Forever Florals with Arches

Hello stamping friends!  It's back to school time here already.  I keep thinking this summer was so short and hot we really didn't do anything.  But that doesn't make any difference.  School started this past week anyway, and football season is underway.  Normally I really wouldn't care much for football.  I hate to admit it's the one sport that really never made a whole lot of sense to me.  But since my youngest grandson is playing again this year, I'm trying to figure it out.  Wish me luck in this venture!!  That said, it is time for another post sharing what I've been stamping lately.  I've been playing with the Everyday Arches dies on different projects lately.  The shape is easy to work with and can be used in different ways on my projects.  Today's card starts with the arch shape and pairs it with the Forever Florals stamps and dies to create a soft card that makes me smile.  I think anyone would be happy to receive this card in their mailbox.

The base for the card is the lovely Hydrangea Hue which is one of my all-time favorites.  A layer of the denim-looking print in the Paper Medley Designer Series Paper was cut to match.   The measurements are 3 7/8" x 5 1/8".  There needed to be a little more definition between this layer and the card base.  

A layer of 2026-2028 In Color Pearlized Specialty Paper was added.  This measures 4" x 5 1/4".  This creates a very skinny frame around the denim print that shines nicely when the light hits it just right.  It's surprising just how much this skinny layer adds to the overall design.  (If I would have been thinking ahead, I would have die-cut a smaller layer from the inside of this pearlized paper to use later on another project.)

The layers were all attached together with adhesive between them.  This keeps them flat and the rest of the card stands out more.

Next was die-cutting the Basic White arched layer.  The 5th largest Everyday Arches die was used for this.  After cutting, one of the sentiments in the Forever Florals set was stamped near the top with Hydrangea Hue ink.  I really like the four sentiments included in the set and have used them often.

The Forever Florals die set has two different sizes of just tiny flower dies.  Both sizes were used to die-cut Basic White cardstock.  Then they were used again with 2026-2028 In Color Pearlized Specialty Paper to cut several pieces.  There is also a multi-leaf stem in the die set.  This was used to die-cut 3 stems in Peaceful Pine and 2 cut from Soft Sea Foam cardstocks.  All these pieces were arranged and adhered to the bottom of the arch.

The arch was placed onto the card base, but it looked too plain.  It just needed something to break up the large amount of background.  The Lily of the Valley set has a die that makes this pretty trellis look.  It's die-cut from Basic White Thick cardstock.  After cutting, it was attached as shown flat onto the card front.  The arch was added to this using Dimensionals to hold in place.

A few of the 2026-2028 In Color Butterflies in Hydrangea Hue were scattered on the design for a little extra interest.

That's it for today's card.  Seems like I ended up pulling in bits of different sets to create this card.  Sometimes you just need something a little extra to make a design work.  Hope you give this idea a try.  This Hydrangea Hue color makes up into such pretty cards.

It's still August and Stampin'Up! still has its selected cardstock and Designer Series Paper sale going on.  Visit the store to see what is on sale.  Getting ready for Christmas card making, I just ordered several 12" x 12" Two-Tone Cardstock colors that were on sale.  Can hardly wait to get started on some of the ideas I have rolling around in this brain of mine.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

CASE and Change It Card Idea

Hello friends!  Sorry I haven't been posting as often as I usually do.  Is it possible to have a sort of brain fog from anesthesia that doesn't want to go away?  That's what's been happening around here and it's frustrating to say the least.  I feel like I'm losing control here!  Okay, that's enough whining for today.  I saw a card idea that Patty Bennett shared on her blog, Patty Stamps, that was posted a month or two ago.  It was very pretty all done up in beige and the very soft Cloud Cover.  I love pastels and light neutrals, so this was something I really needed to try.  Of course, I also needed to make a few changes along the way to make it more mine.

Isn't this pretty?  Very soft and soothing in my opinion.  I started with this interesting floral print from the Beautiful Gallery 6" x 6" DSP pack.  First a strip of DSP was cut from the bottom that measured 1 3/4" x 6".  This was set aside to use another time.  The resulting piece was cut in half lengthwise to make two pieces that each measured 3" x 4 1/4".

The next step was to layer the DSP onto a Basic Beige cardstock piece that measured 3 1/4" x 4 1/2".  After attaching these together with adhesive, a 1" x 3 1/4" strip of Cloud Cover was attached about 2/3 of the way down from the top.

Next a piece of Cloud Cover Ribbon about 11" long was cut.  This was tied into a knot around the layers and centered over the Cloud Cover strip.  The sheen of the ribbon looked so pretty on the card.

The next step was to cut a card base from Cloud Cover cardstock.  This measured 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It was scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  The layers that were already finished were then attached to the center of the card base using Dimensionals.

I thought the Boutique Blossoms flowers would look pretty with the DSP print.  I stamped the smaller outline flower with Cloud Cover ink onto a Basic White cardstock piece.  Then the two-step part of the flower stamp was also inked with Cloud Cover ink and stamped inside the outline.  I love how softly this 2nd one stamps, because it is not a truly solid stamp.  I also did the same with the stamp with two flower buds.  The little leaf on this was stamped with Mossy Meadow ink that was lightly off-stamped.  Both the flower and buds were die-cut with matching dies.  Then some larger leaves were just die-cut from Mossy Meadow Cardstock - no stamping involved.

The flower was flipped over and the leaves were attached with adhesive to stay where I wanted them.  Then this was attached to the card front with Dimensionals.  The flower buds were tucked in under the flower and attached with Mini Dimensionals under the two buds.  Space was left for the sentiment to tuck in.

The sentiment is from the Banner Sayings stamp set.  First the Triple Banner Punch was used to punch three Basic White banners.  I chose to use the one with a single pointed end.  The sentiment was stamped onto this with Mossy Meadow ink.  Then the pointed end was tucked in under the flower and partially under the ribbon and held in place with Mini Dimensionals.

There were 3 of the Moody Palette Glossy Dots in the Cloud Cover color tucked around the design for a subtle accent.

For the inside, a piece of Basic White was cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4".  On this one of the sentiments from Forever Florals was stamped inside the card using Mossy Meadow ink.

I had made some extra of the flower buds and added one at the bottom of the insert.  Then it was attached inside the card with adhesive.

The Banner Sayings and Boutique Blossoms stamp sets are in the new catalog.  

The Forever Florals stamp set, the Beautiful Gallery DSP, and the Moody Palette Glossy Dots are all found in the Online Exclusives.

Amazing!  I actually made something with all the products still current and not on back-order either!  Hooray.

Well, I hope I gave you all the information needed to make this card and that it all makes sense.  Thanks for stopping in to see what's new.  Thanks to Patty Bennett for her lovely design that I could play around with and make changes here and there to make it more mine.  It's so much fun to find an idea that is inspiring and then adding your own tweaks.  That's what I hope to provide for you.  An idea that you can see yourself starting with and changing colors, stamps, cardstock, or whatever.   Then use what you already own to create your own design.  Oh, I just love this creative process!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Piles of Thank You Cards

Hello stamping friends!  What a beautiful day we have today!  (that's a little sarcasm there)  Chilly, damp and cloudy.  Sounds like the perfect day to get downstairs and do a little creating, doesn't it?  Well, I do feel a little better today.  My heart isn't quite as rambunctious as it has been lately.  So, I thought I should take advantage of this energy and do something.  Let's see, housework, laundry, or stamping?  Hmmm.  Boy, that was a real hard choice, right?  Are you laughing out loud yet? 

I felt the need to send out some thank you cards for a few gifts I received for my birthday.  Looking at my stash of DSP, and knowing I'll be getting more very soon, I thought I should use some of my retired stash to make more room.  You remember that cute True Blue Florals DSP that was a Product of the Month a couple months back?  I had a bunch of odds & ends pieces that needed to be used up, so that was a really good place to start.

This is a look at most of what I made today.  There are a few others that didn't fit with this grouping of cards.  Maybe I'll share them at a later date.  As you can see, there were several strips of DSP in different prints.  I'm always surprised by how many of those strips are always left over when the paper pack is almost gone.  This was a great way to use some of them up.

On the majority of cards made today, the focal image used was either the larger roses stamp or the single small flower from the Charming Day stamp and die bundle.  Sorry, this is a favorite set of mine and it is retired.  Then I couldn't resist trying out a few images from the Artisan Sketched Garden DSP.   That's in the new catalog and will be available to purchase on May 5th.  Those images are awesome!  You need to fussy cut the images if you want to use an individual design, but that only takes a minute or two.  Not a big problem.

Let's start with two cards that are very similar.  The card base on these cards is Balmy Blue that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  They are scored and folded in half.

The strips of True Blue Florals DSP on each card is about 1 7/8" x 5 1/2".  Both strips are backed with a layer of Night of Navy.  The top card is 2 1/4" x 5 1/2".  The bottom card has a wider layer of Night of Navy - 2 1/2" x 5 1/2".

The sentiment on each of these is from the Wonderful Thoughts stamp set.  (It was on the Last Chance List, but it just sold out.  Bummer!)  It's stamped on a 1/2" strip of Basic White.  Then the ends are trimmed with paper snips.

The roses are stamped with memento Tuxedo Black ink on Basic White cardstock.  They are colored with Stampin' Blends:

roses:  Balmy Blue Light & Dark, and Azure Blue Light

leaves:  Granny Apple Green Light & Dark

I've never colored these roses in blues before, but I love how they turned out!

The card base for this one is Basic White Thick.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  The DSP strip measures 1 3/4" x 5 1/2".  It's backed by a Night of Navy strip that measures 2 1/2" x 5 1/2".

This time the sentiment strip is also layered onto a Night of Navy strip measuring 3/4" wide.  This makes the horizontal strip so much bolder to define it.

This flower is also from the Charming Day set.  When coloring, I also added just a small touch of Blueberry Bushel Light Stampin' Blends to the flower.

The tiny flowers are from the Forever Florals stamp and die set.  They are die-cut from Balmy Blue cardstock to mimic the main flower and also to give more heft to the focal image.  It didn't look substantial enough without the added mini flowers and extra leaves.  A sprinkle of three Rhinestone Basic Jewels was added to finish the design.

This is where things got a little different.  I'd wanted to try the new Artisan Sketched Garden DSP since I saw it.  It finally came in the mail, so why not use it here?  I cut a strip off the bottom of this sheet of designs and picked one to color.  I had a little problem finding a punch or die that could get the whole image but manage to not cut into the surrounding images.  I used my very old Layering Ovals Dies to cut both the DSP and the Night of Navy layer behind it.

The image is colored with the same colors as used on the other images.

The card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of Night of Navy on top of it.  The DSP piece measures 2 3/4" x 4".  It's attached in the upper left corner with adhesive.  The ovals were attached to the center of the DSP layer using Dimensionals.

A small Basic White circle was cut using one of the Spotlight on Nature dies.  The sentiment is stamped with Night of Navy ink.  Three of the new Sunset Sparkle Sequins in a bluish tone were added under the sentiment.

This last card is my very favorite of the whole batch of cards.  This time I have a Basic White Thick base.  It's layered with a full layer of one of the Balmy Blue designs from the True Blue DSP pack.   This time a 1/4" strip of Basic White cardstock was added near the bottom to anchor the vase when it was added.

The vase of greenery is from the same Artisan Sketched Garden DSP.  This time it was fussy cut after coloring.  I used Stampin' Blends again.

water:  Balmy Blue Light

leaves:  Granny Apple Green Light

The Basic White sentiment piece measures 7/8" x 2 1/8".  It's stamped with the new Basic Black Hybrid ink pad.  There is a 1" x 2 1/4" layer of Basic Black attached behind to frame it.  Both the vase and the sentiment are attached with Dimensionals.  Three soft blue pearls are added to the white strip as an accent.  These are Tahitian Tide pearls from several years ago, but I liked the look here. 

Whew!  That's it for my card making marathon today.  Maybe I'll get around to the last several cards if I find the time.  I hope you've gotten some ideas about using those leftover strips of DSP from other projects that you have laying around.  Just check if there is a directional print, then orient your design in the proper direction.

Remember May 5th is the date you can order from the new catalog!  Are you counting down the hours?  I hope you're as excited by the new catalog as I am.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Forever Florals and Peaceful Pine

Hello friends!  It's been a little rough going the past several days.  My AFib seems to be kicking up again and that's never easy to cope with as far as I'm concerned.  But life goes on and I do what I can manage.  I did spend a little time working on today's card.  It's actually taken three days to get it where I wanted it.  This morning I made another change after scutinizing the card again.  I'm happier with this latest "improvement" and I think it's time to share it with you.  I'll post the before picture at the end and you can let me know what you think - before, after, or scrap it.

This is the latest incarnation of the card.  I'm still a little iffy about it, but I'll give you the details on how it was made.  The idea started with the Bloom Boutique Specialty Designer Series Paper which I absolutely love.  The print with tiny white flowers on the Peaceful Pine background was used for this card.  It was cut with the frame die in the Forever Florals Dies to create the greenery frame.

I thought I'd like the print on a white background, but it just looked too busy for me.  So next I thought of creating a frame to go over it with just a small amount of the leaves showing through.  A 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Peaceful Pine was cut.  Then the center was die-cut with one of the Branching Out frame dies.  

I liked the look of these two together, but I didn't really care for it on the white background.  After trying a few possibilities, I settled on using Lemon Lolly for the card base.  The two die-cut layers were attached together with "green glue".  Then they were attached to the card base with the same glue.

Using dies from the same set, one each of the two different flower clusters were die-cut from Basic White cardstock.  The leafy stem was cut from Peaceful Pine cardstock.  It seemed to get lost on the card.   So, using Basic White cardstock and a Blending Brush, Peaceful Pine ink was swirled onto the cardstock until I had a slightly lighter green to work with.  Three more of the leaves were die-cut from this paper.

At this point, I used one of the sentiments to stamp on the Lemon Lolly cardstock inside the frame.  Peaceful Pine ink was used.  As you can see on this card, I wasn't happy with it, and I changed it this morning.

The die-cut leaves were arranged in opposite corners and attached with adhesive.  Then the flower clusters were attached with tiny bits of Dimensionals.  

A double strand of White Baker's Twine was used to make a small bow.  This was tucked in under the flowers and attached with a Mini Glue Dot.

Three of the pretty 2026-2028 In Color Butterflies were sprinkled across the card front.  These are the Peaceful Pine color.

And that's what the card looked like until this morning when I die-cut one of the labels in the set from Basic White cardstock.  The same sentiment was stamped on it with Peaceful Pine ink.  

It was then attached with Dimensionals right over the stamped words.  One of the butterflies had been pried off and reattached onto the label.  Much happier with this version.  The white label seemed to help balance the card better.

I did say I would share the before card also.   So, keep scrolling.  It's right there.

Okay, now I need some feedback.  Was I right to add the white label?  Or should I have left it as is?  Please let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Just wanted to remind you that everything I used to make this card is in the new May - August 2026 Catalog.  The catalog will go live on May 5th - yay!  I can't wait until you can get these products too and have time to play and create with them!  I hope you love all these items as much as I do.  Especially the new In Colors.  They are fabulous and the little butterflies are just darling.  You'll want to add them everywhere!

Okay, that's four of the new In Colors that I've shared so far.  Just one more to go.  I've got a pretty card and also a card layout to share with you to showcase the Barely Blush color.  I think you'll like it.

Hope you're inspired to get out your stamps and paper a go create something special.  And then don't forget to drop it in the mail to make someone happy.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

One New In Color at a Time

Hello friends!  I'm so excited about the five new In Colors that are coming soon.  I couldn't have come up with anything better if they'd asked me personally to choose new colors.  Which they certainly did not!  As far as I'm concerned, they all are just yummy and will be so much fun to use.  Today's cards were made focusing on the new Hydrangea Hue color.  It's a pretty blue that leans a little towards periwinkle blue.  Plus, I used a new Online Exclusive bundle and a new May-August 2026 Catalog bundle that you might not have seen yet.  Oh my, so many goodies to choose from and it was so hard to decide what I wanted to use first.  So, you're getting a mish-mash of new, some old, embossed backgrounds, and much more with this post.  Let's get started, shall we?

Isn't this Hydrangea Hue color just gorgeous?  It's used here in ink, cardstock, ribbon, and even the tiny butterflies.  I'm almost on Hydrangea Hue overload here!  But I love it.  Let me give you a quick rundown on making this card.

Start with a Basic White cardstock base that is cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  Next is a layer of Hydrangea Hue that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  Then a layer of Basic White is cut at 5" x 3 3/4".  This is embossed with the Lovely Stripes Embossing Folder.  This gives such a pretty and tactile design that is very versatile.  There's only one problem I have with this embossing folder.  I have a hard time deciding which side of the embossed cardstock that I want to use!  Such a tough problem!

Did you notice the interesting die-cut labels?  They are from the Forever Florals Bundle that is a new Online Exclusive item, and it's going to be one of my favorites for all the cards I send out.  Love the sentiments (which I did not use on this card).  Anyway, the larger label was cut from the center of the Hydrangea Hue layer before the layers were added to the card base.  After die-cutting the label, the layers were attached to the card base using 'green glue'.

The smaller label was cut from Basic White.  For this card, a sentiment from the Notes of Spring set that was a Product of the Month in March was used.  As of today, it's still available.  If you haven't gotten this yet, just place a $75 order before tax and shipping and you can get this for $5 in the US.  The sentiments alone make it worth getting and the animals in the set are just adorable.

Moving on, the flower stem stamped on the label is from a new set called Forever Florals.  The leaves are stamped with the new Peaceful Pine In Color ink pad.  Gorgeous color!  The flowers were stamped on a Basic White piece with Hydrangea Hue ink then die-cut.  

The flowers were attached to the stem with touches of "green glue".  Then the labels were attached to the card front with several Dimensionals.

The design needed a few more touches.  The Hydrangea Hue ribbon was tied into a bow and added at the bottom corner of the labels.  It's attached with two Mini Glue Dots to hold it securely.  There are three of the new 2026-2028 In Color Butterflies.  These are such an adorable added touch to the design.  They come in all five In Colors plus white and two different sizes.  You can bet these will be showing up on many of my cards in the future!

While making this first card, I was cutting two of everything so I could make another card.  But I started making changes as soon as I had this one done.  Keep on reading for the next version using even more new goodies.

Here we go.  Similar with lots of changes.

First change was the embossing folder.  This time it's the Eyelet 3D embossing folder.  Love this design on the card.

Next change was turning the Forever Florals labels on its  side to be wider instead of taller.

Then check out the beautiful Lily of the Valley sentiment and image from the new bundle coming in the next catalog starting in May.  There are six sentiments in the set which will fit many needs.  And then the lovely lily of the valley images in the set.  Oh my, one of my favorite flowers ever!

The sentiment was stamped with Hydrangea Hue ink onto the label.  The flower was stamped with the new Basic Black Hybrid stamp pad onto a Basic White scrap piece.  This left a nice clear image.  I used the new Stampin' Blends in Hydrangea Hue to add a shadow on the little bells and Peaceful Pine both Light and Dark on the leaves.  Love these colors together.

Before putting the pieces together, the white label was spattered with Wink of Stella for a slight shine.  Then more Wink of Stella was brushed on each of the bells and set aside to dry thoroughly.

Thought it would be interesting to add both a strip of ribbon and a smaller strip of cardstock to the side of the card as an accent.  The ribbon is just under 4 1/2" in length and the Peaceful Pine is 3 3/4" long.  They are each attached with adhesive.

Then the labels were attached over them using Dimensionals.

The lily of the valley was die-cut with the matching die.  Then it's attached to the right edge with Mini Dimensionals.  I wish the shimmer on the card would show up better in the pics.  Guess you'll have to take my word for it that it's lovely.

The final touch to the design was adding three of the 2026-2028 In Color Dots.  I was so pleased when I saw these in person.  I can never tell how thick these embellishments are in the pictures.  These have a nice low profile, so it won't require extra postage for mailing.  That is a big plus in my book with all the cards I mail for the shut-ins at church.

Here's one last look at these cards that focused on the new favorite 2026-2028 In Color - Hydrangea Hue.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  And both of the bundles I used here - Forever Florals and Lily of the Valley - are fabulous and easy to use.  So happy with my new items for creating!  (Doing a little happy dance here!)  Next, I need to move on to another one of the new In Colors.  Did I mention that I just love them all?  I really do!

If you're one of my customers, you should be receiving a copy of the new May-August 2026 Catalog in the mail soon.  If you don't have it by the end of the month, please get in touch so I can send one out to you.  It will be interesting to see how the new catalog timeline works out.  There will be three new catalogs each year.  No big annual catalog and no mini catalogs.  Just these three mid-size catalogs - one every four months.  And don't forget the Online Exclusives.  Did you know that new items are added every couple of months?  There will be more new items coming in May.  Make sure you check it often to see if there's anything new.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Hope you're as excited by these new In Colors and stamp sets.  There will be more ideas coming soon.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon