ink onto a Basic White piece.  Then the coordinating die from the set was used to die-cut the sentiment.

At this point, the sentiment was attached to the focal layer with adhesive.  The flower piece was attached with Dimensionals.  The small leaf cluster was tucked in under the flower.

For the final touch, a trio of peachy gems from the 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems were added to the design.  There you have it, a simple card with lots of interest and texture that kicks it up a notch or two.  I just love the finished look of the card and think I'll make another couple cards but change the sentiments to work for birthdays and anniversaries.  They would be a great addition to my stash of finished cards.  I seem to always think I have enough cards on hand, but I never do!  I can never have too many.  Well, at least so far, I've never had too many.  You never know.  😏

Thanks for sharing some time with me today.  Did you enjoy this card?  I hope so.  It's one of my favorites lately.  I'm having fun mixing the Charming Day set with the Lovely & Beautiful DSP.  What a great combo together!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this idea.  Is it too pastel for you, or just right?  Maybe I should try this same layout and stamp set but use darker, richer colors and see what I get.  Just thinking...

If you're one of my customers, make sure you've opted in to receive info from Stampin'Up! so I can send you one of the new catalogs.  Yes, it's that time of year and there will be lots of changes.  There will be three catalogs during the year instead of the larger Annual Catalog and the smaller mini catalogs.  I can hardly wait to see what all the new products will be!  Like new In Colors that will be fabulous!!  And lots more fun items that will help you reach your creative potential.  Stay tuned.  But don't stop stamping while you're waiting!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Last Chance Impressions Abloom

Hello friends!  Hope you're doing well today.  Have you got a favorite stamp set that you grab for all the time?  I do, and unfortunately, it's now on the Last Chance List.  It seemed important to me to make another card or two with this and share them with you one more time.  Do you own the Impressions Abloom set?  These florals are an easy two-step stamp and look so pretty when made.  I can't even begin to tell you how many color combos I've used for this set.  And I think they all turned out great!  So, let's take one last look at one of my favorite sets.

For this design, the Impressions Abloom set was paired up with the Lovely & Beautiful 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper.  Don't they fit together nicely?  Start the card with a Calypso Coral card base that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

There is a 2" x 5 1/2" strip of this gorgeous gold-accented DSP that is attached to the Calypso Coral card base.  To enhance the gold on the DSP, a 1/4" strip of Brushed Gold Foil was cut and added to the left of the DSP strip.  This really made the gold accents pop.

There is a gold foil circle cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies.  This is the largest of the circle dies.

The next smaller circle is used to cut a Petal Pink cardstock circle.  This is layered onto the gold foil circle and attached with adhesive.  Set aside while we make the flowers.

On a 2" strip of Basic White cardstock, stamp the larger flower detail stamp with Calypso Coral ink a couple times.  Then stamp the solid flower stamp with Petal Pink ink directly over these.  I lined the stamps up with the larger petal.

Next, stamp the 'daisy' flower detail stamp using Petal Pink ink several times.  I didn't stamp any extra color on these to keep them very light.

The flower centers were stamped with the correct size centers using Daffodil Delight ink.  The leaves are the detail stamp which I used to stamp some leaves in Old Olive, Garden Green, and Granny Apple Green.  I wasn't sure which color I'd use until putting the cards together.  I ended up using the Granny Apple Green and Garden Green leaves.  The other will be kept as extras to be used later.

Both sizes of flowers and all the leaves were die-cut with the matching dies.  This gave me a pile of flowers and leaves to play with when creating.  For one card, the largest flower was attached with a bit of adhesive just in the center, and in the other card I switched the flowers around.  The 2nd flower was attached with a Dimensional in the center.  Then an assortment of leaves were tucked in under and around the flowers.

I found a twiggy branch from another set that I die-cut some pieces in the gold foil to carry those lovely gold tones throughout the card.  Some of the branches were used whole, but some of them were cut into smaller pieces to tuck in. 

When the circles were fully decorated, they were attached to the card fronts using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is also from the Impressions Abloom stamp set.  It's stamped onto a strip of Basic White cardstock that measures 3/4" x 1 3/4".  Calypso Coral ink was used for this.  The label was attached using two of the Dimensionals.

The inside of the card has a Basic White layer of cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  There is a 3/4" by 5 1/4" strip of the same DSP print along the right edge for an accent.

With all the gold foil accents on the card, I decided to do away with any extra bling for these cards.  It just felt like it was detracting from the design instead of enhancing it.

Well, I am very sorry to see this great stamp set show up in the last chance list.  It has been used often in my stamping.  If you don't have it yet, it might be something you'd consider adding to your stash.  

Thanks for sharing some of your precious time with me.  I hope you're inspired to get in your stamp area and do a little creating today.  Remember that there are new stamps, dies, kits, and much more that will be available on March 3rd.  You'll find lots of new treasures that will coordinate and work well with some of the favorites that you already own.  Stay tuned...

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

More Lovely Arrangements

Hello, my stamping friends!   Hope today finds you all doing well and feeling creative.  I seem to be having trouble leaving the Lovely Arrangements bundle alone.  First of all, that Lovely Blossoms Designer Series Paper is just so gorgeous.  I love the colors and patterns and pretty much everything about it.  So, that means I'm using it again today for a series of five fun fold cards.  If you don't like this DSP, just think of doing these fun fold cards with your favorite DSP.  I'm sure they would turn out lovely.  

First let me share with you the entire batch of cards.  The fun fold is the same for each of them.  There are two different prints in this paper pack that I focused on using with accents from the reverse side to enhance the designs.  They also use different wording and embellishments to make each of them a little different.

Let's focus on the cutting dimensions first.

lg card base - 7 1/2" x 4 1/4" 

score @ 2"

sm card - 8" x 2 1/2"   

score @ 4"

For all my card bases, I used either Cloud Cover or Secret Sea cardstock.

DSP measurements - 

inner piece 5 1/4" x 4"

left front flap - 4" x 1 3/4"

right front flap - 3 3/4" x 2 1/4"  I used the reverse side or a different print for an accent

Basic White inner piece - 3 3/4" x 2 1/4"

This is the first design we'll look at and create.  The Cloud Cover cardstock base is scored and folded on the left side.  The largest piece of DSP is attached inside this card using adhesive.  The 1 3/4" x 4" DSP piece is attached to the left front flap.

The smaller card is folded in half with the fold on the right side.  This is attached to the inside center of the card base.

An accent print piece of DSP is attached to the right front flap with adhesive.

The inner white piece is stamped before attaching.  I also had an extra flower that I attached inside for interest.  On the other cards, I used a partial stamp for the accent.

All the flowers are stamped with Secret Sea ink on Basic White cardstock and die-cut with the matching dies.  For this stack of cards, I used 6 full flowers and 5 half flowers.  The flowers were each attached with one Dimensional in the center so the leaves could be tucked in around and under the flowers.  I also die-cut a pile of leaves to pick and choose from while constructing the cards.  I used Old Olive, Secret Sea, Cloud Cover, and several from a print from the Beautiful Gallery 6" x 6" DSP.  Those made a lovely accent on one of the cards.

Now that you have a basic knowledge of how these cards all go together, let's take a closer look at each of the other cards.

This card has a Secret Sea base with the same print used on both the inside and left flap.  The print on the right flap is the reverse of the print on the last card.  The soft pink color was a perfect accent.  

The sentiment is from the same set and is stamped on a 1/2" strip tucked under the leaves.  The leaves used on this card are both Secret Sea and Cloud Cover.

The bling used on most of these cards is from the Moody Palette Glossy Dots pack.  I'm loving these low-profile pretty dots as accents! 

The left flap on this card uses the reverse side of the print above.

Instead of a DSP layer in the center of the right flap, I used a small Everyday Arches piece for the sentiment.

The flowers here have a bit of Cloud Cover ink blended in the centers to give the flowers more depth.

This time the Moody Palette Dots were added in a line to accent the sentiment.

This card is very similar to two cards back.  The sentiment is different.

The flowers have Petal Pink ink blended in the center for more color.  

The bling is little Petal Pink hearts from a Paper Pumpkin kit 2-3 years ago.  Only had a few left and thought they looked nice here.

Last card of the five and it has the most changes.  The Old Olive print is from the same pack of paper.

The left flap has the circles from a die in the set.  I thought that was an interesting addition.  

The flowers have Cloud Cover blended on them a little heavier than a previous card.  The leaves are a mix of Old Olive, and both Cloud Cover & several from a print from Beautiful Gallery DSP using a different die so they are skeleton leaves.  Just a different look.  

This sentiment if from a different company.  I'm having trouble finding get well sentiments for the cards I've been needing.

 There you have it - a lovely series of cards that use the same fun fold idea and the same DSP and stamps.  But don't they all have their own identity?  I hope you can see how easy they are to put together.  It would be fun getting one of these in the mail instead of a regular card.  I usually do more basic cards, but these were fun for a change of pace.

Don't forget to redeem any of your Bonus Days coupons.  You can only do that through the end of this month.  Don't lose out on them!!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I appreciate the time you take to visit my blog and hope you were inspired to get creative soon.  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of my cards or even what else you'd like to see.  I'm open for suggestions.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Love Nature's Symphony!

Hi y'all!  Just getting ready for the ice storm that will be coming through here this weekend.  So not looking forward to this, but there's not much that can be done about it but hunker down.  Instead, let's do a little creating with one of my new sets that I totally adore.  Nature's Symphony has interesting images, awesome dies, and great wording.  In other words, it has it all and I'm having so much fun using it.

I hope you can see some of the new extras that I've used on this design too.  First of all, I finally purchased the Old Olive Two-Tone 12" x 12" cardstock.  I have a few other colors and finally got this one to add to my stash.  It was cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4" for this card.  

Then I used my new Stone & Vine 3D Embossing Folder to add texture to the Two-Tone cardstock.  Oh, my goodness!  Can you see all this fabulous texture?  This is the lighter side of the cardstock, and the edges of the ivy leaves show the white core of the cardstock.  So very fabulous!  If you wanted more of the white detail to show, you could take a sanding block to it lightly to add even more contrast.

Here's a super extreme close-up of some of the embossed detail.  This really shows how the white core of the paper shows on the edges of the design.  Honestly, I just want to reach out and run my fingers over it because of all the texture.

This layer is attached to a piece of Mossy Meadow for the card base.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.  The embossed layer is attached with Tombow Liquid Glue.

The focal images for the card are the great leafy branches die-cut using the die from the Nature's Symphony set.  The leaves are cut from Mossy Meadow and Old Olive cardstock pieces to match.

I used a strip of Basic Beige that was in my left-over cut pieces.  It measures 4" long and just a bit less than 1 1/4" high.  The sentiment is from the Nature's Symphony set.  (I love both the sentiment and the cute font.)  It's stamped with Mossy Meadow ink onto the far-right edge of the piece. 

When all the pieces were ready, the Mossy Meadow leaves were attached to the card flat onto the card front.  Adhesive was added mostly to the branches and not the leaves.  

Then the sentiment layer was attached with adhesive.  It's covering just a tiny bit of the stems.  The Old Olive leaves were cut into two separate stems.  The longer stem was added first with adhesive mostly on the stem with one Mini Dimensional under the very top leaf.  The smaller stem was also attached with adhesive on the bottom of the stem and then the top three leaves all have a Mini Dimensional holding them up for more definition.

Three of the beautiful Holographic Gems were added to the design to give it a little bit of bling.  These are my absolute favorite gems for cards that are predominantly green.

Still needed a little something.  A small double bow made from Linen Thread was added to the stems to finish the design.  The bow was attached with a Mini Glue Dot rolled into a tube to hold the bow securely.

Once I had the design idea in my head, I was surprised how quickly it came together.  There was almost no stamping and no coloring to take up extra time.  Just a really fast, but still interesting, card idea for you.

Thanks for hanging out with me today.  Hope you were inspired to try a card like this that is full of textures and interest but still so quick it took almost no time at all to make.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Nature's Symphony Take 2

Hello friends.  I mentioned yesterday that I'd be back today to share the next card made with the Nature's Symphony stamp and die bundle.  Did I say I really love these?  Well, I do and I've really enjoyed creating with them.  Since I had out all the materials yesterday, it made sense to go ahead and make another one.  I mean, the larger frame from the Gallery Blooms dies and extra leaves from the Nature Walk DSP were already cut and waiting, so why not?

I just love everything about this card!  I started again with a card base of Mossy Meadow cardstock.  It looked so nice with the leaves, why change a good thing?

Then check out the changes made to the larger Gallery Blooms die-cut frame that was left over from yesterday's card.  It was embossed with the Timber 3D Embossing Folder which was retired a while back.  I wanted the tight woodgrain design on this frame, and this was perfect.

This time, I wanted more color on the Crumb Cake frame.  Using a Blending Brush, first Crumb Cake ink was added.  Then a light layer of Pecan Pie ink was added to give it a little more color.

Looking for a background for the inside of the frame, I found leftover pieces of the Woven Textures DSP and this one looked just right.  It measures about 5 1/8" x 3 3/4" so it fits nicely behind the frame with no problem.  The subtle linen weave print has just enough visual interest but it's not overpowering.  After attaching the two pieces together with adhesive, they were added to the card front with adhesive too.

