Wintery In The Grove Card

 Hello Friends!  It seems like forever since we have gotten together on a new post.  I'm still struggling to get over the pneumonia, but it seems to be a losing battle some days.  A few cards I've made in the last two weeks have been very simple without lots of extra layers and whatever on them.  Since my mind has been in such a muddle, intricate designs and fun folds seem to be beyond me.  And with all the coughing, I've found coloring has been a challenge.  But I did want to visit with you, so here we go.

To make this card, there are two items it is imperative to use - the In The Grove die set and the Thoughtful Journey 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper pack.  With these two items, you can quickly put together some absolutely stunning cards with very little time expended.

First, I started with the Basic White Thick cardstock for the top layer.  Everything worked backwards from this.  It measured 3 7/8" x 5".  The birch tree die was placed in the center of this and run through the die cut machine two or three times to make sure the detail was fully cut.

Placing the die over several prints in the Thoughtful Journey DSP pack to get an idea of how they would look, I chose the colors and design of this one.  It was cut to fit behind the die without any edges showing.  I think it's about 1/8" smaller than the white layer.  The two layers are attached together with adhesive.

The card base is a half sheet of Misty Moonlight, scored and folded in half.  It picks out the Misty Moonlight shades in the sky.  The layers are attached with Dimensionals to make it stand out more.

A small bunny from the same die set was cut from a scrap of Basic White Thick cardstock.  It's tucked in behind the bottom and attached with adhesive.

The sentiment I used is from the Country Flowers stamp set.  It's stamped onto a 5/8" strip of Basic White cardstock using Misty Moonlight ink to match.  The ends were flagged to finish it off.  Then it was attached with Dimensionals to elevate it.

The finishing touch is the trio of the new Iridescent Faceted Gems scattered onto the design.  I wasn't sure if I'd like these, but they are absolutely gorgeous.  They tend to pick up any color they are on and really add some lovely sparkle.

If you like this idea, but these aren't your favorite colors, just take a peek through you DSP prints that have a wonderful watercolor feel to them.  I'm sure you can find multiple prints to choose from that suit you just fine.  I'd love to see what you've created!

Just a quick reminder that BONUS DAYS are going on this month.  For every $50 you spend, Stampin'Up! will give you a $5 coupon to be used in August.  Make sure your email info is up to date as your coupon with be sent directly to your inbox.  And don't lose those coupons!!  No one else has those numbers but you!  If you'd like to use me as your demonstrator, feel free to list me as your demonstrator.  You can use the Host Code at the top of this post also.  You are so greatly appreciated.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Country Flowers with New In Colors

Hello there.  Today's card is all about the new colors available in the new catalog.  I can hardly wait for tomorrow so I can place an order for some stamps that demonstrators could Not order yet.  How exciting!  I totally love the new In Colors this time around - Peach Pie, Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Summer Splash, and Shy Shamrock.  They are all lovely and it was hard to decide what to create with first.  One of the items we could order is the Unbounded Beauty Designer Series Paper.  Just gorgeous!  So I picked a design I loved from the DSP and built my card around it.

Aren't these new colors just fabulous?  I couldn't wait to get creative with them.  This is the first card using these new colors, but it certainly won't be the last one.

Start with the new Petunia Pop for the card base.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  The Basic White layer really makes the DSP pop.  It measures 5 1/4" x 4" with the DSP layer measuring 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  They're attached together with adhesive.  

Before attaching this to the card front, a 6-7" piece of the new Summer Splash 3/8" Bordered Ribbon is wrapped around the front and attached with adhesive to the back.  The placement of the ribbon is about 1/3 from the left edge.  This is all attached to the card base using Dimensionals.

The Basic White background label is cut with the Thoughtful Expressions die set.  There is a Summer Splash background added using a Blending Brush and lightly adding color to the center of the label.

The images are from the new Country Flowers Bundle.  To keep the colors softer, both the teapot and the flower images were stamped with Smoky Slate ink.  Stampin' Blends are used to color the images - Smoky Slate Light & Dark for the teapot, Summer Splash Light & Dark for the leaves, Petunia Pop for the tiny flowers.  The roses were a little trickier for me.  I wanted to color them with Pretty in Pink because there were small splotches of the color on the DSP.  But when I did, overall it didn't work out.  So over the pink, I added first Bubble Bath Blends, then very light touches of the Petunia Pop Light Blends.  It's amazing to me that I could layer up color on top of color and the cardstock didn't get messed up with all the coloring.  When I do this again, I might start with Bubble Bath and add the Petunia Pop to that and save myself from all the mixing of color layers.

Both the teapot and florals were die cut using the matching dies then added to the white layer with  Dimensionals.  Dimensionals were also used to attach the white layer over the ribbon and DSP.

Lastly, I wanted to add a sentiment.  This one is from the Wonderful Thoughts stamp set.  It's stamped with Petunia Pop ink onto Basic White cardstock.  It's die-cut with the matching dies.  To attach this to the card, the right side has a Dimensionals under it and the left side has a bit of adhesive.  This helps it lay flat on the card.

The last little bit needed to finish the card is the embellishments.  What would a card be without a touch of bling to make it happy.    These pinkish sequins are from the Adhesive-backed Sequins Trio.  With the iridescent finish on these they blend so well with multiple shades of pink.  I'm so happy they are carrying over to the new catalog.  They are one of my favorite embellishments.

I just wanted to share one more picture showing off these gorgeous new colors.  You'll probably get sick seeing these colors on my blog so often.  I'll make sure I play with all my other colors too.  Don't want them to feel abandoned!  LOL

Tomorrow, May 1st is the big day for being able to order from the new catalog.  Are you ready?  If you need any help with anything, please reach out to me.  I'm here to help.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon