Layout Idea with 2 Versions

 Good Sunday friend!  Hope your day has been relaxing and refreshing so far.  Today I thought I'd do things a little differently for you.  Instead of focusing on a particular stamp set, it's going to be a layout that's easy to do and works with so many different stamps and papers.  Then you can use this idea over and over again and still have your cards look different.  Let's get going...

For this post, I'll be giving you the dimensions for layering before getting into the card itself.  You'll need to cut one each of these layers for your card.

card base - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"   

color layer - 5" x 3 1/2"       

dark color - 3 3/4" x 2 1/2"  

top layer - 3 1/4" x 2 3/4"  

For this card, I stamped the branchy stamp from the True Beauty set in each of the four corners, so it's not too plain when the other layers are added.  I stamped Fresh Freesia ink onto Fresh Freesia cardstock on this card.  This layer was added to the card base with adhesive.

I did the stamping on the white layer next.  The sentiment comes from the Botanical Layers stamp set.  That is stamped in Fresh Freesia ink in the top corner.  The same branchy stamp that was used on the other layer was stamped here with Sahara Sand ink.  It was stamped twice (without re-inking) to fill in the background a bit.  The white layer was then attached over the Garden Green layer with adhesive.  This was attached to the center of the card front using Dimensionals.

Next, I stamped the two leaves from the True Beauty set in Garden Green ink onto a piece of Basic White.  Also stamped a rose from the same set using Fresh Freesia ink onto the Basic White piece.  Both of these were die-cut using the coordinating Organic Beauty die set.  They were arranged on the white layer as desired.  The leaves were attached with adhesive partially off the white layer.  The rose was attached with Dimensionals to pop. 

A bow made from the 3/8" Open Weave Ribbon in Fresh Freesia was added to the corner.  It's attached with a Mini Glue Dot.  

Three of the 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds were added to the design for a touch of subtle bling.

You can see how easy it is to use this card recipe.  Now each card you make with these directions can look very different by changing the colors used and the stamps and dies too.  The possibilities are almost endless.

This card uses the same recipe, but changes the colors and stamps used like I mentioned.  The stamp set used here is Art Gallery for the floral images and Eden's Garden for the sentiment.  The colors are Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral and Old Olive for the cardstock.  Ink colors used are Pale Papaya, Calypso Coral, and Old Olive.  The ribbon in the Pale Papaya version of the same ribbon used on the first card.  I also changed the position of the ribbon.  For bling, I used some iridescent peachy sequins from a few years back.

Hope you like this different way of sharing ideas.  I've used this layout recipe many times over the years, even for Christmas cards.  Every time I bring it out again, I remember how much I liked it before!  Thanks for stopping by to share some time with me.  It's always great to have you here visiting.

If you're thinking of placing an order soon, please consider using the Host Code shown at the top of the blog post.  You know I really appreciate all you're doing to keep me in business.  BTW, I'll be receiving the new July - December Mini Catalogs in the mail in about another week and will be sending them on to you.  You can start looking for them in the mail near the end of the month.  I can't wait to get my hot little hands on my very own copy.  I really love to spend time going over each and every page to see what's new and how it's used by the concept artists.  Exciting!

Have a very blessed Sunday!

Sharon

Eden's Garden Again

Hi there, and happy Sunday to you.  Hope you had a chance to spend some time communing with God again this morning.  Really looking forward to my Sundays lately, because I'm getting so much out of the Pastor's sermons.  This idea of choosing our 'one person' to pray for every day about having a chance to talk to them about the saving grace of God has been a real thought provoking plan.   To reach at least one person that you really care about for Christ is so powerful.  It's been on my heart for weeks now, and hopefully I can plant seeds that will reap a heavenly reward.

My goodness!  I need to get off my soapbox and get back to sharing what I've been making lately.   I've been playing around some more with the Eden's Garden suite of products.  They're really quite pretty and make card-making easy.  This layout is something I've used so many times in the past, but it always turns out so nicely that I go back and use it over and over again.  

The card base for this card is Soft Succulent and it's cut at 11" x 4 1/4".  It's scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half.  The Basic White layer on the card front is cut 5" x 3 3/4".  

I drew a faint pencil line across this just a little above the center.  This would be my guide for stamping the leafy sprigs across the card.  I started with one of the smaller sprigs and stamped it three times across the top and twice towards the bottom using Soft Succulent ink.  In between these, I stamped the larger sprig with Evening Evergreen ink to fill it in nicely.  

The leafy banner die was used to die-cut a strip of Evening Evergreen cardstock.  Laying it across the card, it just didn't stand out like I had hoped.  So I cut a 1" x 3 3/4" strip of Soft Succulent cardstock to place behind it.  That really made the darker green stand out nicely and showed off the pretty leafy ends.  The Soft Succulent strip was attached to the card front with adhesive.  The dark leafy strip was attached over this using Dimensionals so make it really stand out.

I used one of the sentiments in the Eden's Garden stamp set to coordinate.  A skinny 1/2" strip of Basic White cardstock has the sentiment stamped on it using Evening Evergreen ink.  It was trimmed close to the ends with Paper Snips.  This fit perfectly inside the Evening Evergreen layer and was attached with adhesive.  

Of course it needed some bling, so I added one of the Garden Gems on each end of the Evening Evergreen banner to accent the words.  Then I couldn't stop myself there, and added three more of the iridescent gems to the card front.  Love the bits of bling!  The iridescence really makes them glitter and shine.

Since the outside of the card turned out so nice, I went ahead and stamped the same look inside to match.  The cardstock is cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  The same leafy sprigs were used to stamp off the edge of the bottom.  The same two colors were used too.  I like carrying the outside of the card's into the inside, but sometimes I struggle to find just the right look.  This time it was easy and I love how it turned out too.  The Basic White cardstock piece was attached inside the card using adhesive.  

And there you have it.  A quick and simple card layout that's pretty and looks elegant too.  When you're stuck for some inspiration, try using this layout with different stamps and colors.  I think you might be pleasantly surprised by all the beautiful cards you can make with this plan.

When you place an order this month, please use the Current Host Code shown in the top right corner of the blog page.  I truly appreciate your orders.  It helps to keep me inspired to make more cards to share with you!

Have a very blessed day!

Sharon

Thanksgiving Leaves

 Hey there!  Hope this finds you doing well and enjoying your fall.  I can't believe it's almost time for Thanksgiving already.  Where does the time fly?  Before I get all my Thanksgiving cards sent out, thought I'd better take a picture or two and share the ideas with you.  Let's get right to it.

Staying with some warm fall colors, I started with a card base of Cinnamon Cider cardstock cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" folded in half.  The next layer up is Bumblebee cardstock cut to 5 1/4" x 4".   The next layer is Very Vanilla cardstock cut to 5" x 3 3/4".  This layer was die-cut with the  Stitched Greenery Die that doesn't actually cut, but gives this lacy, leafy, stitched look.  I had used this die before, but wasn't ever really impressed because I just left it plain.  Well, this time I used my Blending Brushes and first Bumblebee ink lightly over all, and then a bit of Cinnamon Cider ink more on the outside edges.  Wow!  This added color just totally popped the stitching and I love the look!  I'll have to try this a lot more often now that I know how cool it really can be.

After adding the color, this layer was attached with MultiPurpose Liquid Glue to the Bumblebee layer, and then attached to the card front with the glue also.

I thought the bold leaves from the Stitched Leaves Die set would be a wonderful contrast to the smaller leaves of the greenery I just did.  The largest leaf was die-cut from Cinnamon Cider cardstock.  Love how the stitching on the leaves mimic the background.  I then die-cut two of the medium leaves using the 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Specialty Paper.  This is a pretty colored vellum with a subtle shimmer on one side.  I used the Pale Papaya color and it adds a lovely shimmery look to the card.  

I wanted to add a darker color to the mix, so I die-cut two leaf sprays with the Eden Dies and Cajun Craze cardstock.  I think they create a fun addition to the mix.

The sentiment is from the Sparkle of the Season stamp set.  It contains several fall and Christmas sentiments that I've used quite often lately.  This is stamped on a  1/2" scrap of Bumblebee cardstock using Cajun Craze ink.  Then just trimmed down on the side edges with Paper Snips.

Before attaching the sentiment, I colored a length of the White 1/4" Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon using the Dark Cajun Craze Blends.  I colored it with just a few swipes of the Blends and it dried super quick so I could use it right away.  I used about a 4" strip and folded in half then attached it under the sentiment.  The sentiment was then attached to the card using Dimensionals.

I did make several of these cards because I liked it so much.  On some of them I changed up the sentiment to this.  It's one of the sentiments in the Love of Leaves stamp set that coordinates with the dies I already used for the leaves.  I just love it when everything comes together and works out nicely without a bunch of fuss.  Now I just need to get these in the mail before it's too late!  😏

If you're placing an order soon, please consider using the Host Code shown at the top of my blog page.  It's greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been making.  Hope you're inspired to get out your stamps, ink, and paper and have some fun!  Just enjoy yourself and create.  It's much better than therapy and cheaper too!

Happy Autumn!

Sharon

Eden's Garden, Just Because

 Hey there!  Hope this finds you doing well and in a crafty mood.  I've been playing with my new Eden's Garden Bundle over the weekend.  This went so much better than the first sit down with this Bundle.  The first time around, I was so focused on making my samples something other than green, because that's what everyone else was doing.  I felt I needed to do something different so I wouldn't be copying what you've seen already.  Well, enough of that!  There are so many different ways to put the green cardstocks and DSP together without copying!!   So I finally sat down and just had fun with it.

Here's my card using all the parts of the Eden's Garden Bundle with both the Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen colors.  I love how simple this came together!  Especially after struggling with it last time around.  

The card starts with a base of Soft Succulent cut  8 1/2" x 5 1/2" folded in half.  The first layer is one of the lovely green prints with just a tiny speckling of gold from the Ever Eden Specialty Designer Series Paper.  On each of the papers, one side has the addition of gold foil in different designs.  This print has teeny tiny dots.  So pretty!!  The DSP was cut 5 1/4" x 4"  and attached to the card base with adhesive.

Next, the large wreath die was used to cut the Evening Evergreen cardstock into this gorgeous open-leaf design.  Isn't it just beautiful?!?   If I'd been thinking, I'd have used some of the Adhesive Sheets behind the Evening Evergreen cardstock so I could have just peeled it and stuck it down.  Alas, I forgot about that and had to use my MultiPurpose Liquid Glue on the solid leaf images to hold it in place.  It's not really hard, but whenever you can make something easier and quicker, why not?

The leafy banner was die-cut from Soft Succulent cardstock.  It was attached across the center of the card using Dimensionals.  Now it's time for the sentiment.  I  chose to use the Lovely You stamp set this time.  The sentiments have a mix of fonts on each stamp which is a look I love.  And the sentiments seem to cover many of the everyday sayings you might want to use.  This was stamped on a scrap of Basic White cardstock using Evening Evergreen ink.  It was punched out using the Label Me Fancy Punch.  I stamped closer to the top so that I could add a few of the leaf parts that are scrap left-overs after die-cutting the wreath and banner.  Can you see where they pop out of the die-cut piece?

Did you notice the pretty rhinestones?  They're part of the Eden's Garden package.  There are marquise cut green tones and the round ones are Cherry Cobbler.  The rhinestones have an iridescent sheen to them, so on this shot it's really hard to tell the color.  But believe me, they're quite lovely.

Can you see the little dots between the greenery in this picture?   Those are the tiny gold foil dots.  I couldn't get a picture that really showed how nice the paper is.  So I guess you just need to take my word for it... or order some for yourself!  😄

That's it for this post.  I want to remind you that you too can get the Eden's Garden sneak peek items now through the end of the year - or until they run out.  The Ever Eden Specialty DSP, the Cotton Paper, and the Garden Gems all will be unavailable after they run out.  They will NOT be in the new mini catalog coming out in January.  So if you want them at all, now is the time!  The Eden's Garden stamp set and the Eden Dies WILL be in the next mini catalog.  So it's up to you to get them now or not.

If you're reading this on Nov. 18th, Stampin'Up! is having a Seasonal Sale.  This sale is only items from the large Annual Catalog.   Sorry I'm catching it at the end of the sale.  With friends in from MI I'm kind of all off kilter and not on top of things.  So Sorry!!!

     All regular cardstock is 10% off

     All SU! ink pads are 15% off

     All dies are 20% off

Hope you're enjoying some nice, crisp fall weather.  It's still pretty warm here, but the temps will be dropping the rest of the week.  But I have to say, I've truly been enjoying the weather in the low 70's.  It's been colder at night, and the leaves are changing colors - and they're falling a lot too!  Dear hubby is outside trying to corral those leaves as they fall today.   Have a very blessed day!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

New Eden's Garden Stamp Set Bundle

 Oh how I love it when Stampin'Up! brings out some goodies for us before the new catalog comes out.  This gives us all time to play with something new and different.  And that's what the new Eden's Garden is all about.  This bundle will be available in January when the new Mini Catalog premiers, but it's available for you right now!   It even has some coordinating items that won't be available after this pre-order period.  So if you're at all interested, now's the time to jump on this while all the items are still available.  Ordering info will be at the bottom of this post.  Right now I want to share a few things I've made with this bundle.

This card shows two of the dies from the Eden's Garden Bundle and also two of the prints from the Ever Eden Specialty Designer Series Paper.  I really love these green prints and all the greenery stamps that coordinate with the pretty paper.  This card starts out with an Evening Evergreen base cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The first layer is a sort of herringbone green-on-green print that is pretty awesome by itself.  Then you flip it over, and that's the print I used to die-cut the lovely leafy wreath-style image.  The whole paper has a gold leafy-striped print that's over-the-top bold.  It's really gorgeous, but I'll probably use it in only smaller bits because I usually prefer more subtle prints.  With all the cut-work in this leafy wreath, I thought it would be a perfect way to bring in some gold, but not have it be overpowering.  This was attached to the card front using a light touch of Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  If I had been thinking ahead, I'd have used the Adhesive Sheets on the back before die-cutting.  Hindsight, duh....

The pretty brushed gold paper from the Gold and Rose Gold Specialty Metallic Paper made a nice soft gold looking wreath after it was die-cut with the smaller twig and berry die in the set.  I had thought this would make a pretty Christmas card, so I looked for a sentiment that fit inside this nicely.  This sentiment from the Snowflake Wishes set seemed to be just what I needed, especially because this card does sparkle!  I stamped it with Evening Evergreen ink on a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  This was trimmed to fit under the smaller rectangle wreath.  Then it was attached to the card front using Dimensionals for lift.

It needed some kind of bow to finish it off.  The Simply Elegant Trim looked nice with it, so I made a double bow with the gold trim.  I tried a single bow first, but it got lost on the card because of everything else going on.  It needed the weight of a double bow to make it work.

The inside of the card was finished off with a layer of Soft Succulent cut to 5 1/4" x 4" attached first.  Then a layer of Basic White went on top.  The "Love & Joy" sentiment from the Christmas To Remember stamp set was stamped on this using Evening Evergreen ink.

I must admit I'm still thinking about adding some gold Gilded Gems to the card.  I haven't decided if it needs even more sparkle.  Any comments???

I've made two more cards with this bundle (or at least portions of this bundle).  Let me show you what I've done so far.

An autumn card using Cinnamon Cider, Bumblebee, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla cardstock.  The stamps are from this bundle, along with the pretty die-cut leafy edge on the bottom of the Bumblebee cardstock layer.  Ink colors used are Cinnamon Cider, Old Olive, and some blending on the edges of the Very Vanilla with Bumblebee ink.

The tag used the Banners Pick-a-Punch on the ends.

The ribbon is a retired copper metallic ribbon that coordinated nicely with the fall colors.

 

 

A Fun-Fold wintry, thinking of you card that was made in the book binding style.  Balmy Blue, Night of Navy, and Basic White cardstock were used.  Night of Navy was the ink color for this card.  The wreath image behind the snowflakes was made using two of the stems/branches from the set stamped four times each.  This makes a very quick and simple wreath.  The die-cut snowflakes are from the So Many Snowflakes dies.

The ribbon is the White 1/4" Crinkle Seam Binding that was easily colored with the Balmy Blue Dark Blends.

The Subtle Shimmer Sequins were used on the snowflakes and teeny ones are scattered around the wreath.

160849   EDEN'S GARDEN COLLECTION   $82.00

Stems, sprigs, berries, and twigs abound in the beautiful and bountiful Eden’s Garden Collection! Explore the elegance of Eden with this exclusive, early-release collection. Only available while supplies last!

The Eden’s Garden Collection includes:

EDEN’S GARDEN CLING STAMP SET (10% OFF)
• 10 cling stamps
• Suggested clear blocks: a, b, d

EDEN DIES (10% OFF)
• 5 dies
• Largest die: 5-1/4" x 3-7/8" (13.3 x 9.8 cm)
• Use with Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine

EVER EDEN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER
• 12 sheets of patterned paper: 2 each of 6 double-sided designs
• Acid free
• Lignin free

EVER EDEN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) COTTON PAPER
• 10 sheets: 5 each of 2 colors

GARDEN GEMS
• 140 pieces
• 2 shapes in 3 sizes: round (3 mm, 4 mm), marquise (5 x 4 mm)
• Adhesive-backed

Product colors: Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen, gold foil, Soft Succulent

Add ink, cardstock, and adhesive to complete your projects.

157832   EDEN'S GARDEN BUNDLE   $52.00

157823   EDEN'S GARDEN CLING STAMP SET   $23.00

157831   EDEN DIES   $35.00

159996   EVER EDEN 12" X 12" SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER   $15.00

159997   EVER EDEN 12" X 12" COTTON PAPER   $8.00

159277   GARDEN GEMS   $7.00

Ok ladies, that's it for today.  If you read all the way down to the bottom here, I'm so proud of you!  This is a really nice bundle of goodies.  And as you can see from the samples I've already made, this collection is very versatile and can be used throughout the seasons.  

Thanks for stopping by to see what's new around here.  If you're planning on ordering, please use the Current Host Code at the top of my blog page.  Thanks a million, or maybe even more!

Hugs, 

Sharon