Fall Scarecrow Card

Hello my friends.  Are you ready for a cute little autumn themed card?  I hope so, because that's what I have in store for you today.  For some reason I just love a cute scarecrow come fall.  It just seems the epitome of going to cider mills and apple orchards or going to pumpkin patches.  Brings back sweet memories of fun times.  I've got a picture of one of my little grandsons in a patch of sunflowers and a scarecrow that is one of my favorites.  I'm sure he'd be embarrassed by it now, but I love it!  When I saw the cute Fun For Fall stamp and die bundle show up in the Online Store at Stampin'Up!, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  Here's the first card made with the set.  Just stamping and coloring, no die-cutting the images.

Isn't he just adorable?  He really didn't take much time to color at all, and you can change up the colors to fit your ideas.  I have new plaid DSP on order that wasn't here yet. But I did have a piece of A Little Latte Designer Series Paper left over from last fall.  I really love this plaid and was sparingly playing with it to make it stretch as far as possible.  Isn't it the perfect match for this little scarecrow?

My first job was to find a die that would fit the scarecrow nicely.  I used two sizes of dies from the Sweet Words & Labels set.  The smaller die cut Basic White cardstock and the larger cut Pecan Pie.

The scarecrow and leaves were stamped with Pecan Pie ink.  Then colored with a bunch of different Stampin' Blends:

Misty Moonlight, Lemon Lolly, Timid Tiger, Golden Glow, Granny Apple Green, Lost Lagoon, Petal Pink, Pecan Pie, Darling Duckling, Pebbled Path, and Bronze/Ivory

Whew, that's a lot of colors, but most of them were just a bit here and there.  Of course, you can change colors to fit your design.  I was trying to get most of these colors to blend with the DSP.

After coloring it all, the design was spattered with a Pecan Pie marker to break up the open white background.

The card base was cut from Pecan Pie to blend with the DSP.  The plaid print was attached to the card base with adhesive.  The two die-cut layers were put together with adhesive.  Then they were attached to the card base with Dimensionals.

The tiny sentiment is from Fun For Fall.  It's stamped with Pecan Pie ink then trimmed to shape.  It's attached partially to the labels with adhesive and a Mini Dimensional added on the overlap part.

The inside of the card is a layer of Basic White cardstock.  All the stamps here are from the Fun For Fall stamp set and were all stamped with Pecan Pie ink.  The three of the hay bales were stamped stacked at the bottom.  A scattering of leaves was added to the design.  And we can't forget the two crows to finish it off.  The same Stampin' Blends were used to color these pieces.

Again, the background was spattered with Pecan Pie ink for interest.  It was surprising just how much those little speckles changed the look of the design!

To complete the design, a double strand of Linen Thread was tied into a bow and attached at the bottom of the die-cut layer using Mini Glue Dots.

Several of the 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls in the Timid Tiger color were added for a little bling.  Even though the color listed on the DSP was Calypso Coral, I think the Timid Tiger color blended very nicely with it.

Well, what did you think of this little guy?  Doesn't he make up into an adorable scarecrow?  I had lots of fun coloring him to match the plaid.  Now I'm waiting for my new DSP prints and plaids to get here to see how else he's going to show up next.

Hope you're inspired to get out one of your outline images and do a little coloring yourself.  For me coloring is pretty relaxing and enjoyable.  I should really do it more often.

Thanks for stopping in to see what's new.  August is just around the corner, and the new catalog will be sent out soon.  If you're one of my customers, please make sure you've told Stampin'Up! that you want to receive mailings from me so I can send you one!!  There is no time like the present to start thinking about all your autumn projects.  Oh my, maybe even Christmas too!  I think I've totally missed out on Christmas in July to get a start on my Christmas cards.  Guess I'll just have my own Christmas in August instead.  You just never know what I might feel like creating!  I hope you'll check in often to see.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Another Simply Leaves Card

Good afternoon to you on this gray and rainy day.  I'm glad the temps have been lower the last couple of days.  But because of the humidity, it almost feels worse than the heat.  Oh dear, that sounds like I'm complaining, and I certainly shouldn't be.  Since it's been so dry, this rain is absolutely needed!  And it means I don't have to go outside and water my flowers either!  See, it is a good thing.  Ok, enough of that.  Let's get going with another Simply Leaves card.  This one has an extra fold back to make it just a little different than a regular card.  I think these little touches are what make a card more interesting.

Is this bold and green enough for you?  It's not quite my personal style, but I try to come up with designs that are a little out of my comfort zone because not everyone has the same taste in color and design like I do.  

Start with a card base of Granny Apple Green that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 3/4" and again at 4 1/4".  Fold the card base in half and then fold the flap back again.

Two pieces of Garden Green cardstock were cut:  3/4" x 5 1/4", and 3" x 5 1/4".  Plus, I used a piece approximately 3 1/4" x 2 1/2" to die-cut a label from the Sweet Words & Labels Die set.  

Next, a 5" x 2 3/4" piece of green print from Valley of Blooms DSP was cut.  This was attached to the larger Garden Green layers with adhesive.  Then it was attached to the card front.  That extra Granny Apple Green flap was folded back onto this to cover the edge of the layers.  I used "green glue" to attach so it wouldn't pop loose later.

Working on the focal images was the next step.  A slightly smaller label from the Sweet Words & Labels die set was used to cut a label from Basic White.  These nested together nicely.  The white was layered onto the Garden Green die with adhesive.  

I used the Two-Tone Garden Green cardstock on the light side to punch the largest leaf.  After punching, I stamped the veins using Garden Green ink.  From this same cardstock, I die-cut several leaves from the Sweet Words & Labels die set.  Both the light and dark sides of this cardstock were used to get different looks.  

The cute, checked leaves are made from one of the Simply Leaves stamp set.  I stamped one with Granny Apple Green and one with Garden Green onto Basic White cardstock.  Both of these were quickly fussy cut since there's no punch or die for it.

A large double bow was made from Linen Thread.  Then the leaves were all arranged onto the labels.  The largest was attached flat.  The two checked leaves were attached with adhesive at the stem and a Mini Dimensional at the tip.  The darker smaller leaf was attached the same way.  The bow was attached with Mini Glue Dots.  Then the light-colored leaf was attached over this with two Mini Dimensionals right over the Linen Thread bow.

The entire label piece was attached to the card front using Dimensionals to hold in place.  I kept this on the card front with nothing hanging over the open edge.

The sentiment for the card is from the Simply Leaves set.  It's stamped onto a 1/2" wide strip of Basic White cardstock using Garden Green ink.  Both of the ends were trimmed with Paper Snips.  This is attached with Dimensionals also.  This piece extends over the front edge to get close to the right edge of the back of the card.

For this card, the Holographic Gems were added to the card.  Instead of my usual three, there are five gems tucked around the design.  It seemed these gems were almost glowing on the card.  Perfect match!

The inside of the card has a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Basic White added.  Then the 3/4" strip of Garden Green that was cut is added to the right side, so it shows when the card is closed.

The inside sentiment is from the All Aflutter stamp set.  It said what I wanted and fit perfectly.  It's stamped with Garden Green ink. 

The checked leaf stamp was used again to stamp a Granny Apple Green leaf on the bottom corner.  One of the extra die-cut light-colored leaves was used to add to the corner.

That's it for a very easy and quick fun fold card.  Just that little bit folded back on the front makes a big difference.

I'll have to spend some more time playing with this Simply Leaves stamp and die bundle to see what else can be done.  This card has an overwhelming amount of green for my tastes.  I need to keep creating with this to see what else I can do with it.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Since it's still raining here a couple of hours after I started this post, I'm thinking I should go right back downstairs and play around with my stamps some more!  Right?  Isn't that what rainy days are for?

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

More Framed Violets Ideas

 Hello friends!  I'm so happy that July is almost here.  That means all the wonderful new items that are in the Online Exclusive store will be available to everyone!  This new grouping of online only products includes some of my very favorite new stamp and dies sets.  One especially favorite of mine is the Framed Violets bundle.  I've shared an idea or two already and today I've got two more cards to share with you.  For these two cards, I used the same stamps and dies, the same Violet Dreams Designer Series Paper, and the same layout.  The changes are all in the colors and DSP prints that I've used for the cards, so they are similar but still different enough to enjoy the looks.  Tell me which one is your favorite, and we'll see if I agree.  We'll start with the first one I made.

This card started with the pretty Violet Dreams DSP in the pale Hydrangea Hue diagonal stripe.  I thought this would make up into a sweet "girlie" card.  I cut a piece 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" to get me started.  

It needed a skinny frame of Hydrangea Hue cardstock to make it pop.  This measures 5 1/4" x 4".  From this piece, I die-cut a fancy layer from the center using the 2nd largest die in the Sweet Words & Labels Dies set.  I had already used the scalloped stamp and dies that came with the Framed Violets set, but again I wanted something just a bit fancier for this card.  After die-cutting, this layer was set aside for use later.

The striped DSP needed a little something added.  So a Stampin' Blends in Hydrangea Hue was used to spatter it a little near the top and bottom of this piece.  The DSP was then attached to the Hydrangea Hue layer with adhesive and then to the folded Basic White cardstock card base.  

I raided my stash of retired border punches to make the pretty lacy looking band across the card.  I wanted to add something quite feminine looking to the design.  This was attached with adhesive also.

Moving on to the focal point on the card, I stamped the little violet bouquet with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto a piece of Basic White cardstock.  The images were colored in with Stampin' Blends:

Flower petals - Hydrangea Hue Light & Dark

Leaves & stems - Peaceful Pine Light & Dark with touches of Color Lifter used as highlights

After coloring, the violets were die-cut using the matching dies.

Two different fern dies from the Fern & Flora bundle were used to die-cut ferns from Peaceful Pine cardstock for accent pieces.  I like how the darker color really highlights the lighter violets.

A Basic White layer to ground the pieces was cut using the 3rd largest die in the Sweet Words & Labels Dies.  This added a pretty layer with stitching details to the design.  This was attached to the Hydrangea Hue layer with adhesive.

First the two ferns were attached to the white layer using adhesive.  Then the violets were attached on top of these.  The stems have adhesive, but each of the flowers have a Mini Glue Dot behind it to give it more depth.

The focal layers were attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  Did you notice there is no sentiment?  I haven't decided how this card will be used yet, so for now there is no sentiment and the inside is bare.

To finish the design, I added a fairly large bow using two strands of white Baker's Twine.  It's still fairly subtle and doesn't demand too much attention.  This was added to the violet stems with a rolled up Mini Glue Dot to hold in place.

I debated about adding some sort of bling and I tried several that I had on hand.  I didn't think any of them really enhanced this design to any degree.  Hence, there is no added embellishment to this card.  Was that the right decision?  What would you have added?

I challenged myself to make another card with these parameters - same set, same DSP pack, same dies.  This next card really came together fast since most of my choices were already made.

The first thing I did for this card design was pick the DSP print again.  Using the darker print changed the whole feel of the card and I needed darker colors to coordinate with it.  

To match the print, the card base is Highland Heather this time.  The DSP print is attached to this using adhesive.

The same dies from the Sweet Words & Labels set were used.  The 2nd largest cut the Highland Heather cardstock and the 3rd largest cut the Basic White cardstock.  

A texture background stamp in the Framed Violets set was used to stamp Bubble Bath ink onto the center of the white layer.  You can barely see it, but I think it made a big difference.

The two layers were attached together with adhesive.  Then they were attached to the card front with Dimensionals.

Again, the violet bouquet was stamped on Basic White cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  For coloring this time, I went with Stampin' Blends again:

Flower petals - Highland Heather Light & Dark

Leaves and stems - Peaceful Pine Light & Dark

For this design, I tried to match the coloring on the DSP for the leaves.  They are quite a bit darker than in my first design even though the same color was used.  It just depends on how much of the Dark was used.

The sentiment comes from the Phrases & Frames stamp set.  The words are stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink onto a 3/4" strip of Basic White.  The ends were trimmed into flags.  The stems of the violets were attached to the back of the sentiment.  Then all of this was attached to the white layer using Dimensionals.

A retired sheer Highland Heather ribbon was selected as an accent here.  It's tied into a small bow and attached with Mini Glue Dots.

Several white Shimmering Dots were scattered onto the card for a bit of bling.  This card seemed to need just an extra bit of brightness to the design.

I totally forgot to take a photo of the inside.  Oops!  The matching anniversary sentiment from the Phrases & Frames set was stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink.  The single violet in the Framed Violets set was stamped in the bottom corner using Highland Heather ink as an accent.  

And there you have it.  I think I accomplished my goal of using pretty much all the same products and layout but still changing the look of the finished cards.  Do you like them?  And which look do you prefer - pastel or brighter?  Surprisingly, I would have to say I love the boldness of the second card which really doesn't sound like me at all.  I love them both, but for some reason the boldness of the second one just appeals to me today.  What do you think?

Either way, you can get this awesome suite of products starting July 1st.  Yay!  I think these are all really gorgeous items that you'll love using.  And with the beginning of a new month, that means a new Product of the Month will be available too.  I can't wait to see what it is and see what I can do with it.  

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you love these violets as much as I do.  They are just so simple and sweet and make me think more Victorian thoughts here.  Of course, we had a lovely crop of violets to enjoy this spring in our backyard.  (My hubby wasn't happy, but...)  I don't remember these in the yard back in Michigan, so I really enjoyed them before it got so incredibly hot.  

Oh, before I forget - I think this will be my last update on our blueberry crop.  From starting with two plus pints each picking, we're down to maybe 3/4 cup the last time I picked.  Looks like it's not worth the effort to pick anymore this season and the birds and squirrels can dine on the rest.  But we've got plenty for cobblers, muffins, and much more tucked away in the freezer that we'll enjoy all winter long.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon