Blended Background Prairie Grass

Hello Friends!  Today I'm going to step away from that fabulous Sunflowers 3D Embossing Folder and do a little creating with the new Prairie Grass stamp set I just received.  This is a little stand-alone stamp set that is a real treasure as far as I'm concerned.  There are three silhouette images and five sentiments to use.  You'll only find it in the Online Exclusives section in the online store.

The first time I saw this stamp set, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I love doing blended backgrounds and this would be the perfect setting for this large stamp.  The large stamp in the set almost covers a whole card front.  But it's still so delicate looking and the background shines through very nicely.  Let me walk you through the steps to make this lovely card.

The first decision was the color of the cardstock for the design layer.  I chose Basic White because I wanted the sun to be a bright white area instead of a vanilla shade.  The Basic White cardstock was cut to measure 3 3/4" x 5".  Then the large grass stamp was stamped onto this using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The image was positioned near the left side and the top of the grass was about 1/4" from the top of the cardstock.  This leaves a small bit of the stamp that is off the bottom of the cardstock.

The next step was die-cutting a 'mask' for the sun area.  I used one of the Stylish Shapes Dies to cut a circle from Masking Paper.  This is something I don't use often, but it really comes in handy to mask off an area when needed.  It can be re-used more than once if you're careful putting it on and off, so it's great when making multiples of the same card.

The mask is positioned tucked into the stamped design to make it look like the grasses were partially in front of the sun.

The first color that is blended onto the design is Daffodil Delight ink.  The ink is added heavier near the edge of the sun and blended out at least an inch.  Next some Coastal Cabana ink was very lightly added.  Then Balmy Blue ink was added to the edges in the sky area.

Next up is working in the ground portion of the picture.   First, I tried adding Granny Apple Green, but it didn't have enough depth to ground the card.  Then Old Olive ink was blended onto the design.  Perfect.

Carefully peel off the mask to use again if desired.  

The sentiment used here and inside the card is from the Hope You Know stamp set.  Lots of lovely sentiments in this set.  The hello was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink inside the sun area.

I wanted some birds flying in the background.  The bird stamp in the Sunrise Sailing stamp set was stamped 3 times to fill the design a little.  Memento Tuxedo Black ink was used for these too.

It was time to get the card put together.  This layer was attached to a Basic Black layer that measures 4" x 5 1/4".  They are attached with adhesive.  After adhering together, Linen Thread was wrapped around the bottom of this three times then tied into a knot.  The ends of the thread were frayed.

This was all attached to a folded Old Olive cardstock base.  Dimensionals were used for this.

The inside of the card has a Basic White layer for the sentiment that measures 4" x 5 1/4".  This sentiment coordinates with the sentiment on the front and is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

To coordinate with the front, I stamped part of the large image along the left bottom corner of this layer.

The edges all around this layer also have a small amount of Balmy Blue (top 2/3) and Old Olive (bottom 1/3) blended on.  I liked just a little bit of the extra color added here.  I also added a 1/4" strip of Basic Black cardstock to the bottom edge with adhesive.

This layer was added to the inside of the card with adhesive.

One last look at the final design.  Oops, I forgot to mention that two of the Adhesive-backed Dragonflies & Birds were added to the design.  I thought they coordinated well with the stamped birds and added just a small touch of bling.

Just a reminder that the 2025-2027 In Color Sale is going on through the end of the month of August.  There are actually three pages of products that are on sale for 15% off.  You don't want to miss this sale.

Thank you for stopping by today to see what I've been working on lately.  Hope you give this idea a try and then come back for another idea boost.  Should I add another card idea or two using the Sunflower 3D Embossing Folder?  I still have more ideas, but I don't want to totally bore you with them all.  Just because I'm nuts about this embossing folder doesn't mean everybody else is.  So, what do you think??  Whatever you prefer, make sure you keep creating and then sharing your "art with heart" with your family and friends.  It's sure to put a smile on someone's face!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

sharoncarr50@gmail.com

Delightful Hugs Card

Well, here we are.  It's Sunday again and good heavens, it's already February.  January was rough with all the respiratory infections and the forever cough.  But I'm believing that we are beyond that now.  All that freezing weather we had should have killed off all those nasty germs, and now we can get on with life again.  Sounds like a good plan to me!

Today's card is a bright and cheerful everyday kind of card that use several items from the Delightful Wishes Bundle and the coordinating Designer Series Paper called Floral Delight DSP.  I love the bright yellows for spring.  It just makes me happy!  

See?  Isn't it a happy little card?  Just what someone needs to brighten these long dreary days of winter.

I started with a card base of Old Olive to pick up the greens in the DSP print.  This is cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" then scored and folded in half.  I wanted some texture added, so a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Old Ollive was cut.  Then it's embossed with the Dashing Designs 3D Embossing Folder which is found in the Annual Catalog.  This gives such an interesting and random background design with dashes and dots.  The two layers were attached with "green glue".  

Choosing which designs of the Floral Delight DSP was next.  I chose one floral and another design with dots and dashes to mimic the embossing.  These two pieces happen to be back-to-back.  The floral piece measures 3" x 2 1/4", and the other is 3 1/2" x 2".  Both pieces are backed with Daffodil Delight cardstock.  These measurements are - 3 1/4" x 2 1/2" and 3 3/4" x 2 1/4".  The DSP pieces are attached to the layers with adhesive.  These sections were both attached to the card front to form a sort of 'L' shape and were attached with "green glue".

The sentiment came next.  This one is from the Hugs for Love Bundle in the current Mini Catalog.  I love this sentiment so much and have used it multiple times already.  This time it is stamped with Pecan Pie ink onto Basic White cardstock.  It is cut with a die from the Stylish Shapes Dies.  This one is the 4th largest in size.

I didn't have my Daffodil Delight ribbon yet, so I grabbed a retired ribbon for the accent.  I cut about 6" and folded in half to form this loop.  I attached it to the back of the circle with adhesive.  Then Dimensionals were placed on the back to pop it up on the card design.  When the card was totally finished, I wish I had placed it about 1/2" lower on the card.  I tried to take it off and reposition after the card was finished, but it started ripping.  That was the sign I needed to tell me to leave it alone and just deal with it as is!

The 2-step flower in the set was stamped several times to add to the design and then die-cut.  The colors used for this were Daffodil Delight and Crushed Curry.  There were also a few leaves stamped with Old Olive ink and die-cut for the design.  

After playing with the flowers and leaves, I decided to die-cut a few flowers from Daffodil Delight cardstock using the single flower from the Heart Shaped set.  These were a perfect size and accent to the pieces I had already stamped.

Most of the flowers and leaves were attached flat using Mini Glue Dots.  The one larger flower was attached with one Dimensional in the center.  

For an embellishment, I used the golden tone gems from the Low Profile Dots.  These were placed in the center of the die-cut Daffodil Delight flowers with an extra one popped near the bottom of the design.

I forgot to take a picture of the inside.  Oops.  I used a sentiment from the Hope You Know set.  It's stamped on Basic White cardstock using Pecan Pie ink.  A couple of flowers and leaves were stamped on the inside of the card for an accent.  And a 1/2" strip of the same dotted DSP was attached to the bottom of the white layer.  This really bring the design into the inside of the card to match.

I hope you are ordering your favorite Sale-a-bration items when you place your orders.  It's so much fun opening that box and seeing your new treasures to create with and some of them even free!  Woo hoo!  There are only a few more weeks to take advantage of Sale-a-bration so don't put it off too long.  Thanks for hanging out with me for a while today.  Hope you liked the idea and are inspired to get out those stamps and dies and create!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

sharoncarr50@gmail.com