Bold Baby Chick Easter Card

 Hey there!  So glad you stopped by.  Today's card is the last Easter card I'll be sharing with you this year.  I mentioned yesterday that I needed a few more cards, and this was one of them.  Thought I'd try a little something different from my usual pastel themes.  This one is really bold, bright and cheerful.  I might go ahead and make one or two more of these but change up the sentiment to be more general.  Wouldn't this card add a little sunshine and happiness when it arrives in the mail?  Let's get going and I'll give you the directions to create this card yourself.

The first thought for this card was to use the Art Gallery Designer Series Paper I had left over.  Yes, it is retired, but it just sort of screamed spring at me, so I gave it a try.  What a surprise!  I love it!  This card needed a card base of Poppy Parade to balance all the bold colors.  You know it's not my favorite color, but I find myself reaching for it more often lately.  It really is the right color for this card, isn't it?  The Poppy Parade cardstock was cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.

I wanted a couple of panels of DSP layered together instead of a full layer of DSP.  I cut 2 pieces of this overall print, one at 2" x 3 3/4", and the other at  2" x 4 3/4".  

I chose to use Mossy Meadow to match the DSP colors and to frame the two pieces of DSP.  These were cut at 2 1/4" x 4", and 2 1/4" x 5".  The printed designs were attached to the Mossy Meadow layers using adhesive.  At this point the two panels were attached to the folded card base using the MultiPurpose Liquid Glue to keep them nice and flat on the card, but firmly attached to the extra layers.  The larger panel was attached to the left side with the smaller one on the right side and overlapping the first panel.

Since I wanted to use the Easter Friends stamp for the card, it was time to find dies that would nicely frame the sentiment and baby chick image.  The Tasteful Labels Die set had two dies that would fit just right.  The first, longer die cut a piece of Thick Basic White cardstock.  The sentiment from the Easter Friends set was stamped with Poppy Parade ink.  This was set aside until ready to put together.

The medium sized die with the notched corners was cut from the same Thick Basic White cardstock.  First the baby chick was stamped using Daffodil Delight ink onto the center of the die-cut.  The Daffodil Delight Dark Blends was used to color in the beak and feet.   Mossy Meadow ink was used to add a little grass underfoot.  This uses the grassy stamp in the set, but only the top edges of the grass were actually stamped onto the cardstock.  The rest was just hanging off the bottom edge.

Now that everything was stamped and ready to place, the two pieces were attached with Dimensionals.  It needed some flashy bling to go with the boldness of the card now.   After looking through my stash of bling, I found the Artistry Blooms Adhesive-backed Sequins.  They have a pretty iridescent cast to them that showed up nicely, but they weren't too flashy to compete with everything else going on with the card.  They're lined up at the bottom right corner right along the edge.

And there you have it - another card idea to use up some of that gorgeous Designer Paper that you're just hoarding.  I can say that because I know what I'm talking about.  Have you seen my stash of DSP yet?  Oh my heavens!  But I do love looking at and going through the many colors and prints that I have stored away.  And here's proof that I do get them out and use them regularly.  I'm giving you a challenge to get your paper stash out and create something beautiful with it!!

In case you're wondering, both the Easter Friends stamp set and the Tasteful Labels Dies are retiring at the end of the month.  I will miss both of them, but especially the dies.  I've used them so often.  They were a kind of go-to set for me.  Looking forward to what will be new favorites of  mine in the new catalog.  If you don't have your new 2022-2023 Annual Catalog yet, you should be getting your copy very soon.  If yours hasn't arrived by the end of the month, give me a call so I can make sure you do get a copy.  You're going to love all the new colors, stamps, and accessories in there!!

And if there are any last-minute items you need that are retiring, please use the Host Code at the top of my blog when ordering.  I really appreciate it so much!

Happy stamping and creating!

Sharon

Last Minute Easter Card

 Hello everyone!  It's such a blessing being back here on my blog again.  For those of you that haven't heard yet, my husband had a doctor appointment last Thursday, and she sent him directly to the ER with high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.  It's been a crazy time trying to figure out what the doctors wanted to do to relieve his problems and figuring out what would actually work on him.  Right now, he's home and just waiting to try another cardioversion next week.  Then on to plan B, or are we at C or D already?  Not really sure anymore!  But he's still here and that's all that matters.  So, if you've been waiting for me to post another idea, sorry for the long wait.  I really appreciate your patience.  Since I got way behind in my stamping, I needed to make just a few more Easter cards today.  I've got one to share with you today, and another one hopefully tomorrow.

This card really showcases the gorgeous Daffodil Afternoon Designer Series Paper that was available only during Sale-A-Bration earlier this year.  I know many of you were able to get that DSP, so I feel comfortable sharing this idea with you.  Of course, you can use this same cutting idea for any other package of 12" x 12" DSP.  This 12" x 12" sheet of DSP was cut at 5 1/4", then cut again at 4" twice.  This way you can get 6 pieces from one sheet of DSP.  Make sure you pay attention to the orientation of the print if it has one.  It makes a huge difference when cutting the paper.  The leftover piece was again cut at 4" twice and flipped to the back side.  Don't you love these two prints together?

This card starts out with Daffodil Delight cardstock for the card base.  This is one of the colors listed to match and it looks lovely together.  The Daffodil Delight was cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  At this point, the floral print was attached to the card base using adhesive.   The leftover 1 1/2" strip of DSP was also attached with adhesive.  It sits just below the center of the card.  

The sentiment I chose to use for these cards is a brand new one from the upcoming Annual Catalog.  It's from the new Wisteria Wishes stamp set.  The words just fit how I've been feeling lately and were perfect!  The words make me think of Jesus and his disciples.  They spent several years learning from him, and yet did not understand what he was really trying to teach them.  So often, I need to remind myself to trust God to be in charge even when I don't understand why something is happening.  His ways are always better than mine.

I wanted the sentiment to be layered onto a green cardstock to match one of the greens in the DSP.   Pear Pizzazz was one of the matching colors listed, so I went with that.  Using the retiring Tasteful Labels Dies, I cut the back layer from a 2 1/4" piece of Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  Then using another die from the same set, I cut a piece of Basic White cardstock that the sentiment fit on.  The sentiment was stamped with Mossy Meadow ink, both the main sentiment on the white layer and the skinny Daffodil Delight strip that carries the other half of the sentiment. 

Playing with the pieces to check the layout, I realized something was needed between the two die-cut layers.  I have some Gold Fine Art Ribbon left that looked very nice here.  It gave the card a touch of glitz but is very understated.  Alas, this is also being retired.  I folded a 7" piece in half and attached it to the Pear Pizzazz layer.  Then added the Basic White layer with Mini Dimensionals over this.  All this was attached to the side of the card front with Dimensionals.

The last little detail was that tiny strip with the rest of the sentiment.  I trimmed it close with Paper Snips.  Then added Mini Dimensionals to it.  It was tucked underneath the die-cut labels.

One last little bit was adding a 2021-2023 In Color Jewel.  These are retiring too, and it just makes me sad.  I've used these jewels on so many different things because the blend with so many different colors.  The color of jewel used here is Pale Papaya, and there isn't any of that color used on this card.  But it still works like a charm.  I did pick up a few extra of these for my embellishment stash.  I know I'll be digging them out to use probably way too often!

If you're still planning on picking up a few of the retiring products, please do it sooner rather than later.  Already things are being sold out, and I don't want you to miss out on anything you've set your heart on.  And please use the Host Code shown at the top of the blog page.  I really appreciate it!

Thanks for stopping in again to see what's been going on.  My hope is that you've been inspired to make either one of these cards, or something similar.  It's an awesome way to showcase your favorite Designer Series Paper!

For those of you that have been praying for Rick's recovery and my peace of mind, there are no words to thank you enough.  Just knowing that my friends are praying is such a huge blessing.  I pray that God would bless you in return for the many blessings you have given me!

Easter Blessings!!

Sharon

Floating Layers Card

 Hi friends!  Glad you stopped by today.  There's a technique that I've been meaning to try for months, but there was always something more important that I had to do first.  You know how that goes?  Well, today was the day for making a card using the "floating layers" technique.  It didn't sound hard at all when I had investigated it months ago, and it wasn't.  It just took a little thought beforehand to decide on colors, etc.  When I was finished with the card though, I considered taking the sentiment off and changing it to an Easter sentiment instead.  Even my grandsons thought it looked like an Easter card.  Will it work for a birthday card though?  I need some input here...

Does it have too much of an Easter feel to it to be considered a birthday card?  Should I change it?

It starts with a Highland Heather card base that's cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" then scored and folded in half.  The main layer of the card is Sahara Sand cut to 4 3/4" x 3 1/2".  This was attached to the folded Highland Heather card with adhesive.  Then both layers were embossed with the Tasteful Textures 3D Embossing Folder to give it some interest.  This is my favorite embossing folder right now and I tend to use it maybe too often.  Or is that even possible?  Anyway, the subtle texture here is just enough - without being too much.  Now on to the "floating layers".

Choose what colors you want to use for your colored strips of cardstock.  For this card, I used Highland Heather, Balmy Blue, Pool Party, and Mint Macaron.  The strips ranged in width from 1/4" to 1/2", and each strip was attached to the Window Sheet (sold in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog) with a very thin bead of Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  When attaching the strips, make sure you leave a small gap between each of them to get the "floating" effect.  You can add the colors randomly or in a sequence like I did.  It's totally up to you.  

When you have the strips attached, decide which die set you'll use to cut out the piece.  I used the largest die from the Tasteful Labels Die set. 

TIP:  Run the die through your machine at least 4-5 times to cut through all those layers!  Any sections that still didn't cut through can be easily cut with your Paper Snips.  The lines to cut on a quite visible from the back side.

My apologies here - I still have some of that gorgeous Be Dazzling DSP from the last Sale-a-bration.  I love it too much to quit using it as it's a fabulous glitter paper that die-cuts so nicely.  I keep tucking in little bits here and there on my projects.

For the focal dies, I used one of the Harvest Dies to cut the Be Dazzling DSP (retired).  Next I wanted the long-stemmed flower from the Meadow Dies added.  But it needed color, so I used Blending Brushes with Highland Heather and Mint Macaron inks to color a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  Then I die-cut the flower stem from that.  Very pretty.   

Both die-cuts were attached to the floating layer with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  This whole layer was attached to the card front with Mini Dimensionals.  Be careful to only put the Mini Dimensionals under the cardstock strips so they don't show through on the front of the layer!

A butterfly from the Meadow Dies set was cut from the blended-color cardstock also.  After cutting, a few strokes of Wink of Stella were added to the butterfly to give it some shimmer.  This was added to the card front with Mini Dimensionals

The last part of the card was the sentiment.  It's from the Inspired Thoughts stamp set.  This was stamped with Soft Succulent ink so it would be darker than the colors used so far, but still blend with them.  I also used a scrap of Soft Succulent cardstock trimmed up and layered behind the sentiment.  This was attached on the left side with adhesive and on the right side with a Dimensional to keep it flat.

That's it for this card - no other bling or doodads added.  I was happy with the way it turned out.  I love the floating layers technique, and it's so easy to do.  I have a segment of it leftover, so now I need to design something to use that up!  And then try different color combos and have some more fun creating.  

Hope you give this technique a try!  If you have questions about the technique, please get in touch with me.  I'd love to help you do this too.

Keep stamping and creating!

Sharon

Flowering Rain Boots

Good morning everyone!   Since it's been raining here, a lot, I thought I'd play with the Flowering Rain Boots stamp set and dies.  A while back, there was a Paper Pumpkin kit that was all about rain boots and spring.  I loved that kit so much that I even got refills for it, and I hardly ever do that!  When I saw this set in the new 2022 January - June Mini Catalog, it was the very first set on my shopping list.  I'm so tickled with this, so I know I'll be using it a lot for my own cards.  And of course, some of those will be shared with you too. 

Here's one of the cards I made yesterday.  Doesn't it look like we're all ready for spring?  I'm sure those of you in the northern climates definitely have had more than enough of the cold and snow.  Unfortunately, I think there's still a lot more of that to come.

To make this card, I started with a piece of Thick White cardstock.  This was cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  Since I had already found the Friendly Hello Designer Series Paper print that I wanted to use, I took my color choices from there.  (The Friendly Hello DSP is part of a stamp and paper bundle in the Sale-a-bration Mini Catalog!  You can get it free when you spend $100 on merchandise from the Annual Catalog or the new Mini Catalog!)

I love the softness of the DSP print, and all the lines of squiggles in the pastel colors.  It reminded me of raindrops sliding down a window, so I just had to use it!  I chose to use Fresh Freesia as my accent color on the card.  This was cut to 5 1/4" x 4".  Because I wanted the Fresh Freesia color to stand out, the DSP was cut a little smaller at only 4 3/4" x 3 1/2". This is attached to the Fresh Freesia cardstock piece using adhesive.  A length of Fresh Freesia Open Weave Ribbon was wrapped around and tied into a square knot off to the side.

The rain boots were stamped with Misty Moonlight ink on Basic White cardstock.  The daisies were stamped with Basic Gray ink on the white cardstock also.  The daisies were colored using Stampin' Blends - Fresh Freesia L & D, So Saffron Dark, and Highland Heather Light.   After coloring with the Blends, the boots and daisies were die-cut with the matching Rain Boots Dies.

I used a die from the Tasteful Labels Die set to cut a label for the sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Flowering Rain Boots set.  It's stamped with Misty Moonlight ink.  A little Fresh Freesia color was added to the edges of the label with a Blending Brush.  Love that small bit of added color!  

The boots were attached with adhesive over the ribbon.  The daisies were positioned above the boots and attached with Dimenionals.  The sentiment label was attached near the top right corner with Dimensionals also.  After going through my stash of bling, the Loose Flower Flourishes were picked as an accent for the card front.  Don't they match up perfectly?  They are attached with Mini Glue Dots.

The inside of the card got a bit of special treatment too.  The sentiment here is from the Sunny Sentiments set in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  I thought the font semi-matched the font on the front, and it really said what I wanted.  

To dress it up more, I used a skinny strip of the Friendly Hello DSP that had been cut off the front piece to make it smaller.  I just couldn't let that cute little bit go to waste now, could I?  It's layered onto a 1/2" strip of Fresh Freesia to bring all the fun to the inside of the card.

There you have it, a fresh, spring-themed card to get you ready for blue skies and warmer weather.    Hope this inspires you, and I hope you love the Flowering Rain Boots Bundle as much as I do.  I promise you I'll be making and sharing more ideas and projects using this bundle, because I think it's adorable!

Keep on creating and stamping.  And don't forget to share all your beautiful creations with others.  Get them in the mail!  Or just hand them out when you can.  Whatever works for you.

Blessings and Hugs,

Sharon

A Friendly Hello Bundle

Oh, my goodness!  I've been having so much fun with a new Sale-a-bration bundle.  Yes, you heard correctly there.  After you spend $100 in regular merchandise, you can choose to get this bundle.  It has an awesome stamp set with 13 photopolymer stamps to start with that includes 3 sentiments.  And it has a gorgeous 12 x 12 set of Designer Paper that coordinates with it!  They're my sort of colors too - more on the brighter pastel side.  Woo Hoo!!  Can you tell I'm just a little excited? 

Here's the first one I made with both the Friendly Hello stamp set and the Friendly Hello matching Designer Paper.  It's turned out such a bright cheerful green as the main color on the print I used is Granny Apple Green.  It just screams 'spring!' to me.  To make this card, I started with a card base of Garden Green for some contrast.  This was cut 11" x 4 1/4", scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half to make a top fold card.  The layer of DSP is cut 5 1/4" x 4".  It's attached to the card front with adhesive.  I wanted as much of this to show as possible, so I looked for a die that wouldn't be too small for the sentiment.  But it shouldn't cover the whole card front either.  The die from the Tasteful Labels Dies was just the right size and a pretty shape with a little outline detailing too.

The hello friend sentiment from the set was stamped with Garden Green ink more to the right side of the label.  That left lots of room on the left side for the pretty flowers that are part of the set too.  These were stamped with Garden Green ink onto a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  I also stamped 5 solid leaves with the Garden Green ink on the scrap of white.  

The flowers were just lightly accented with some water and a Water Painter brush to soften the shading lines inside each flower.  It actually makes the centers look like Granny Apple Green.  Who knew...?   

The flowers and leave were all fussy cut because there are no dies or punches.  Surprisingly, it took almost no time at all to cut the 6 pieces.  It was time to position all the pieces around the sentiment.  The flowers were attached only on the edge of the label die-cut.  Several of the leaves were tucked underneath the flowers.  The label and flowers were attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  The last two leaves were attached flat to the card front with adhesive.  This gave the flowers cluster more depth.

Looking to finish off the card front, I added a length of the new 3/4" wide Frayed Ribbon wrapped across the top of the card and tied into a square knot.  There is a bit of extra fraying going on with the ribbon edges on purpose.  I liked the shabby chic look of the fraying. This ribbon is pretty thick though, so I'll probably need to add extra postage when I mail it.

The flower centers looked really bare, so I added some Genial Gems which are found in the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  There are some green gems, but they didn't look nice with the greens already going on here.  So I used the Pale Papaya ones instead.  These added just a bit of color without being overpowering.  The two flower centers are the larger gems.  Then I couldn't stop myself and added 3 of the smaller gems to highlight the sentiment.

The inside of the card got some special treatment too.  The sentiment is from the new Blessings of Home stamp set.  It is stamped on a layer of Basic White cardstock with Garden Green ink to match the front.

The Friendly Hello stamp set has a leafy branch that I thought would be a good accent.  It was stamped with Granny Apple Green in the top left corner and the opposite bottom right corner.  On the bottom corner, it was stamped once at full strength and then off-stamped two more times to fill it in.  I also like the look of the frayed ribbon wrapping around on the inside of the card.  Just an added benefit.

Thanks for stopping in today to see what's happening.  I'm enjoying playing with the new stamp sets I've already purchased from the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-bration bundle I received free.  It's always interesting to see how people interpret using the new sets.  Yes, I've been hanging out at Pinterest to see what others are doing.  It seems to jump-start my own creativity to see what's out there.  If you're like me and need a little push to get going, I hope my ideas will jump-start your creativity!  If there are any questions you have, feel free to contact me.  I'm here to help you be the very best stamper you can be - and have fun doing it!!

Happy creating and stamping!

Sharon