Now let's discuss these leaves.  Oh, my goodness!  I cut a strip of the Nature Walk DSP that fit the leafy die. Three different leafy branches were cut from this strip.  Each one of the die cuts have a different mix of these same colors.  One branch was for yesterday's card, the other two were for today's card.  The darker branch was cut apart to tuck in around the lighter branch.  This gave me so much more contrast to play with on the design.

Again, the leaves were attached inside the frame with touches of Tombow Liquid Glue along the stems and a small touch on the base of some leaves.

The sentiment is from the Sentimental Framing stamp set.  It's stamped on Basic White cardstock with Pecan Pie ink.  It was 'fussy cut' around it so it would have a smaller size shape when attached to the 'wood' layer.

The layer it is on is from the Nature's Symphony dies.  It looks like a plank of wood with cool woodgrain cuts in the design.  After die-cutting a Crumb Cake piece, a Blending Brush was used to add some Pecan Pie ink to help define the detail and darken it a little.

This was added to the card front with Dimensionals.  Then the sentiment was added with rolled up Mini Glue Dots.  This gave it just a little added height instead of absolutely flat.

The final touch for this design was adding the Brushed Brass Butterflies to this lovely nature-inspired card.   Don't the butterflies look like they belong there tucked amid the foliage?

I just wanted to share this photo again of the two cards side-by-side.  I love how they have a similar look but are still very different.  Now I'm wondering what else I can create with this set.  I love sets with a nature theme, and this one has some added goodies with four nice sentiments and some very different dies that coordinate.  Very interesting!

Thanks for stopping here and spending some time with me.  I certainly appreciate it!  My hope is that something catches your eye and inspires you to be creative.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Nature's Symphony First Try

Hello, my stamping friends!  I've been so stuck on making blue cards lately that I've started to bore myself.  Ho hum.  I decided it was time to play with a new set I've gotten recently but haven't used yet.  It's the Nature's Symphony stamp and die bundle that so intrigued me.  For this nature inspired card, I really felt greens should be my main color today.  Have you seen the gorgeous new DSP called Nature Walk yet?  It's on page 39 in the January - May Mini Catalog and you really need to check it out.  This is going to be one of my favorites for sure!  Let's get creating and see what we make.

My first idea was to use this mottled DSP print for my leaves, and the design came together from that start.  After cutting the leaves with the die in the Nature's Symphony die set, Mossy Meadow cardstock was chosen for the card base.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4" then folded in half.

The double frame die in the Gallery Blooms set was used to cut Crumb Cake cardstock.  This matches the color in the DSP print so nicely.  The frame I used here is the smaller, inner frame on the die. The larger die-cut frame would be used in my next card.  Since I was keeping this card design on the simple side, I didn't do any embossing or stamping on the frame but left it as is.  I thought the plain simplicity made the leaves really stand out as the focus.

The frame was attached to the center of the card front using adhesive.  Tombow Liquid Glue was used sparingly on the stems of the leaves and just a little on the leaf base to hold in place.  I wanted the leaves to be a little loose from the card base to look more natural.  The stem was tucked right above the inner frame with the leaves fanning out and over the frame.  Several leaves were slightly finger-curled at the tips to help them stand apart from the frame.

The sentiment is from the More Messages stamp and die bundle.  FYI - these are on the Last Chance list so get it while you can!  This time I stamped the sentiments with Pecan Pie ink and cut with the matching die in the bundle.  And just like that you've got 19 sentiments all ready to use when you need them.  Easy peasy.

Before adding the sentiment to the card front, a large floppy bow was made from Linen Thread.  This was attached behind the sentiment with a Mini Glue Dot in the top left area.  

Then Dimensionals were added behind the sentiment label, and it was attached near the bottom of the frame.

The last touch was adding some bronze dots to finish off the design.  The darker metallic look seemed to work nicely with the natural look of all the other components of the design.

Just a little teaser here.  This shows the next card I worked on with more of the same components as the original.  Come back tomorrow for another installment on the Nature's Symphony bundle.  I hope you love these ideas as much as I do!

Don't forget that Bonus Days are going on this month.  There's still two more weeks to earn your Bonus Days coupon or two (or more!)  For every $50 you spend this month, you receive a coupon worth $5.00 to redeem in February with your next purchase.  Woo Hoo!  And don't forget to hang on to those coupon codes.  You'll need those numbers.  That's the only way you can cash them in!!

Thanks for stopping in today to see what's happening here.  Come back for the 2nd installment tomorrow.  So happy to have you visit.  Please be sure to add a comment and let me know what you think of my designs.  Thank you!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

 

New Greenery Lane

Greetings my stamping friends!   I hope you had a fabulous Christmas with family and friends.  Are you ready to get back to creating yet?  If you are, I've got something fun for you.  If you liked the Extraordinary Flora bundle and coordinating Washi Tape that are in the Annual Catalog, I think you're going to love this new Greenery Lane bundle that you'll find in the new January - April 2026 Mini Catalog.  Do you have your catalog yet?  If you do, you'll find these goodies on pages 56 and 57.  You can start ordering your favorites from this catalog on January 6th - just a few more days.  Today my card idea focuses on the Greenery Lane Washi Tape, but I also use the Greenery Lane stamps and dies.  Oh, so much fun!  Let's get started.

The very first thing I did with this card is play with the Washi Tape.  I placed a section of the Washi Tape onto Basic White cardstock to give it some rigidity.  Then these layers were cut with the coordinating dies in the Greenery Lane bundle.  The different leaves in the Washi Tape are all in shades ranging from Cloud Cover to Garden Green with shades of Lost Lagoon added in for interest.  There are four different leafy stems in these green shades along with tiny star-type flowers in Cloud Cover color that make up the Washi Tape.  Considering the soft, misty colors here, this is right up my alley!  And I can think of a couple of you ladies out there that would love this.

After die-cutting a small pile of greenery, it was time to plan out this card.  For those of you that don't know, I've been a demonstrator for over 28 years now.  That means I've seen (and owned!) a lot of different stamp sets and other products over the years.  Add to that fact is the problem I have of keeping way too many retired items that I'm sure I'll need and use in the future.  Many moons ago, we had packages of die-cut labels called Hugs.  Yes, they are adorable. There were also smaller labels called kisses too and I have a pile of those left too.  So, the white scalloped rectangle label on this card is one of those Hugs.  It is about 2 1/4" x 4" if you don't happen to have these ancient die-cut labels and want to cut your own label for this card.  😁

The sentiment is from the Greenery Lane bundle and is stamped with Secret Sea ink over on the right-hand side of the label.  I also used the Secret Sea Blending Pen to spatter ink over this layer.  I also used Wink of Stella to add another layer of spattering for a little shine then set it aside of dry.

While that was drying, I cut a piece of Cloud Cover cardstock that measured 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" for the card base.  I spaced out the tiny flowers from the stamp set onto a block, then stamped them around the edges of the cardstock using Cloud Cover ink.  This adds interest without too much added color.

Then a layer of Secret Sea cardstock was cut to measure 3 1/2" x 4 1/2".  On this piece, the large leafy branch from the set was stamped with Secret Sea.  When you have the finished card in your hands, this is quite obvious even though it doesn't show up much in the pictures.  The edge of my scissors was used to rough up the edges of this layer for interest.  Then the Secret Sea layer is attached to the center of the Cloud Cover base using adhesive.

To make the greenery cluster on the front of the card, first the darkest and largest leaf stem was added on the left side of the label.  This was attached with adhesive and is about 1/2" or so higher than the label.  Four more stems were layered up here making sure there was a mix of lighter and darker leaves that blended well.   A couple of the stems were trimmed a small amount so they wouldn't show under the ribbon.

The ribbon is the Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave Ribbon that is tied into a smallish bow.  It is attached over the stems with a couple of Mini Glue Dots.

This layer was attached to the card front using Dimensionals for definition.

Three of the new Moody Palette Glossy Dots were added to the design for the touch of bling.  Aren't they a pretty and soft addition to the design?

The inside of the card is stamped with a sentiment from the Happy Thoughts stamp set.  It's stamped with Secret Sea ink.  I realize this is a retired stamp set, but the sentiment is so nice I tend to grab it fairly often.

The large leafy stem from the Greenery Lane set was partially stamped in the corner using Cloud Cover ink.  A scattering of the tiny flowers in the set was stamped among the leaves.  They were stamped with Secret Sea.

That's it for today's sneak peek from the new Mini Catalog that will be current starting January 6th.  If you are interested in my opinion at all, I think you'll like working with this bundle.  And the pretty leaves in the Washi Tape will give you lots of opportunities for creativity.  You will find yourself tucking them in and around all kinds of different flowers when designing.  Give it a try.  I really think you'll like it!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon