Another Gallery Blooms Card

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon  

Gallery Blooms Simple Card

Hello friends!  Hope you're enjoying this Memorial Day!  Please take time to remember the brave and wonderful men and women of the Armed Forces that gave their lives and futures to protect our country and preserve liberty for us all.  "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 How blessed we are to live in this country and enjoy all the freedoms that we take for granted daily.  Let us be thankful for how blessed this nation has been through the years and ask God's continued hand of guidance and blessing to rest upon us.

I recently received an order that included the Gallery Blooms bundle and the coordinating Beautiful Gallery Designer Series Paper.  I kept telling myself that I didn't need every floral set that came along, but obviously I couldn't resist this one.  The first card made with this set was quite simple and straightforward.  Nothing fancy, just the stamps and some cardstock.

I think this card is really quite beautiful even though it's rather simple.  Let me take you through the process of making it.

The first decision made was to stamp the flowers from the Gallery Blooms onto Very Vanilla cardstock using the new Secret Sea ink.  Since I was making one, I decided to make two of these flower stems and have an extra for another card.  After stamping, I used a Wink of Stella brush to sort of lightly "watercolor" the flower petals.  I only used the ink that was already there from stamping the flowers to keep it very pale.  I also used Wink of Stella to color the leaves, but this time used extra ink from the pad.  This gave the leaves the darker coloring.  I was surprised how very light this dark ink could be and how pretty it turned out.  No matter how many different ways I tried to picture this, the shimmer of the Wink of Stella just didn't want to show itself but believe me it's there.

After the coloring the two flower stems, the coordinating die was used to cut the flowers out.  Now, what to do with them?

I decided on a card base of Cloud Cover cardstock for the first card.  This is a lovely soft blue/gray color.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.  

Next is a layer of Secret Sea that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This was embossed with the new Damask Designs Embossing Folder.  Even though the design isn't really obvious when looking at the card straight on, it shows up nicely at an angle.  This left a really elegant look to the background.  And I always love the feel of embossed texture on my cards.  

This layer was attached to the folded card base.  Tombow MultiPurpose Liquid Glue, also known as "green glue", was used to attach them together.  

As I was in the process of making this card, I had another card in pieces on the side.  One of the extra pieces from this card was a 3/4" strip cut from the bottom of one of the Beautiful Gallery DSP prints.  This was a mottled gray strip that I liked with the card I was making here.  I cut the strip to measure 4" and attached it across the card front with "green glue".

The sentiment used here is from the new Beautiful Motifs stamp set.  This set has eight great sentiments that are very general and a good size.  I'm sure these are sentiments I'll be using often.  This one is stamped on a Very Vanilla 1/2" strip using Secret Sea ink.  It was trimmed some to fit the card.

The stem of flowers was attached to the card front with Dimensionals.  The sentiment was just tucked under the stem and popped up with Dimensionals also.

Since I have the 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls that match these colors, I chose to use the Cloud Cover gems and attached three of them.  I think they show up nicely on the Secret Sea background, don't you?

Okay, that's the first design I've made using the Gallery Blooms bundle.  I still have that second flower that is already stamped, colored, and ready to go.  If all goes well, the next card should be making an appearance here tomorrow.

One last picture of this card using the new Gallery Blooms bundle with a couple of the new 2025-2027 In Color cardstock colors.  This turned out to be a very clean and simple card design.  It was also easy to make.  I've seen several cards made with this stem of flowers on Pinterest that were colored much more brightly.  But as you can see, these soft grays are quite beautiful too.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.  Hope you were inspired to get out your stamps and paper and then get creative.  I always find it uplifting and satisfying to create something beautiful that I can share with you.  I'm so glad you find time to visit.

Feel free to leave your comments at the end if you'd like.  If you have any questions or need some help, I'd love to hear from you.  You can always contact me through my email at sharoncarr50@gmail.com.  Looking forward to hearing your comments.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

 

What To Do With Leftovers

Hello friends and a Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there that have a hand in shaping the world around us.   I hope each of you had/have a mother that is as kind and loving as mine.  I feel truly blessed by her and still miss her every day.  She was a great inspiration and role model in teaching me how to be a good mother and a good person.  I can only try to live up to her example.

Today's card is all about using those leftovers you have after one of those creative marathons.  Or am I the only one that always has leftover die-cuts of stems and leaves, extra sentiments because I changed my mind, and those pieces cut from other projects - the ovals, circles, and rectangles, etc.  On yesterday's card, I cut a large oval from the DSP gracing the front panel of my card.  The oval die is from the new Impressions Abloom set and was used to cut a pretty print from the Floral Delight DSP.  It was much too pretty to throw out, so I used it for the center back-drop for today's card.

That piece of DSP was the starting point.  Let's see where it goes from there.  The DSP print looked nice with Old Olive, so that is the base color for the card.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.

There is another print in that pack of DSP that sort of looked like fabric with different tones of Old Olive in it.  This was cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4".  Then it was embossed/die-cut with the Pattern of Friendship background die.  This added the wonderful striped texture to the DSP.  

The Gold Open-weave Trim was wrapped around this layer and attached to the back with Tear & Tape.  This gave just a bit of subtle sparkle when the light hits it just right.  Then the layer was added to the front of the folded Old Olive base with adhesive.

Now, it's time to play with that oval of DSP that was leftover.  I started playing with different pieces of greenery to see what kind of a focal point could be added to the card.  These are the ones that I chose to use.  The white fern type of branch is from the Beautiful Motifs set.  The olive bolder stem and leaves are from Impressions Abloom.  And the smaller stamped and cut greenery is from the Grow with Love set that is an Online Exclusive set.  I liked how these pieces worked together.  They are all attached near the center bottom of the oval piece.  The oval is then attached to the center of the card base using Dimensionals.

I had just stamped and die-cut the new multi-word stamp called More Messages using Pecan Pie.  That meant I had a whole pile of sentiments to choose from.  If you haven't noticed the More Messages stamp and die bundle in the Online Exclusives, you really should check it out.  It is one large stamp with 19 different sentiments that are great for everyday use.  There is 1 die that cuts all of them at once.  Hence, you have a whole pile of sentiments that are ready to use when you are.  I actually stamped it three times - once with Pecan Pie, once with Memento Tuxedo Black, and once with the new Secret Sea that is a lovely navy/black tone.  I separated each group of sentiments by color and put them in little baggies to use as needed.  So handy.

Ok, back to the card.  I chose a sentiment and attached it with Dimensionals.  A double bow was made with Gold Twisted Thread that is retired.  It's attached just under the sentiment with Mini Glue Dots.

The inside is a layer of Basic White with a 1/4" strip of the yellow checked print from the same DSP pack - Floral Delight.  That bit of yellow is a nice contrasting accent to the rest of the card.  Now on to Connie's version using the very same oval on her card.

She also started with an Old Olive base for her card.

There is a layer of that cute yellow and white check print from the Floral Delight DSP that she added.  (That's where I got my little strip for my card.)  Before attaching, she also has the Gold Open-weave Trim wrapped on her card too.

There is another oval die in the Impressions Abloom set that cuts that skinny frame that is added to her oval.  The Old Olive trim really makes the oval stand out nicely.

She chose to use the same greenery stems that I used.  Then added the Gold Twisted Thread double bow to the greenery with Mini Glue Dots.

She chose a different sentiment from the ones I had stamped and cut earlier.  It's also stamped with the Pecan Pie ink.  This is attached with Mini Dimensionals to the left of the greenery.

Hope you like these two versions that are similar but still different.  It's fun to be stamping with someone and each doing our own thing but encouraging each other and making suggestions too.  

I love having all those little bits and pieces saved from other projects.  It makes it easier to just try out different shapes to see if you like them without having to find everything and die-cut and then not be happy and put it all away.  And then start the search all over again.  Do you do that too?

Anyway, it was fun having Connie here to play and create with her.  We both got so much accomplished and were quite pleased with all we had made.

Let me be honest with you.  I like Connie's card more than my own today.  It has a touch of drama to it that really attracts me.  Which one do you prefer?

You really won't hurt my feelings if you like her card better.

Thanks for stopping by today to see what I've been up to lately.  There are a few more items that Connie and I did together that I hope to get to soon.  I've been doing more creating myself that I want to share too.  I guess I'll be busy doing a lot of blogging in the future!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Ombre and Black Silhouette Card

Hello friends!  Yes, I love the look of an ombre background with an interesting black silhouette contrasting with it.  It has such a crisp, clean look that I'm drawn to.  I've had this idea rolling around for a bit, but I didn't have a really wonderful silhouette die-cut that would really stand out.  My sister, Connie, brought several sets that I don't own yet, so I was able to use one of them to create my idea.  I'm so thrilled with how beautiful it turned out!  I hope you try the idea yourself.  Of course, you can use the materials that you have and use whatever color combo you might prefer when trying this.  I'd love to hear about what you create.

Here is my creation and I love it!  It starts with a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Basic White cardstock along with an oval die.  I used the Layering Ovals dies that we had a few years back for this card.  I cut a piece of computer paper the same size as my white cardstock, die-cut the oval from it, then used a piece of Scotch tape over the top edge to hold them in place together while color blending.

Then comes the magic.  Get out your Blending Brushes and three ink pads that look nice together.  I used Old Olive, Pool Party, and Lemon Lolly.  I started with the Old Olive and added color to the bottom of the die-cut oval.  I purposely did not go straight across but angled the color a little.  Keep the color darker at the bottom edge and blend up into the 1/3 area very lightly.  Next, I added Pool Party ink blending down into the Old Olive area and up into the top 1/3 area keeping that top edge light.  Lastly the Lemon Lolly was added to the oval.  This time I didn't take the color up to the top edge but just feathered it out near that edge to give the illusion of the full shape.

Peek under the mask.  If the colors are as you like, then take it off entirely.  You can always reuse this mask to make another card if you want.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I went with colors that reminded me of a sunny day with the grass, sky, and sunshine.

It's time to make the silhouette image for the design.  The design is die-cut from the black cardstock piece cut to frame the white layer.  The Basic Black layer measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  The die is from the new Beautiful Motifs Die set.  Isn't it the perfect delicate detailed piece?  After die-cutting, it's attached over the color-blended oval.

Next the sentiment was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.   The sentiment is from the Thoughtful Wishes stamp set.  I love the two different fonts here.  It's stamped to kind of curve around the bottom of the oval.  

After stamping, the white layer is attached to the black layer with "green glue".  The card base is Pool Party cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.  The layers are attached to it with Dimensionals for a little pop.

Lastly are the lovely Pool Party clear gems that are added to the design.  These are from the Glossy Dots Assortment.  They are the perfect match for this crisp design.  

I love the overall clean look of this card.  It's so serene and calms me right down just looking at it.  Maybe I need to hang it on my bedroom wall so I can calm down and sleep at night?  😉 So funny!

Hope you enjoyed this simple idea.  You could use different shapes, or different color combos and silhouette shapes to make your creation.  The ideas are pretty much endless when you start thinking about it.  I'd love to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by to see what is going on here.  Just hanging out in my craft room and creating as usual.  I'm happy to have the company.  Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon