New Greenery Lane

Greetings my stamping friends!   I hope you had a fabulous Christmas with family and friends.  Are you ready to get back to creating yet?  If you are, I've got something fun for you.  If you liked the Extraordinary Flora bundle and coordinating Washi Tape that are in the Annual Catalog, I think you're going to love this new Greenery Lane bundle that you'll find in the new January - April 2026 Mini Catalog.  Do you have your catalog yet?  If you do, you'll find these goodies on pages 56 and 57.  You can start ordering your favorites from this catalog on January 6th - just a few more days.  Today my card idea focuses on the Greenery Lane Washi Tape, but I also use the Greenery Lane stamps and dies.  Oh, so much fun!  Let's get started.

The very first thing I did with this card is play with the Washi Tape.  I placed a section of the Washi Tape onto Basic White cardstock to give it some rigidity.  Then these layers were cut with the coordinating dies in the Greenery Lane bundle.  The different leaves in the Washi Tape are all in shades ranging from Cloud Cover to Garden Green with shades of Lost Lagoon added in for interest.  There are four different leafy stems in these green shades along with tiny star-type flowers in Cloud Cover color that make up the Washi Tape.  Considering the soft, misty colors here, this is right up my alley!  And I can think of a couple of you ladies out there that would love this.

After die-cutting a small pile of greenery, it was time to plan out this card.  For those of you that don't know, I've been a demonstrator for over 28 years now.  That means I've seen (and owned!) a lot of different stamp sets and other products over the years.  Add to that fact is the problem I have of keeping way too many retired items that I'm sure I'll need and use in the future.  Many moons ago, we had packages of die-cut labels called Hugs.  Yes, they are adorable. There were also smaller labels called kisses too and I have a pile of those left too.  So, the white scalloped rectangle label on this card is one of those Hugs.  It is about 2 1/4" x 4" if you don't happen to have these ancient die-cut labels and want to cut your own label for this card.  😁

The sentiment is from the Greenery Lane bundle and is stamped with Secret Sea ink over on the right-hand side of the label.  I also used the Secret Sea Blending Pen to spatter ink over this layer.  I also used Wink of Stella to add another layer of spattering for a little shine then set it aside of dry.

While that was drying, I cut a piece of Cloud Cover cardstock that measured 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" for the card base.  I spaced out the tiny flowers from the stamp set onto a block, then stamped them around the edges of the cardstock using Cloud Cover ink.  This adds interest without too much added color.

Then a layer of Secret Sea cardstock was cut to measure 3 1/2" x 4 1/2".  On this piece, the large leafy branch from the set was stamped with Secret Sea.  When you have the finished card in your hands, this is quite obvious even though it doesn't show up much in the pictures.  The edge of my scissors was used to rough up the edges of this layer for interest.  Then the Secret Sea layer is attached to the center of the Cloud Cover base using adhesive.

To make the greenery cluster on the front of the card, first the darkest and largest leaf stem was added on the left side of the label.  This was attached with adhesive and is about 1/2" or so higher than the label.  Four more stems were layered up here making sure there was a mix of lighter and darker leaves that blended well.   A couple of the stems were trimmed a small amount so they wouldn't show under the ribbon.

The ribbon is the Secret Sea Bordered Open Weave Ribbon that is tied into a smallish bow.  It is attached over the stems with a couple of Mini Glue Dots.

This layer was attached to the card front using Dimensionals for definition.

Three of the new Moody Palette Glossy Dots were added to the design for the touch of bling.  Aren't they a pretty and soft addition to the design?

The inside of the card is stamped with a sentiment from the Happy Thoughts stamp set.  It's stamped with Secret Sea ink.  I realize this is a retired stamp set, but the sentiment is so nice I tend to grab it fairly often.

The large leafy stem from the Greenery Lane set was partially stamped in the corner using Cloud Cover ink.  A scattering of the tiny flowers in the set was stamped among the leaves.  They were stamped with Secret Sea.

That's it for today's sneak peek from the new Mini Catalog that will be current starting January 6th.  If you are interested in my opinion at all, I think you'll like working with this bundle.  And the pretty leaves in the Washi Tape will give you lots of opportunities for creativity.  You will find yourself tucking them in and around all kinds of different flowers when designing.  Give it a try.  I really think you'll like it!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Another Fun Fold Card Idea

Hello there!  Today's card is a fun fold card that is focusing on the Everyday You & Me stamps and dies.  These are very simplistic florals that are on the "cutesy" side, and I think they're adorable.  Plus, there are four good-sized sentiments that are very useable for both scrapbooking and card making.  What's not to like, right?  They are only found in the Online Exclusive section if you're looking for them.  With all the new items we've been showered with lately, this bundle has gotten lost in the shuffle.  So here it is featured and a cute little z-fold card.

And it's purple!  This is for all you purple aficionados out there.  Isn't this a bright and happy card?  Let's make it.

We're starting with some Mossy Meadow cardstock.  This measures 11" x 4 1/4".  This is scored at both 2 1/4" and 5 1/2".  Measure in on the front flap 1" from either side and cut to the 2 1/4 score line.  

This is what your piece of cardstock will look like when scored and the two corners cut out.  Please excuse the not wonderful drawing.  Never said I could actually draw!

The smaller flap on the front folds back like a z-fold card.

The next step is to cut two pieces of DSP to add to the card base.  I picked a scene from the Splendid Autumn 6" x 6" DSP pack for the card.  First the design was cut in half vertically at 3".  Then each side was cut 4" tall to get the scenic look I wanted.  One of these was attached to the front side of the card and the other was attached to the inside.

A piece of Gorgeous Grape cardstock was cut to measure 4" x 5 1/4" to fit the inside back of the card.  This was attached with adhesive.

Now it's time to dress up the front flap area of the card.  For this, I cut 2 pieces of Basic White that measure 4 1/4" x 2 1/2".  The first piece has the 'lovely day' sentiment stamped in the center with Gorgeous Grape ink.  This sentiment comes from the Autumn Expressions set.

The 2nd piece of white has a sentiment from the Happy Thoughts stamp set.  This is also stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink.  I'm always needing just general wishes/thinking of you types of cards, and this card really works for that.

Both of these white pieces are layered onto Gorgeous Grape cardstock pieces that measure 2 5/8" x 4 3/8".  The layers are attached together with adhesive.  

I added "green glue" to the folded back flap on the card base, so it was facing up.  Then I laid the white layers for the front onto this positioned in the middle of the closed card base.  This way the layer is only attached to the flap and can fold independently from the card front.  Next the inside layers were attached to the Gorgeous Grape layer inside the card but hiding behind the layers on the front.

Next up was stamping the two sizes of roses in the Everyday You & Me set.  Two large roses were stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink on Basic White.  Three of the small roses were stamped with Daffodil Delight ink on white.  Five of the leaf clusters were stamped with Old Olive ink onto Old Olive cardstock.  These pieces were all die-cut with the coordinating dies.

The flowers and leaves were arranged on the front white layer leaving one flower and leaf for the inside of the card.  The flowers were attached with Dimensionals with the leaves being tucked in under the flowers and attached with adhesive.

The last two pieces were added to the inside of the card.  I placed them so they would be peeking under the layer when the card was closed.

The last addition to the card were the three Iridescent Faceted Gems.  They sparkled so nicely on this card.

This sounds like a complicated card, but once the two sections are cut away from the card base, it comes together quickly and is just a fun card.  I want to make another one of this style of card but using bright colors and maybe the Cheers and Sips stamp set.  Wouldn't that be fun?!  But I've got a few other works in progress going on right now that I need to get finished first!  Oh my, so many cards to stamp and so little time!!!  Keep on creating.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

sharoncarr50@gmail.com

New Card Template

Hello Friends!  Hope you're all staying warm and dry.  We're back to colder weather and rain again.  But a least there's no snow coming around here.  I've been talking with friends in Michigan and Maine.  Sounds like both states are getting slammed with cold weather and lots of snow.  That's something that I'm not missing at all.  Now my friends, I'm missing those a lot!  Wish I could drag you all down here for a long visit.  Just think of how much stamping and chatting we could do!!  Oh well, that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Today I wanted to do something a little different.  How about a template you can use over and over again to make as many cards as you'd like?  I've made two cards with this template and it's an easy template to use.  There aren't too many pieces that need to be cut or scored.  Just enough to make it interesting.  Here goes...

Here are the basic cardstock measurements:

card base   -  11" x 4 1/4"  scored @ 5 1/2"

DSP layer  -  4" x 5 1/2"

white layer -  3" x 5"

If you only have these three components, you can make a different card every time you sit and stamp.  For this card, I used Balmy Blue for my card base.  The DSP layer is one of the prints from the Country Floral Lane DSP.  It's found on page 9 of the January - April Mini Catalog.  I have used most of the prints in this paper pack for Valentine cards.  I thought this blue print would make a pretty birthday card though.

Before doing any stamping on the Basic White layer, I used one of the Basic Borders dies to cut a fancy edge at an angle.  Isn't that a cute addition?  I chose the birthday sentiment from the Happy Thoughts set.  I really like the size of the fonts for this sentiment.  It fits the card just like I wanted.  It's stamped in Balmy Blue ink to match.  

Two leafy stems from the Dainty Delight dies were cut from Mint Macaron cardstock.  They were trimmed a little on the bottom edges to fit the white layer in a nice curve.  Multi Purpose Liquid Glue was used to attach the stems to the left side.  The three flowers and bud were die-cut from Pale Papaya cardstock to match the dots on the DSP.  These were attached with Mini Glue Dots along the stems.

Before attaching the layer, a Pale Papaya ribbon was tied around the card front and tied into a knot on the side.  I know it's a retired ribbon, but it worked so nicely with the card.  Besides, this is to give you a card template for your use, not really showcase any particular stamp set.  After adding the ribbon, the main layer was attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

At this point, I planned to add rhinestones to the card.  I wasn't happy with the rhinestones, or the Iridescent Pearls, or anything else I tried.  Everything I tried was just too pale.  Imagine me saying that!  LOL Time to go raid my retired stash of embellishments.  These gold pearls are from a set of gold and silver pearls.  They're nice and tiny and can easily be used for the flower centers.

I had so much fun making this card, I went right ahead and made a 2nd card using this same template.  After changing up the colors, it sure does look different.

For this one, I started out with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock.  I used some of the Favored Flowers that were a Sale-a-bration freebie that I just love.  It's so rich and elegant looking.

The ribbon was changed to the White Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon.  The Blackberry Bliss Light Blends was used to color the ribbon.  Such an easy way to get ribbon in any color you want!

The sentiment is from the Beauty of Friendship stamp set.  It's stamped with Blackberry Bliss ink.  

I changed the die used to cut the edge of the white layer to a retired set called Ornate Border Dies.  I like the lacy delicate look with the darker colors on the card.  It still has that elegant feel to it.

The two sets of flowers tucked over and under the sentiment layer are parts of the Favored Flowers DSP cut with my Paper Snips.  They just fit right in, don't they?

The bling used on this card is the Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  Love, love, love these gorgeous jewels!  They tend to fit right in with anything you want to add sparkle to and make it shine.  I tried just three on the card, but that wasn't enough.  So I sprinkled on two more.  Yes!

Just wanted to share a picture of the inside of the card too.  The Basic White cardstock is cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4".  There is a 1/2" strip of coordinating DSP added to the bottom to match the front of the cards.  For this card, I chose a sentiment from the Irresistible Blooms stamp set that is an Online Exclusive.  Make sure you check out this set and all the other options online when you're ready to order.  If you have any trouble seeing them, call me and I'll try to help.

That's it for today.  Hope you give this card template a try.  It's a good idea to have some go-to templates to work with when you're stuck for a quick idea.  I know I find it helpful.

Thanks for stopping by to share a part of your day with me.  Feel free to leave me a message.  You know I'd love to hear from you!  If you're planning on ordering soon, please consider using the Host Code at the top right corner of this post.  Thanks so much!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Pretty Paper Cards

Hello and an early merry Christmas to you!  Life has been really busy lately, but I did get some quality time spent in my stamp room.  It was awesome to start out with an idea and watch it actually get accomplished.  What a great feeling!  I can't tell you how many times I sit down to stamp a project and just run into roadblocks, finally put the project aside and try to work it differently another day.  But today's idea went smoothly from start to finish.  Hooray!

I wasn't in the mood for making anything else Christmas.  I figured you were probably finished with all of your cards too.  So, I thought I'd make some cards focusing on the Fitting Florets Designer Series Paper that is only available until January 4th.   It is lovely and it's still in stock!  What a surprise.  I started out this project by cutting three pieces of the dark blue floral print to measure 5" x 3 3/4".  These would be my main layer and really show up on my cards.  Plus it's my favorite print, so why not!

Here's the first card I worked on.  It starts with a card base of Evening Evergreen cut at 11" x 4 1/4", scored at 5 1/2" and folded at the top.  The next layer is Soft Succulent that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  I had a 1" strip of the same print left over from cutting the DSP.  This I flipped to the back side and attached this to the DSP layer that I cut for this card.  It's about 3/4" from the left edge.  Then the DSP layer was attached to the Soft Succulent layer with adhesive.  This was all attached to the folded card base with adhesive also.

The sentiment on this card is from the Framed Florets stamp set.  It was stamped on Basic White cardstock using Evening Evergreen ink.  It was die-cut using the Stylish Shapes square die.  I also cut a square from Balmy Blue cardstock that is the same size.  I angled these and attached together with adhesive.

Before attaching this to the card front, I felt it needed something else added.  I couldn't find anything current that added to the design.  But then I remembered the blue ribbon from the Boho Blue Kit from two years ago.  I dug it out and loved how it looked together.  The ribbon is attached with a small amount of Tombow Multi Purpose Liquid Glue right down the center of the Soft Succulent strip of DSP.  The bottom was angle cut.

The sentiment was attached over this with Dimensionals.  Perfect!  Lastly, I added three Iridescent Pearls to the card front.  Oh yes, just lovely!  One down, two more to go. 

When I started working on this card, I was using the other side of the print just like the first one.  But after getting all the pieces of the design together and getting ready to glue them down, I decided I liked this side better.  Nothing like changing an idea at the very last minute.

The Basic White circle is die-cut using the Stylish Shapes again.  The bold sentiment comes from the Garden Birdhouses stamp set and is stamped in Evening Evergreen ink.  

The flowers and leaves are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and are from the Framed Florets stamp set.  (This set and the coordinating dies that I used will be in the January - April Mini Catalog.)  I used Stampin' Blends for coloring:  Balmy Blue Light & Dark and Soft Succulent Light & Dark.

There is a spray of open-work leaves cut from silver paper that was added to the design, and one open-work single leaf in Evening Evergreen cardstock.  All of the pieces were attached to the circle with adhesive, except for the middle flower that has a Dimensional behind it.

When I had die-cut an earlier project, the one frame is surrounded by tiny hearts.  You know me, I couldn't throw them out, because I might need them someday.  Well, today was that day.  I added three of them to the card as bling.  They are attached with a tiny drop of Tombow Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  Pretty, aren't they?

A retired twine that is white and silver was tied into a bow and attached with a Mini Glue Dot as a finishing touch to the card.  Now on to the last card.

For this one, I wanted to try a stamp set that will be in the new catalog.  So here we go for a quick sneak peek.

The stamp set is called Two-Tone Flora.  I was sticking with the same color palette of Balmy Blue, Evening Evergreen and Soft Succulent to match the DSP.  In my die-cut leftover stash, I had both the Basic White and Balmy Blue Stitched Nested Labels already cut and ready to layer together.  It's a retired die set, but I liked how it fit with this card idea.  

The sentiment was stamped in Evening Evergreen ink.  You'll find this sentiment in the Happy Thoughts stamp set.  It has a great bunch of sentiments in the set with the fun font combo used here.

The flowers and leaves were stamped on a Basic White cardstock piece.  The flowers were either just Balmy Blue or Balmy Blue with a detail stamp inked with Night of Navy, off-stamped, and then stamped on the flower.  The leaves were either stamped with Evening Evergreen by itself, or first inked with Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen added over it to get a two-tone look.

Some of the pieces were attached directly to the card front, but the larger flower and one smaller flower were attached with Dimensionals.  The leafy spray that extends off the label has a Dimensional under the tip of the leaf.

To finish off the design, I added three of the Iridescent Pearls to it.  These pearls really pick up the blues on the card and mimic the berries on the background so they're perfect.  

So, there you have today's offerings.  It's fun how different you can make a card look just by changing up the components you add to the card.  These all have the same color scheme, but the die-cuts, sentiments, etc. all come together to give you a different card.  Hope these ideas give you some food for thought and spark your imagination a little bit.

Christmas blessings to you!

Sharon