More Hydrangeas

Hello my friends!  I'm back with another Thankful Garden card using those fabulous hydrangeas.  I've been doing the prep work for when we get together to make the cards for the shut-ins at church.  My mind has been totally focused on Easter themed cards at this time.  I needed a break, and I've wanted to do another card with the hydrangeas.  Funny thing, my ideas kind of went sideways and I ended up with something totally different.  I really was going to play with pinks, blues, and purples this time around.  Then I got thinking of a very neutral idea instead.  As you can see, no pinks etc.  But I really love the pretty card that evolved from the mess on my table.

I wish you could see the soft, delicate colors in person.  Quite lovely.  I started the card by stamping the hydrangea onto a Basic White cardstock piece about 4 1/4" x 3 1/2".  This was just enough to have a good frame around it while I was doing the coloring on it.  I used Basic Gray ink for a slightly softer look.

Next, I lined up the stamped image with the 1st mask.  Using a Blending Brush and Basic Beige ink, I added a light base for the flowers.  I had to check under the mask to make sure that I actually added color!

Moving on to the 2nd mask, another light layer of Basic Beige ink was added.  Before removing this mask, I added in just a hint of Pool Party to the flowers.

For the 3rd mask, another layer of Pool Party was lightly added.  Check under the mask to make sure you can see it but keep it light.

Ready for the 4th mask.  This one is the base for the leaves.  This was colored with a Blending Brush and Soft Seafoam ink.  When I got to the leaves, it seems I got a little heavier handed with my coloring.  For some reason, they seem to show up even darker in the pictures.  You could definitely do it softer if you prefer.

The 5th mask is the detail on the leaves.  This is also done with Soft Seafoam ink.  After the coloring was complete, the image was die-cut with the coordinating die.

The card base is Soft Seafoam cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.

The DSP layer is one of the Country Lace DSP prints that are so pretty.  BTW, I noticed this DSP pack will not be in the coming catalog.  Boo Hoo.  I think I need to get another pack before it's gone.  This piece measures 3 7/8" x 5 1/8".

The DSP layer is backed with a Basic White cardstock layer.  This measures 4" x 5 1/4".  The layers are attached together with adhesive.  Then they are attached to the card base with adhesive too.

The sentiment is from the Faith Collection and is my favorite.  I wanted to add it to a die-cut label, and it took a while to find just the right one.  This one is from the Something Fancy Bundle.  It's just the right size.  It's die-cut from Basic White with the sentiment stamped on with Basic Gray ink.

The last part of the design is the grid piece going down the side of the card.  I'd noticed it in the Mixed Labels Bundle when looking for a label.  I thought this design element would be interesting.  It's die-cut from Soft Seafoam cardstock.  We've got all of our design pieces ready, so let's put it together!

After moving all the pieces around to fit properly, the grid was attached first on the right edge of the card.  I used a 'dotted adhesive' on the back and attached it.

The hydrangea was attached with five Dimensionals to pop it up nicely.  Lastly, the label was added near the bottom.  It's also attached with Dimensionals.

For a bit of subtle bling, three of the lightest Purple Adhesive-backed Sequins that were a popular Sale-a-bration item.  (Wish I had gotten more!)  These white iridescent sequins seem to pick up the greens on the card perfectly.

I loved how the design came together so much, that I prepped enough to make another five cards.  I was surprised how quickly I could color all the layers on the hydrangeas for all the cards.  Not sure if I'll use these myself for Easter or use them for the shut-ins.  Either way, these cards will definitely be sent out this Easter.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you enjoyed a walk through another hydrangea card design.  Can you tell this is my favorite set at the moment?  Oops, I'm pretty sure I forgot to mention that the Thankful Garden and the Mixed Labels Bundles are both Online Exclusive items in case you're looking for them.  These are both 'must have' items for me.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Two-Tone Flora Cards

Good day to you, my friend!   Today I have a simple card to share with you using the SIP technique.  Do you know what SIP is?  It stands for Stamps, Ink, and Paper.  Pretty basic, and that's really what so many of our cards are.  I didn't use any die-cuts on these cards.  But I did add sequins and on one of the cards there's a bit of ribbon.  I couldn't help myself!  What I'm sharing today is the same card with three different color combos to choose from.  Never know which one you might feel like making.

This is the first one I made.  I just love these colors together!  Sweet Sorbet, Pale Papaya, and Granny Apple Green - yum!  Sounds good enough to eat, doesn't it?  The Two-Tone Flora stamp set actually has 6 different flowers to choose from, and each one is a two-step stamp process giving you lots of detail easily.  For my cards this time, I used the largest flower and the third largest flower.  For some reason I keep gravitating to these two sizes.  One of these days I'll have to have a go at the other size flowers and show them some love too!

This card started with a Basic White layer that is stamped on.  It measures 5 1/2" x 4" so it goes edge to edge with a small cardstock strip showing on top and bottom.  On scrap paper, I stamped the large solid flower with Sweet Sorbet, then stamped again to check on which color strength I wanted to use.  The full strength was way too dark for my taste, so all the Sweet Sorbet flowers on this card are off-stamped with a full-strength detail stamp on top of it.  I did it the same way with the smaller Pale Papaya flowers too.  As you can see, one of the Pale Papaya flowers wasn't off-stamped and the detail just doesn't show up as nicely.  If you want to get a brighter flower, use a darker color on the detail stamp to give it some contrast.

After stamping in the flowers, the leaves were tucked in around them.  They are stamped with Granny Apple Green ink.  Both full strength and off-stamped versions of the leaves were used.

The sentiment used on this card is from the Something Fancy stamp set.  It's on page 17 of the January-April Mini Catalog.  For this card, Basic Gray ink was used.  With the lighter flowers, I thought the Memento Tuxedo Black ink was a little too harsh.

To put the card together, I checked on using Sweet Sorbet or Pale Papaya for the base.  As you can see, I chose a base of Pale Papaya cardstock.  It measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.  It's attached with adhesive.  

I was going to make the card plain with no bling.  But I just couldn't leave it bare.  I know, I know.  I just had to get in there and add a little more!  Three of the Pastel Adhesive-backed Sequins in gold were added for the bling.  Nice touch.

The inside of the card needed to be pretty too.  I went with smaller flowers in the same set and same colors to add a bouquet in the bottom right corner.  Didn't that dress it up nicely?  And I still have lots of room to write a note.

Now, wouldn't it be nice to try this in different color combinations?  Let's see what I did.  Let me know which color combo you like the best.

I have hardly used my Tahitian Tide cardstock and ink.  Wouldn't that be a pretty flower color?  Using the largest flower again, the solid stamp was off-stamped before stamping on the Basic White.  The detail stamp was full strength.  For the smaller contrasting flowers, I used Mango Melody ink stamping in the same way.  I really love the contrast of these two colors together.  For the leaves, the color was changed to Parakeet Party ink.

There are a few more changes.  The Mango Melody cardstock is cut to 11" x 4 1/4", scored and folded in half.  A sentiment was used from the Framed Florets set.  This time the sentiment was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink to be nice and bold.  More of the Pastel Adhesive-backed Sequins were used for an accent.  And I couldn't help myself - this time it was adding the ribbon too.  This is the 1/8" Metallic Woven Ribbon that's tied in a bow across the side of the card.  I liked that it was darker than the flowers and had some sparkle to it.  Pretty.

This time I used Tahitian Tide cardstock for the card base.  I still wanted to use the same color for the smaller flowers but wanted to try a different color for the larger flowers.  I've always loved the combo of blue and yellow, so I tried Daffodil Delight ink this time.  I was surprised in the pictures that there is very little difference between the Daffodil and the Mango.  In real life, there is a definite difference, but the camera really didn't pick that up.  Sorry!

The sentiment was changed on this card to a stamp from the Easter Bunny set.  I like this cute little sentiment.  Again, I used Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp the sentiment.  This card also uses the same Pastel Adhesive-backed Sequins for an accent.  But this time I chose the blue shade instead and got carried away and used five of them.

I guess this is as close to a SIP card as I can get.  Seems like there's always a little something that needs to be added.  Guess I need to work on controlling my 'bling' addiction.  It really is only a small addiction.  I didn't go overboard or anything, do I?  Just a small accent or two.  Anyway, hope you are inspired to make some SIP cards.  With the lovely papers and stamps you have to choose from, you might never make two cards the same ever again!  Don't forget to let me know which combo you like the best!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Another Valentine for You

Happy Sunday Friends!  Hope you're staying dry and warm today.  It's raining again and the temps are hovering just below 40!  Oh my goodness, it's chilly here!  At least it isn't snow.  Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that out loud.  😆  It really was nasty going out for church this morning, but it was worth it.  Great service and Paster Schuyler talked about Christian maturity.  Now tell me, who doesn't need to work on that?  I know I do!

Getting back to stamping, I needed to make another valentine or two (or more!), but I wanted to use stamps that weren't strictly for Valentine's Day.  I had fun going through my stash of cards and decided to use the Count on Me stamp set.  It's so cute, but I keep overlooking it for some of the flashier sets.  Time to show it some love!

This little bear is just the sweetest ever.  He's got his back turned and he's carrying a heart.  Doesn't that work for a valentine?  

I started with a card base of Sweet Sorbet measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that's scored in half and folded.  Next, I chose the heart print from the Country Floral Lane Designer Series Paper found on page 9 of the January-April Mini Catalog.  It measures 5" x 3 3/4.  I added a backing layer of Petal Pink to define it but kept it real skinny.  The Petal Pink layer measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  The two layers are attached together, then attached to the card front with adhesive.  If you use this paper, make sure you pay attention to the direction of the pattern.

The Petal Pink strip with the hearts to accent this layer is the back side of the first print.  It's 1" wide and is attached with adhesive.

Next comes our little bear.  He's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a Basic White piece of cardstock.  I colored him with Crumb Cake Blends in the Light tone first and went back to shade with the same color.  After he'd been finished and sitting aside for awhile, I felt he was too blah, so I went back and colored with the Crumb Cake Dark Blends.  It makes all the difference in the world!  I was surprised that he already looked shaded because I had shaded him already with the Light Blends.  Love his soft look!  His heart was colored with Real Red Light and Dark Blends.  The muzzle was colored with Ivory Blends.  When I was happy with his look, he was fussy cut and ready to go on the card.

I was looking for a die to cut a layer for my bear to reside on.  I checked the new Something Fancy Dies.  You can find these on page 17 of the January-April Mini Catalog.  The larger label seemed the perfect size for my little bear.  It's cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock which is one of the colors listed to match the DSP.  I used the smallest label die of the same shape from the set to die-cut some Basic White cardstock.  I stamped one of the sentiments from the coordinating Something Fancy set using Mossy Meadow ink.

The bear was attached to the Mossy Meadow label with Dimensionals.  The stamped label was attached partially underneath the right side of the Mossy Meadow label.  They were both attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  A double bow of 2022-2024 In Color Baker's Twine in the Sweet Sorbet color was attached near the corner of the label by using a Mini Glue Dot.  And another one of those retired Resin Hearts was attached to the sentiment label.

For the inside of the card, I stuck with a more geometric look.  There is a 1/8" strip of Mossy Meadow cardstock added to the bottom of a Basic White layer.  Then a 1/4" strip of Petal Pink was added to the side.  This way the colors from the front are brought inside the card, but it still leaves lots of room for writing your thoughts.

 Hope you're having fun making a few valentines for your favorite people.  It's a great way to let those special people know how much you care about them.  And don't forget to add chocolate - both for you while you're making the card and for your special someone too.  Stamping and chocolate - a perfect pairing!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon