Easy Cross Easter Card

Hello friends.  I don't know if you've seen all the variations of the cross card that is very popular right now.  I've tried 3 of them and wasn't crazy happy about any of them.  Then I saw a video by Terri Gaines that was different.  Instead of having a pop-up cross, she just has the cross on a fold on the card front.  So easy and I love that it stands up nice and straight with no propping at all.  Yay!  And the icing on the cake was the number of samples she made using different DSP prints!  Wow.  I think there were at least eight of them!  To check out her ideas, go to CreatewithTerriGaines.com    No, I didn't copy any of them completely but chose my own papers and had fun.  You should give this one a try too.

Here's the finished card.  I love it!  To make it, I started with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock.  It is scored at 1 1/4" and 4 1/4".  You need another piece of the same Daffodil Delight cardstock that measures 3 3/4" x 1 1/4".

The DSP is from the Floral Delight DSP pack.  The olive print has two pieces cut for the base of the card.  These measure 2 3/4" x 5 1/4" and another at 4" x 5 1/4".

The print I used for the cross portion of the card measures 1 1/8" x 5 3/8" for the vertical section and 1 1/8" x 3 5/8 for the cross piece.

Starting with the card base, fold the card in half, and then fold the flap open.  On the front left section and the inside of the card right section, attach the DSP pieces that were cut for the card base.

Now, the DSP gets attached to the cross parts.  The longer one is attached to the folded back part of the card front.  The short piece is attached to the extra piece of Daffodil Delight that was cut.  After attaching the DSP to these pieces, close the card and lay the cross piece over the cross.  You want the right edge to line up with the right edge of the back of the card.  Attach together at the overlap.  I lightly marked with a pencil the area for the adhesive.

The stems and flowers are from the Linked Together Bundle.  There are two sizes of stems.  I cut one of the longer stems and three of the shorter stems out of Old Olive cardstock.  They are attached to the cross with adhesive.  

Then at least five of the flowers were die-cut from Basic White cardstock.   I only used five on my card, but Terri used six on her cards.  Your choice.  There are many other die sets that have stems and flowers that would work.  Just look to see what you have on hand.  I added the flowers with adhesive also. 

The sentiment is from the Storybook Friends stamp set.  For a banner, I cut the 2nd smallest die in the Countryside Corners Bundle from Basic White cardstock.  The greeting is stamped with Old Olive ink way over on the left side of the die-cut.  The right side of the banner is attached behind the cross.  Make sure this doesn't hang over the outside edge of the card.  We want to make sure this card fits into a regular envelope.  

Inside each of the flowers a Rhinestone Basic Jewel was added.  I really wanted a yellow gem, so before adding them, I colored them with the Daffodil Delight Blender Dark Pen to get a nice soft yellow color.  The gems fit inside the tiny hole in the center of each flower perfectly.

To finish the inside of the card, I cut a piece of Basic White at 2 3/4" x 5 1/4".  This is attached inside after stamping a sentiment with Old Olive ink.  This is an old, retired wood stamp, but it's perfect and I'll hang onto it forever.

On the other side, I added an arched die-cut made from the Everyday Arches Dies.  The shape reminded me of the opening to the empty tomb on Easter morning.  This is the 3rd smallest die. The sentiment is not SU!, and unfortunately the stamp is so old that the company doesn't exist anymore.  What a shame.  Make sure this is added to the left side, so it doesn't show when the card is closed.

Just a last close-up look at the cross.  I can't wait to try this again using a woodgrain DSP for the cross.  Wouldn't that be a terrific look?

I hope you give this card idea a try.  It's a very special card for Easter when you want to send something more than a plain card.

Thanks for stopping by to see what's going on over here.  Right now, everything looks a bright Granny Apple Green outside.  It was so dry, but we've had a good steady rain today and all the greenery and flowers are happy again.  It's so wet out there and that means it's a good day to stay inside and create!  Yay, stamping weather!!

If you run into any problems or have questions while making this card, feel free to text me at 313-407-0750 or email me at sharoncarr50@gmail.com.  I'd be happy to help you if I can.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Focus on Designer Paper

 Hello and welcome.  I've been spending more time focusing on the beautiful landscape prints to create my cards.  The prints are so gorgeous, I want to walk right into them and stay there!  Silly, I know.  But the prints are so special and really need to be the main theme.  So, I have a series of cards for you today.  Two of them feature the Splendid Autumn DSP and the other three I used the retired Meandering Meadows DSP.  There's no point in hanging on to these papers just so I can look at them and enjoy them.  They need to be used and enjoyed by others too.

The first card is a symphony of daisies contrasted with lavender.  It uses one of the prints from the Splendid Autumm DSP.   I just love this card!  And it's so easy to make with the whole focus on the DSP.  I had a piece of this paper that measured 6" x 3".  The width was trimmed down to 5 1/2" to fit the card base.

Highland Heather was used for the card base.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" when cut, then was scored and folded in half.  I needed a bit of extra color to define the DSP.  Gorgeous Grape worked great for this. The piece measures 5 1/2" x 3 1/2".

The DSP was attached to this with adhesive and then both were attached to the card base.

The sentiment comes from the set called Hugs for Love.  This set has some of the nicest sayings that I've been using quite often.  This time it's stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink onto a 5/8" wide strip of Basic White.  After stamping the edges are trimmed close and attached with Dimensionals.  There are three of the darkest Purple Adhesive-backed Sequins that are a Sale-a-bration item. 

Like I said, easy peasy.

This card is very similar but uses a print from the Meandering Meadow DSP.  The card base is Granny Apple Green the accent color is Daffodil Delight to pick up the colors of the print.  The measurements of the DSP are 5 1/2" x 3 1/2".

I don't remember which stamp set the sentiment comes from - sorry.  Anything like that would do.  It's stamped with Granny Apple Green ink.  A small bow is made from the Daffodil Delight 1/8" ribbon found in the January-April Mini Catalog.  It's attached with a Mini Glue Dot to hold in place.  There are several yellow sequins scattered among the flowers for an accent.

Next up is another print from the Meandering Meadow pack.  Isn't it lovely and tranquil?  The card base for this one is Bubble Bath cardstock.  A quarter sheet of Melon Mambo was used to die-cut the scalloped frame around the print.  For this I used the retired Scalloped Contours Dies set.  I liked the look of the lacy frame behind this scene.  The DSP was trimmed to fit just inside this frame.

The sentiment is from Changing Leaves set and is stamped on Basic White with Melon Mambo ink.  The die for this is also in the Changing Leaves set.  This was attached to the card front with Dimensionals.  Three pink sequins are snuggled in among the flowers to add a little bling.

This design is another from the Meandering Meadow DSP pack.  I have so few pages of these gorgeous prints left over that I'm trying to make the most of each of them.  This one has a card base of Garden Green to match the greens in the print.

The die used on this print is the Celebration Labels Die which is retired.  It's such a pretty shape and has the stitching on the edges that I like, so I bring this one out of retirement every once in a while.  For this card, I backed the DSP with a layer of Basic Beige to give the DSP a little more rigidity.

The sentiment is the same as the 2nd card, and I still don't know which set it came from yet.  I know as soon as this is posted, I'll run across it and be frustrated with myself.  That's what I get for not writing everything down as I'm creating.  BTW, it's stamped with Garden Green ink onto a Lemon Lime Twist cardstock piece.  There is also a Daffodil Delight bow made from ribbon in the current Mini Catalog.  And there are three retired yellow/green sequins scattered in the flowers.

This last card was a little more involved than the others, but I love it!  So worth the few extra steps to make it.  I used Washi Tape across the back of two Countryside Corners dies to hold them together.  Then the DSP print was die-cut.  Keep both the frame and inside piece.  Then with the dies still together, I die-cut Mossy Meadow cardstock twice to make the "frame" thicker.  The inside pieces were put aside for some other project.   Layer the three frames together with "green glue".

The Mossy Meadow cardstock for the card base was cut then scored in half.  Open it up and emboss only the front half.  I used the 3D Basics Embossing Folder with the crosshatch design.

I found that adding the "frame" to the card front first, then tucking in the center flat inside the frame worked best for me.  This way I was able to get the frame pretty well centered on the card front.  

This picture gives you a much better picture of the "frame" being thicker than the center of the design.  This was easier for me to do than adding Dimensionals around the entire "frame" to raise it up.  

After adding the "frame" and center piece, I used the edge of the die to figure the angle to cut the card to match up with the design.  The card was lightly marked with a pencil then cut to match on all four corners.

The butterfly comes from the Beautiful Butterflies Die set.  This was cut from Silver Foil paper.  It's added to the card with a Mini Glue Dot.  

The sentiment and label both come from the Beautiful Butterflies Bundle too.  It's stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink before die-cutting.  The label is attached to the front with Dimensionals.  Two Purple Fine Shimmer Gems in the lightest color were added to the sentiment with another one added to the butterfly for an accent.

The inside of the card has a Basic White layer that's been die-cut with the matching die from the front of the card.  After cutting, a 1/2" strip of the same DSP was attached along one side with the mottled purple side showing.  After attaching, the ends of the DSP were cut to match the white layer.  Then this was attached inside the card with adhesive.

Well friends, I hope there's enough inspiration here to keep you busy for a while.  I hope you try your hand at making any or all of these designs.  And don't stop with the prints I've used, there are so many gorgeous scenic prints to keep you busy for a good long while.

Just a quick reminder that Sale-a-bration ends on February 28th at midnight.  There are so many wonderful items still available to choose from that will get your imagination fired up and humming along.  Feel free to claim me as your demonstrator if you'd like.  Please use the Host Code at the top of the page when you're ordering if your order is less than $150.  Then you want to get Host Rewards for yourself

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Hope you find time to create something beautiful today.  I've heard that creativity is good for the soul.  I know it makes me happy!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Shepherd's Care in Blue

Hello, my stamping friends!  This has been a busy week getting back to normal around here.  Hubby and a neighbor are replacing a wooden fence between our properties that was ruined in the hurricane.  They've been working all day for the last 4 days hauling lumber, cutting wood, digging fence post holes, screwing pieces together.  These guys have been working so hard they can hardly make it into the house for dinner.  And then it's lights out.  I think I'm exhausted just watching them!  Thank God that by tomorrow they should be done with this project.  Wonder what they'll think to do next?  

I can tell you what I decided to make next.  I got the Shepherd's Care stamp set and kept putting it aside to get to later.  Well, today was the later.  I have several ideas rolling around for this set, but I decided to start easy without too many layers and such.  Here's my first attempt.

I know I've mentioned I love the colors of navy and white on my Christmas cards.  That's what I started out with for my first card.  I had envisioned the shepherd being stamped on a Countryside Corners die-cut piece.  He fit on the 2nd largest piece very nicely.  It's die-cut from Basic White cardstock and the shepherd is stamped with Night of Navy ink.  He's positioned to the left and down near the bottom, so part of the stamp is off the layer.  The star that is part of the set is stamped with navy also.  It's stamped in the top right corner right near the edge.

The card base is Night of Navy cardstock.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.

The next layer is Misty Moonlight.  That was enough to brighten up the card somewhat.  The layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This is embossed with the Snowflake Sky 3D Embossing Folder.  It's found on page 129 in the Annual Catalog.  This adds a very subtle design to this layer.  

Next, an 8" length of the Silver and White 1/2" Sheer Ribbon is attached around the Misty Moonlight layer.  This ribbon is also available in the Annual Catalog.  The ribbon is a little more than 1/2" in from the left edge.  I used two small strips of Tear & Tape to hold the ribbon in place around the back side of the layer.  Then the layer was attached to the Night of Navy card base.  For this I used "green glue" to hold in place. 

I attached the shepherd layer over the ribbon.  For this card, I used "green glue" to attach it.  Looking back at the finished card, I think I might attach this layer using Dimensionals next time instead.

I wanted a sparkly star in the sky instead of just the navy.  I didn't have anything current that had a star die, so I went in my retired stash and found the Stars at Night die set.  This set has several star dies, and it had a die that matched the star already stamped so I used that.  

I liked the idea of sparkles, so I hit my Specialty DSP stash and found a Silver Glimmer Paper that was just what I was looking for.  I cut one star from a scrap and attached it over the navy star using a Mini Dimensional.  Just the look I wanted!  

The sentiment is from the Shepherd's Care stamp set.  I've been using this a lot on my Christmas cards lately.  I love the wording and Peace on Earth is so needed these days.  It's stamped with Night of Navy ink onto a 1/2" strip of Basic White cardstock that was available.  It's trimmed to fit and attached to the card front with Mini Dimensionals.

I was hoping to find a gem that reminded me of stars in the night sky.  After trying several that were so-so, I tried the Iridescent Facets Gems.  Oh my, yes!  These can be found on page 115 in the Annual Catalog.  The picture in the catalog just doesn't do these gems justice.  They are so pretty and eye-catching.  Loved adding them for my nighttime stars.

One last picture of this lovely card.  For being so simple to make, it sure looks dramatic.  If you don't have this particular star die, use what you have.  And if I didn't have silver glitter paper, I would have used silver foil paper.  

I hope you give this idea a try.  I know I'm making some of these cards for my own Christmas cards this year.  I love sending out a card that follows a Christian theme for Christmas.  I know there are plenty of gorgeous and fun cards available, but for myself, I try to have a Christian theme.

Thanks for sharing some time with me today.  And I hope I can inspire you to get creative!  It's good therapy, or so I've been told.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Sophisticated Skates Card

Happy Saturday my friends.  Awhile back I had been creating with the Sophisticated Sled Bundle.  It seemed everything I made was more on the 'country' side of things.  But I've been playing around with it again and I think I've finally got something that is more of an elegant style.  Tell me what you think about this latest card.

I always love a blue and silver winter card, and this is no different.  My accent of choice for this card is Gray Granite to match the wood-grained DSP on this card.  Let's get creating.

The Gray Granite cardstock used for the card base measures 11" x 4 1/4".  It's scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half.  The woodgrain layer is a print from the Nests of Winter Designer Series Paper.  I love this print and wish I could get my hands on a bunch of it all by itself.  This measures 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the card base with adhesive.

I thought the Countryside Corners Dies would be a good shape for layering the skates.  Misty Moonlight was the blue color I chose for the card.  I used the 3rd largest die to cut the cardstock layer.  

It seemed to be too much dark for the card, so a piece of vellum was cut with a size smaller die than the blue layer.  I liked how the vellum softened and lightened the Misty Moonlight layer.  But it still gave me a good size frame for the skates.

The skates were so easy to put together.  There are separate dies for the boot of the skates, the runners on the skates, and even the laces.  So it was very easy to die-cut each of the pieces I needed to make up the skates.  The boots were cut from Basic White cardstock, the runners from Silver Foil, and the laces are Misty Moonlight.  After cutting all the pieces, it was a simple matter of layering them up to make the skates.  There is a slit in the boot part that the laces slide right into perfectly.  Easy Peasy!

I wanted snowflakes for an accent and there are a set of three different ones in the Frozen Edges Die set.  They're cut from Silver Foil to match the skates.  

The skates needed to hang from a bow made from the Gold & Silver Trim.  To hang the skates, a 4" piece of Baker's Twine was cut, and one end was attached behind each of the two skates with Tear & Tape to hold in place.  

The skates were attached to the layers using Mini Dimensionals.  The bow was attached over the Baker's Twine using Mini Glue Dots.  The snowflakes were each attached with one Mini Glue Dot in the center of each and scattered on the layers.  This was all attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the Sophisticated Sled set.  It's stamped onto a 1/2" strip of Basic White cardstock using Misty Moonlight ink.  It's been trimmed down and is attached to the card front using Dimensionals also.

I thought about adding some extra bling to this card, but none of the embellishments really enhanced the look.  So, I left the card bare, and I think it's perfect as is.  Almost.  The more I look at the card, I think the bow needs to be trimmed a little smaller.  I'll do that in a minute.

Thanks for sharing some of your time with me today.  It's been so entertaining for me to skip around the seasons and make whatever hits my fancy that day.  Hope you're enjoying the ride along with me.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Happy Sunday!

 Welcome my friends!  Hope you're enjoying and relaxing on this Sunday.  I've already gotten my nap in for the day.  Isn't that one of the best ways to spend your Sunday?  Now that I'm all refreshed and wide awake, I feel energized to get back to work.  Yesterday I spent time working on several cards using the Sophisticated Sled Bundle.  Two are still a work-in-progress and who knows when they'll get done.  But there is one that is finished though, and I have it to share with you today.

No matter how much I want to do something elegant with this set, I keep circling around back to a country feel.  I'm not giving up though.  Don't you love this card?  It just draws up memories of going to Ojibway Park and sledding down this hu-u-u-uge hill with my siblings then standing by the warming fires to take the chill off.  Then it was the long trudge up the hill to do it all over again.  It chills my fingers and toes just thinking about it.  What pleasant memories!

OK, enough of my trek down memory lane and on to the stamping part!  This card starts with a Real Red card base that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.  The first layer is Crumb Cake that measures 5 3/8" x 4 1/8".  To get the texture on this layer, I used the Snowflake Sky 3D Embossing Folder.  It adds a nice bit of interest to the layer.  It's attached to the Real Red base using Tombow Liquid Glue.

The sled was made next, so I'd have it ready to figure out the layers behind it.  For some reason I really like red with this sled.  The frame was die-cut from Real Red cardstock first.  The I looked through some different papers to find a light-colored woodgrain piece I liked.  This one is from the Nests of Winter DSP.  It looked just a little too light, so a small amount of Crumb Cake ink was added with a Blending Brush.  The two wood pieces were attached to the sled base using adhesive.

For the greenery, one of the Meandering Meadow DSP background prints was a mix of greens that looks nice here.  Two pieces were cut and added to the sled with a touch of adhesive in the center.  The pieces are layered a little off-center so it looks nice and full. 

Now what to layer the sled onto.  After trying several different shapes and sizes, I tried the Countryside Corners Dies.  I just loved it with the sled.  The 2nd largest die cut the Real Red cardstock, and the 3rd largest size cut the Basic White.  That Basic White was just too white and boring.  It really needed something done to it.  The Sketched Plaid background stamp came to mind, and I thought it would be perfect.  I stamped it once with Crumb Cake ink, but it was way too dark.  The piece was flipped over (don't check the back of my card layers!) and stamped again after inking and off-stamping this time.  Oh yes, this is what I was looking for.  The two layers are attached together with adhesive.

The sled was attached to the layers with multiple pieces of Mini Dimensionals scattered over the back to hold it up well.  Then the Red layer was attached to the left side of the card front using Dimensionals for that too.

The sentiment is from the Sophisticated Sled Bundle so it goes perfectly with the sled.  The 2nd smallest die from the Countryside Corners Die set was used to cut a Basic White label.  The sentiment was stamped on this with Real Red ink off to the left side.  That same die was used again to trim off the extra on the right side that wasn't needed.  This is such an easy way to make a label that is the correct size for what you're making.  

The label is attached by tucking under the sled on the left and using a Dimensional under the right side to balance it.

Several of the Cherry Cobbler & Pearl Adhesive-backed Berries were added for color in the greenery.  It just didn't seem like enough, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do to change things.  When I thought of the Adhesive-backed Snowflake Assortment, I was afraid they would be too big for the design.  But once they were added the card really looked finished.

Hope you like the walk down memory lane and my card that embodies those memories.  I'll admit, the card took me two days and several different possibilities before it finally came together.  Don't give up if you're struggling to get your card just right.  I find it really helps to put it aside and work on something else or walk away for a day or two and look at it again with fresh eyes.  I find creating to be frustrating sometimes, but so rewarding when you finally get your ideas transformed into a special card for someone who will love it.  Keep finagling with it your creation until you get just what you want.  You'll be so happy you did.

There's still almost a half of a month to take advantage of my 50th Wedding Anniversary sale going on this month.  For any $50 you spend with me as your demonstrator, I will send you a card and a package of embellishments for you to use.  I'm sure you'll love what I send you!  If you spend less than $150, please use the Host Code shown on the top right of this blog post.  Thank you so much!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Bronze Anniversary Card

Hello there.  It's been a while since I posted, and I apologize for that.   But I have a simply beautiful anniversary card for you today.  Of course, when you change up the sentiment, you could use this for so many other occasions.  It's an absolutely beautiful fall card.

These are just such rich and beautiful colors.  The base of the card starts with Copper Clay cardstock.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.

Up next is a layer of Bronze Metallic Specialty Paper that is retired.  I think any bronze or even copper-toned paper would be lovely.  The layer measures 5 3/8" x 4 1/8".  

A layer of the beautiful Nests of Winter Designer Series Paper that is an Online Exclusive is next.  It measures 5" x 3 7/8".  This is attached to the center of the bronze layer using adhesive.  These layers are then attached to the folded Copper Clay card base using adhesive for this too.  

An 11" length of Copper Clay Ribbon from last year's catalog was cut.  I know many of you purchased this and probably have some left, so let's use it!  The ribbon is wrapped around the entire front flap of the card.  The ends are attached on the front where they will be hidden.  I used pieces of Tear & Tape to hold them there.

The sentiment is on a Countryside Corners die.  It's cut from Basic White cardstock.  The sentiment is from the Layers of Beauty stamp set and is stamped in Copper Clay ink.  Like I mentioned before, just about any sentiment could be used here to fit your need.  

The oak leaves surrounding the label are from the Encircled in Nature Bundle.  I really liked the look of the bronzy leaves with the autumn looking pussy willows in the background.

The sentiment label is attached to the card front popped up on Dimensionals.  Three retired, amber-colored rhinestones were added to finish.

I love how this card turned out and I'll be happy to get it sent out next month.  I have an extra bonus for you.  My sister also made a card with most of these same components.  Thought you'd like to see what she made.

She has the same cardstock layers but changed the orientation of the card.  Instead of just using a few branches, she created a full wreath with these bronzy leaves.  She used a Basic White wreath from the Encircled in Nature Bundle as a base for the leaves.

Connie also used a sentiment from the Layers of Beauty stamp set, but you could use anything that fits onto the small banner that she tucked into the wreath.  There are three gems tucked around the wreath as accents and a small copper ribbon was tied into an accent bow and attached with a Mini Glue Dot.

There you have it.  Two designs that are very similar.  Hope this gives you an idea of how to alter ideas you see that catch your eye.  You can make things exactly the same, or just make a few minor changes and come up with something different that you love.  It's all about the creativity!

Only a couple more days of the Bonus Days sale going on.  That's over and done with at the end of the month.  Some items that were out of stock have become available again.  Don't miss out on anything!

Thanks for stopping by today.  And thank you so much for being patient with me.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Penciled Pears Again

Hello Friends!  I've got another card to share today that uses the interesting Penciled Pears again.  I wasn't sure this would be on my list of must-have stamps, but Connie proved me wrong.  I'm so happy I was able to give the set a trial run at her house.  It totally convinced me that it was a good idea to order it!  She had already made a card with the set when I got there that intrigued me, but it used several items that were not current SU! products.  I wanted to stay current with what I was using, so Connie and I made another set of cards basing them loosely on her original.  Let's look at them all and see what you think.

First, I'll share my version of her original card.  I seem to be on a kick of using the new Basic Beige cardstock and ink.  I just love this color that enhances any card with a neutral look.  It seems to be my new go-to color!  The card base measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is folded in half.  The strip of four Penciled Pears is stamped with Basic Beige ink.  I staggered them going across the card front so they look a little more random. 

The large pear is stamped using Basic Beige ink on Basic White cardstock.  A little extra color was added using Soft Seafoam Light & Dark Blends on the pear and leaf, Old Olive Light on the stem and light touches in the shading of the pear and leaf, and Gray Granite Light on the shadow under the pear.  This was die-cut using the Countryside Corners die set.  The pear was kept near the top of the die-cut area.  

A larger die from the set die-cut a piece of Soft Seafoam cardstock to frame the pear.

Sneak Peek Alert!!  I love the sentiment used here.  It's from a set called Winterly Tree Tops.  It won't be available for a few months, but it is coming!  All I can say is you'll love it!!  Anyway, the sentiment is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on the bottom area of the die-cut.  

After stamping, the Basic White layer is attached to the Soft Seafoam layer with adhesive.  Some Linen Thread was wrapped around three times and tied into a loose bow.

The die-cut layers are attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

Three Opal Rounds gems are added to the design.

Now on to Connie's version of this design...

The first change is the Basics Embossing Folder that was used for the background of her card base instead of the stamping.

The same Countryside Corners die set was used on the Basic White cardstock, but the layer is changed to Lemon Lime Twist.  This automatically gives the card a much greener look.  

The pear is stamped just about in the middle using Basic Beige ink.  Touches of color are added with Stampin' Blends:  Light Soft Seafoam, Light Crumb Cake, Light Old Olive, Light Gray Granite, and Light Granny Apple Green

After coloring, the two die-cuts are attached together with adhesive.  Then they are attached to the card front using Dimensionals with the top very close to the top of the card base.

The same sentiment is stamped on a strip of Basic White cardstock using Gray Granite ink.  Looks like the strip is about 3/4" x 4 1/4".  It's attached flat to the card front.

For an embellishment, three of the Tinsel Gems 4-pack are attached to the white die-cut under the pear.

This is a picture of the original card Connie made.  Looking at it you can see different elements we each picked out from it to focus on for our cards.

I'm not going to give you a list of items used, because I don't have it written down anywhere.  I'll just give you a quick summary instead.  

There is a light green foil used in the band across the card and to frame the sentiment.  

There is a yellow color added to parts of the pear for added interest.

There are three olive-toned gems added to the finished card for embellishment.

That's all I can give you today.  I hope you enjoy the three different versions using this interesting Penciled Pear stamp set.  Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't think I needed this set, but I've changed my mind after creating with the pears.  Hope you give this set a try and see what you create with it.

That's it for now.  I'm visiting the doctor tomorrow as this sneezing and coughing and congestion stuff is hanging on.  It's been almost two weeks now, and that's just too long!  Wish it didn't make me so exhausted all the time.  Maybe my doc has a miracle cure and I'll be back to myself soon.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Courage and Faith Card

 Hello my friends!  Things are sunny and quite hot outside today.  If it's this hot in May, what's it going to be like in August?  Sounds like I'll be spending time inside, a lot!  That will give me more time to stamp and create my cards.  That's a good thing, right?  Today's card was made with the new Unbounded Beauty Designer Series Paper as the starting point.  Basically, I had a piece of this print cut already, so I built the whole card around the DSP.  Not a bad way to proceed. 

Isn't this a pretty print with all the differing shades of pink here?  My accent colors are Berry Burst, Bubble Bath, and Basic White.  I think these colors blended together to make a striking looking card.

To start, there is a card base of Berry Burst which measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored and folded in half as usual.  The pink layer is Bubble Bath cardstock which measures 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the card base with adhesive. On top of this is the layer of Unbounded Beauty DSP that measures 5" x 3 3/4".  This layer is centered on the card front and attached with adhesive.  

Next was deciding what kind of sentiment would work on the card.  I really like the Courage & Faith stamp set and have used it many times so that was my choice.  I haven't used it with the Countryside Corners Die set that would be the perfect shape to fit the sentiment.  I used the 5th largest die to cut a piece of Bubble Bath cardstock.  Then used the 4th largest die to cut a Basic White layer to accent the sentiment.

The sentiment was stamped onto the Bubble Bath layer using Berry Burst ink.  Then the Bubble Bath layer was attached to the center of the Basic White layer using adhesive.  I tried this on the card, but it needed something else to define it.

I had a 1/4" strip of the DSP left over from trimming down the side of the piece.  I thought about layering it with the Bubble Bath, but that wasn't enough.  So, I added a strip of Berry Burst cardstock along with those two and that worked out perfectly.  The three layers are attached about 1 1/2" from the bottom of the DSP.  The layers are all attached with adhesive.

The sentiment layers are then attached over the accent strip with multiple Dimensionals.  This is not centered on the card front, but off to the side.  

For a little added interest, two small butterflies were added to the sentiment layer.  These are a lovely, shimmery cardstock, but I'm not sure where this paper actually came from.  The butterflies were already cut, so not sure what was used whether a punch or die. It matched, so it was used.  Don't you have a container with those little bits of extra goodies floating around that you aren't sure where exactly they came from, but are just what you needed?  Sometimes my container is sort of overflowing, but I can usually find just the perfect piece to use no matter where it originated.

There you have the latest card in my stash to mail out to friends and family.  Hope you like this idea.  I don't know why I never used the Countryside Corners dies for this stamp set before, but this won't be the last time.  The dies fit perfectly with the sentiment and are so pretty framed up with the next size larger die.  Hope you give this a try.

Thank you for sharing some time with me today.  Hope you're doing well and finding time to create.  It's good for mental health, right??

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Back to Daisies

Hello Friends!  We've been having rain off and on again lately, so I was looking for an idea that was bright and cheery looking.  I thought making the daisies in yellows would look about as cheerful as I could get.  So that was my idea when I started this card.  Then things changed a bit, as usual.  Still have daisies and still have yellow, but that's about the only part that is the same as my original idea.  Oh well, necessity is the mother of invention they say.  So, what would you call the mother of creativity?  Not having it look right and starting over from scratch??  Yep, that's my idea.  Hopefully you'll like what came out of a mish-mash of ideas and changes.

Here it is.  Isn't this nice and summery and oh, so cheerful looking?  Definitely bright. Let's start with the daisies, because that was the beginning of the whole card.  

The Cheerful Daisies stamp and die bundle is so very easy to work with.  For this card, all three layers of these daisies are die-cut.  The bottom layer is the three daisies that die-cut together and was cut from Daffodil Delight cardstock.  The top detail layer of each flower was die-cut from the new Lemon Lolly cardstock.  I originally was planning on using only the two yellow layers together, but it looked kind of blah.  I liked the white layer peeking out between the other two layers, so the detail layer was cut again using Basic White.  The white contrast really seemed to brighten the look.  While attaching these layers together with 'green glue', make sure that the layers are slightly twisted so that you can see all the colors together.

The flower centers were inked with Daffodil Delight ink, rolled a little on one side in Crushed Curry ink, then stamped onto Basic White cardstock.  The leaves were stamped with Parakeet Party ink on Basic White cardstock.  The leaves were all off-stamped before stamping to keep the color light and bright.  Six of the leaves were stamped, then the leaves and the flower centers were all die-cut with coordinating dies.

Switching gears here, I thought that a white and navy design would offset the daisy colors.  I just received the Countryside Corners stamp and die bundle that I really wanted to try out.  It is just one stamp that has six concentric octagons that stamp all together.  Then there are dies that let you cut those designs into multiple frames.  You can die cut each one separately, or cut them in chunks where 2, 3, or more frames are left together to form a sort of bull's eye effect.  I stamped it in Night of Navy ink onto Basic White cardstock.  I used the second and third dies from the center to cut the dotty frame.  I used the fourth from the center die to cut a Night of Navy piece to frame the white.  Then used the fourth and fifth from the center to cut the stitched white frame. 

I cut another piece of white cardstock that used the third from center die.  The sentiment from the Wonderful Thoughts stamp set was stamped on this using Night of Navy ink.  There are still a few pieces of frames left over for another project.  This was much easier to use than I thought.  An important tip when cutting multiple frames together is to use washi tape to hold the pieces place so they don't shift during the cutting process.  This made them very easy to cut either one or the whole batch at the same time.

At this point, I still thought the card base would be white.  But the more I played around with all the different layers, I changed my mind.  I still kept the card base as Basic White cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  But I added a Parakeet Party layer next instead.  This is cut so there's only a tiny frame of white behind it.  It measures 5 3/8" x 4 1/8".  Before adding it to the card base, it was run through the Basic 3D Embossing Folder using the cross-hatch design.  This is one of those great Online Exclusive items that has quickly become of basic staple in my stamp room.

To finish the card, the Parakeet Party layer was attached to the Basic White card base using 'green glue'.  The octagon pieces were all layered together as shown and attached with 'green glue'.  Lastly, the daisies were attached to the corner of the framing.  They were also attached with 'green glue' except for the flower centers which were attached with one Dimensional in the center of each.

The clear Rhinestone Basic Jewels were scattered across the card front for some sparkle.  

That's it for my post today.  I hope it didn't totally confuse you with the Countryside Corners Bundle.  It's really kind of cool to work with and I'll have to revisit that soon.  More to come on that idea.  Have fun with your stamping and don't fret when some project doesn't work out the way you envisioned it.  It's just a chance to spread those 'creativity wings' and try something a little different.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon