Impressions Abloom Cards

Hello friend!  Glad you could stop by for a visit today.  I've been focused on creating this past week instead of posting, so I'm way behind for the month.  There are different cards I'll be in need of very soon.  Like sending cards to the wonderful ladies that have placed an order lately, 5 birthday cards, and the cards for the shut-ins that I've been working on.  I feel like my mind has been scattered in too many different directions lately and I just need to take a deep breath and chill a little.  Today's card features the Impressions Abloom stamp set.  No dies used this time, just stamping.  Sometimes I feel the need to make simpler cards and get away from the multiple layers and die-cuts and fussy cards.  I was just talking to a friend about some cards I've prepped for the shut-ins that have five layers and 7 die-cuts for each of the 23 cards.  That's just a lot of die-cutting and will take a good amount of time to get them all put together.  Thank goodness I have several ladies that have been helping me get the cards made and in the mail.  But I digress.  Today's card is a very simple card to make, but I love the look.  Hope you do too.

Let's get started right away.  The base of the card is Basic White that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that is scored and folded in half.  

The next layer is also Basic White.  This time it measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This has the majority of the stamping directly on it.  I wanted to use two of the sentiments from the Impressions Abloom set, so I had a good idea of the space needed for the sentiment.  That made it fairly easy to decide where to place the flowers so they would be partially tucked underneath.

I started with the detailed stamp of the daisy.  This was stamped twice with Crushed Curry ink.  Then I switched to using Daffodil Delight ink.  I inked the solid daisy stamp, off-stamped, then lined it up and stamped over the detail stamp.  This gives you a good daisy shape and softens the first color used.  It was easy to line up the petals on the daisy because there is a wider space between two petals you can use for guidance.

The leaves for the daisies are from the same set.  Just the detail leaf stamp was used to keep it lighter.  The stamp was inked with Garden Green ink then off-stamped to lighten up the leaf even more.  One of the daisies have three leaves added and the other one has only two.

The centers of the daisies were stamped in with the detailed center stamp only.  I used Pecan Pie ink for this and kept the ink full strength.  I was going for more of a black-eyed Susan look for the flowers.

The huge amount of white on the card was telling me it needed just a little something added.  I used a Mossy Meadow Light Blends to flick color on this white layer.  Then used a Daffodil Delight Dark Blends to flick a little yellow on the background too.  This I set aside to dry thoroughly while I worked on the sentiment.

I placed the "Thanks" stamp on a block, then added the rest of the sentiment stamp under this.  Make sure you do a test stamping to make sure the two are straight together.  I had to make a little adjustment on mine.  I stamped using Garden Green ink on a 1" strip of Basic White cardstock.  After stamping, the strip was trimmed to 2 1/4" long.

This was backed with a strip of Pecan Pie cardstock.  This was cut to measure 1 1/8" x 2 3/8".  The two pieces are attached together with adhesive and set aside.

The spattering was dry by now so it could be used.  I decided it needed a little more detail on this layer.  It was embossed with the retired Subtle Embossing Folder to give it a little texture but not detract from the design.  

This layer was attached to the folded Basic White card base using adhesive.  The sentiment layers were attached to the card front using Dimensionals making sure it overlapped onto the flowers. 

At this point, I wasn't sure I wanted to add anything else to the design.  Then I thought of those Tiny Bee Trinkets.  They would be a good size for the daisies and definitely not too overpowering.  I added one and was going for the other two to give me the usual number of three embellishments.  Then I decided I liked the single tiny bee as the accent and that was it.  All done.

I was easily able to make my stack of thank you cards yesterday afternoon.  I like it when a plan comes together, and I actually get it finished in a normal amount of time.  (Like the same day I started it!)

Just a comment here.  These daisies all look so much more orange than they do in real life.  Not sure why the camera did a switch on the colors, but I just thought I would mention it if you're wondering.

Thanks for stopping by today to see what I've been stamping.  This is turning into my favorite stamp set at the moment and is getting quite a bit of use.  Hope you aren't tired of seeing ideas with it, because I'm not ready to quit using it for now.  I just love the different two-step flowers and all the many color combinations available to use.  I want to keep creating huge bouquets of flowers, die-cut them all, and then just play with them!  Hope you're loving this set too.

Have you placed an order lately and seen how easy it is to reap your own rewards?  Isn't this great?!  Every time you place an order, you will earn the rewards.  Stampin'Up! will keep track of the rewards you've earned, and you can redeem them on your next order.  Or you can let those rewards build up so you can cover something bigger that you have your eye on.  Either way it's a definite win for you!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Use Up Those Bits and Pieces

Hello again.  I mentioned yesterday at the end of the post that I'd share the card made from the leftover pieces that were die-cut to make the card for that day.  I made a quick card that uses those bits as promised and I added a few more bits and pieces that I had sitting around.  Let's get creative.

This card is all based on the two pieces of the Delightful Floral Designer Series Paper that was the focus on yesterday's design.  They were originally cut out with the 2nd largest rectangular die from the Nested Essentials Die set.  

To match the DSP, I chose to base my card on a piece of Fresh Freesia cardstock to pull out that color from the DSP.  There is a Basic White layer that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  To add interest, this piece was embossed with the new Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder.  Seems like I tend to grab this one whenever I want an embossed layer lately.  It's just such a pretty pattern to tuck behind your designs.  After embossing, it was attached to the card base with "green glue".

After playing around with the two pieces trying to place them this way and that, I decided it needed another piece of DSP in the mix to balance the design.  There was another piece of the same DSP but in a Fresh Freesia shade that was perfect.  It measures 4" x 1 1/2".  This is attached down the center of the card front using adhesive.  

The two rectangular pieces of DSP were staggered on the front and attached with adhesive also.

The sentiment was a little tricky.   I wanted something that fit the design and wasn't too big.  I loved the size of this little sentiment.  And it fit right onto this interesting sort of rectangle.  Both the sentiment and die are from the Wonderful Thoughts Bundle.  Perfect.  The sentiment was stamped with Pretty Peacock ink in the center.  Then it was added to the design using two Dimensionals to attach it.

There were two butterflies cut from Fresh Freesia cardstock using the Meadow Dies.  These are attached with a Mini Dimensional under the body part of each butterfly.  

For a little bling on the card, I used three of the Purple Fine Shimmer Gems in the berry color.  Two of the smaller gems are attached to the bodies of the butterflies.  The larger gem is attached at the bottom of the design.

That's it for this design using up the leftovers from other card designs.  I know you all have those bits that are too good to throw away, but if not used they start piling up to a formidable stack.  Don't forget to through them every once in a while, and then play around creating with these odd bits and pieces.  It can be a lot of fun and you never know what fabulous design you'll create!

A big heads-up people!!  Stampin' Up! is having another free shipping day on Tuesday May 21st only!!  You must order at least $75 to get the free shipping.  If you've been considering placing an order, why not wait until the 21st?  Combine some new stamps/bundles along with cardstock, ink, and or other goodies and take advantage of the free shipping.  You can always combine your order with a friend if you can't spend that much.  Happy shopping!!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Peek A Boo Windows and More

Hello friends!  I've just gotten back from our trip to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.  Oh my!  How fascinating and a truly thought-provoking couple of days.   It was amazing to visit the ark and get a glimpse of what life might have been for these eight people and all those animals.  Just the work of feeding and watering each of them each day would have been so time consuming.  If you ever have a chance to visit these two places, please go.  You'll be amazed, but hopefully enlightened too.  Okay, I came home wanting to make a thank you card for my grandson's teacher for allowing me to tag along on this class trip.  Well before the trip, I had seen a couple videos that featured this style of card that was new to me.  Of course, I forgot to save the videos for future reference.  Duh.  So... that means I'm sharing my version of the cards that I saw a week or two ago.  Here we go...

When spending a little time talking to his teacher, she mentioned she liked flowers a lot.  So this is the card I made first.  I love this pretty Delightful Floral DSP.  I needed a DSP print that the front and back sides coordinated nicely, because both would be showing on the card.  The DSP measures 10 1/2" long x 4" wide.  If you have a print that is directional like this one, make sure it is cut up and down so the print is correct on the finished card.  You also need a coordinating piece of cardstock that measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" for the card base.  I used Fresh Freesia cardstock for this design. 

After folding the DSP in half, I used the 2nd largest rectangle die from the Nested Essentials Dies set.  The die was positioned about 1" from the top fold.  It cut through both layers of DSP at once.

Next the folded DSP was attached to the Fresh Freesia cardstock piece using adhesive.  Watch out for the directional pattern!  You should be able to see the Fresh Freesia cardstock from the card base showing through the window at this point.

The sentiment comes from the Irresistible Blooms stamp set.  It's stamped with Pretty Peacock onto a scrap of Basic White cardstock that measured about 2 3/4" x 2 1/2".  I used one of the many dies in the Unbounded Love Die set.  (this is an awesome set and will be a staple in my crafting!)  It was attached to the inside of the card through the window to make sure it's centered.  I used Dimensionals to add this piece.

I had a sheer ribbon that is Fresh Freesia colored that matched nicely, so it was wrapped around the front layer and tied into a soft knot.

This is the inside of the card which shows the other side of the DSP.  You can see where the ribbon was tied around the card and also the card base showing through with the label on top of it.

A butterfly was cut from Fresh Freesia cardstock using the Meadow Die set.  (I'll probably never let this die set go because I love the silhouette dies in the set so much!)  The butterfly is only attached by one of the wings because it overlaps the sentiment area.

One of the Adhesive-backed Pearl Trio gems was added for a little bit of bling.  I thought about adding more, but it just got too busy for my taste.

I was on a roll with this style of card, so I thought I'd do another one to have on hand.  This time I used the Winter Meadow DSP as my inspiration.  The DSP is cut a 10 1/2" x 4" again.  This print was much more forgiving, and it could go in any direction.  The same Nested Essentials die was used to cut through both layers of DSP like the last card.  It was attached to a card base of Blueberry Bushel cardstock that measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4".

Because the inside of the card was a rather dark blue watercolor look, I added a layer of Basic White inside that measures 5" x 3 3/4".  It's attached inside with adhesive.  One of the pieces of DSP that were die-cut was used to add the blue layer inside the window of the card.

The same sentiment and die were used for the center of the window on this card too.  This time it was stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink.  It's attached with Dimensionals to the blue DSP.

There is a sparkly light blue ribbon tied around the card front.  The color is Seaside Spray for those of you that have been around a good number of years.  It really isn't a matchy-matchy color, but it seemed to work.  I almost went with a white ribbon, but this one was sitting there needing some love and attention, so why not use it?

The same butterfly from the Meadow Die set was used to cut one little Blueberry Bushel butterfly.  It's carefully attached to the card front so no adhesive shows on the inside.  Another of those Adhesive-backed Pearl Trio gems was used on this card.  They each have such an interesting, multi-toned pearlized color that blends with many of the cardstock colors we have.

Two cards made quite quickly.  One to use now and another one for later.  It's always a good thing to have extra cards on hand when the need arises.  I hope you're interested in this fun fold card idea. It's a quick design for a beautiful card.  You can change the sentiments and designer paper to cover any occasion.  Just remember to ensure both sides of the DSP coordinate together.  And be mindful of any directional prints you might have on the paper.  You certainly don't want to get your beautiful card finished and find the print is sideways or upside down.  Enjoy!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Flowering Zinnias Quick Card

Hello there!  Hope you're enjoying your day today.  It's another sunny day and that puts me in mind of summer and flowers.  Who cares if it's chilly as long as there's sunshine.  It always brightens my mood and gives me a little extra boost of creativity.  Each time I get a new suite of products, I have a tendency to first play with the DSP before I get around to the stamps, dies, etc.  This gives me a feel for the colors and overall ambiance of the new suite.  That's what I've done with today's card.  It's very simple and totally focuses on the Flowering Zinnias Designer Series Paper (Online Exclusive) which is bold and beautiful.  So, to my mind, it needs bold colors to balance it out.

Ok, here's my bright and beautiful card.  This uses two different prints of the Flowering Zinnias DSP that I think go perfectly together.  You know this bold color is outside of my comfort zone, but I'm happy with how it all came together.  Using the color choices that are listed on the DSP, I added a small bit of Blackberry Bliss to my card for an accent.  Let's do a step-by-step walk through on making this card.

Start with a base of Basic White Thick cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/2" and folded in half.  I chose the white to frame up the bright colors and blend with the background of white on the main print.  White just seemed to draw it all together.

The layer on the card front is a Melon Mambo print from the paper pack.  The print is subtle, so it doesn't fight with the bold center piece.  This measures 5 1/4" x 4" and it's not attached just yet.

Next, I cut a piece of the zinnia print for the focal point.  This is trimmed to measure 4 1/4" x 3".  I made sure there was enough white space at the top to stamp in a sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Simply Zinnia stamp set and fit perfectly at the top.  It is stamped with Blackberry Bliss ink to coordinate with the darkest color on the flower print.  

The layer behind this print is Blackberry Bliss cardstock.  I was going to frame the whole layer with the Blackberry Bliss but thought that made the whole card fairly dark.  I wanted to keep more of the brightness showing.  So to compromise, I used a partial layer that is not as wide as the DSP, but it is longer.  The measurements are 4 3/4" x 2 3/4".  This added the Blackberry Bliss color but didn't add too much darkness to the overall look.

Next, the ribbon choice was made.  I wanted the ribbon to be a bold statement across the bold card.  The Black and White Gingham ribbon was a nice contrast to the print.  I preferred the look of the ribbon wrapped around all the layers instead of just the focal layers.  The floral layers were attached to the center of the Melon Mambo layer using Dimensionals.  Then the ribbon was wrapped around and tied into a bow in the front.  Finally, this all was attached to the white card base using "green glue".

The final touch was the Adhesive-backed Shiny Sequins that are also an Online Exclusive item.  The colors of the sequins match the DSP to a "T".  I didn't choose the reddish color because there was so much of this on the card already.  But chose the yellower color to pick up some of the lighter colors on the print.  

Like I said in the beginning, this was a very simple card.  Because of the boldness of the DSP, I didn't think it needed any more fussiness going on.  I hope this inspires you to check out the Simply Zinnias Online Exclusive bundle and all the coordinating items made to go with it.  Even though I'm more of a pastel kind of gal, this suite caught my eye.  Looks like it will really be fun to create all those bright summery cards I'll be needing.  

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you noticed the Retiring Lists on the previous post so you can get some of those items on your wish list before they're gone.  Happy shopping, and I hope you can find everything that you need.  Email me at sharoncarr50@gmail.com if you need any help.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Another Latte Love Card

Hello Peeps (and I don't mean the marshmallow chicks and bunnies!)  Hope you're all doing great today, well actually tonight.  The day just got away from me so I'm doing this post a little on the late side.  I told you I'd have a fun fold card for you today and I didn't want to let you down.  This is a quick and easy fun fold to make, but I can't remember what the name of the fold is.  I guess you can call it whatever you want.

I don't usually make cards this bright, but the plaid was really cute.  So why not?  The coffee cups, sentiment, and the plaid DSP are all part of the A Little Latte Suite that is an Online Exclusive item.  The pieces can all be purchased as a suite or individually in case you don't want it all.  But they're all so cute, you'll probably want it all like I did.

I started with a Lemon Lolly piece of cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  This is scored at 2 1/8" and 4 1/4" to make the card base.

A layer of Pecan Pie cardstock was cut to measure 5 1/4" x 4".  To layer over this is the plaid DSP print that measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  This will give you a very small outline of the Pecan Pie to help separate the yellow and the print.  

The largest of the Radiating Stitches Dies was used on the edges of the plaid DSP.  This look sort of reminded me of fringe on the edge of a woven tablecloth or placemat and really sets off the coffee cups.  After die-cutting, the plaid was attached to the Pecan Pie piece with adhesive.  

Next was attaching the layers to the card base.  I used three strips of Tear & Tape on the bottom half of the layers to attach this to the card.  This lets the card fold and stand up on its own.  

Here's a picture that shows how the card folds.  Can you see how it works?  With the two pieces only attached on the bottom half of the card, you make a little tent-type fold that stays upright.

Another sheet of the DSP is covered with these cute cups with the different shapes and colors.  I trimmed up these cups with Paper Snips to use on my card.  Actually, I ended up cutting most of that whole sheet so they will be ready to use next time I need one.  I chose three different colors that coordinate with the plaid.  The pinkish cup is attached flat to the card front.  Both the blue and yellow cups are attached with Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the Latte Love stamp set that is part of this suite.  This was stamped on a Basic White piece of cardstock that measures 3/4" x 2 1/4" using Pecan Pie ink to match.  The corner is tucked under the yellow cup just a little and it's attached with several Dimensionals.

The mechanism that holds the card front upright is at the bottom edge of the inside of the card.  First a layer of Pecan Pie cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 1 1/4" was cut.  This was attached to the edge of the inside with adhesive.  Make sure the bottom edge and two sides all line up nicely because they will show all the time when the card is standing up.

This sentiment for the inside is also from the Latte Love stamp set.  It is stamped on a Basic White strip that measures 11/16" x 2 1/8" using Pecan Pie ink.  (I know it's a really odd dimension, but that's what worked for me.  You can always cut it to fit what you want.)  There's is skinny layer of Lemon Lolly showing behind the sentiment piece.  This measures 2 3/16" x 3/4".  This is layered on to the Calypso Coral piece that measures 2 1/2" x 1".  These three layers were put together with adhesive.  Then lastly, they were attached in the center of the Pecan Pie strip using Dimensionals.  Now you can fold up your card and tuck it behind the layered sentiment to stand the card up.

For embellishments, I was going to use the swirl gems that are part of this suite like I did yesterday.  But because of the boldness of the plaid, they just got lost.  So instead, I grabbed the Opaque Faceted Gems that have a nice dark Pecan Pie color.  Unfortunately, these were a free Sale-a-bration item and are not available anymore.  I would love it if Stampin'Up! would add these to the Online Exclusives offerings.  I certainly hope you were able to get these as they're perfect for this whole suite with the colors of Pecan Pie, Lost Lagoon, and Calypso Coral which are all on this plaid.

Hope you like this quick and easy fun fold card.  If you don't care for coffee, you can always use this fun fold idea to make many more styles of cards just by changing up the colors and focal points.  If you make a card with this fun fold, how about letting me know what you made!

Be sure to check out my online store where you can find the wonderful Online Exclusive items that were used on this card.  

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Wild Wheat Autumn Card

Hello there!  Hope you are all doing well on this gorgeous day!  I'm really getting into fall mode here.  Made my first pumpkin pie of the season.  So yummy!  It got me focused on fall themes again, so here we are with another Autum Leaves card.  This time I thought I'd try using Wild Wheat as the base of the card and pair it with the All About Autumn DSP.  Love it!  Wild Wheat is not one of the colors listed to coordinate with this paper, but for this print, I really like the looks.  Hope you do too.

Wow, in the picture it looks like Old Olive for sure.  But take my word for it, it really is Wild Wheat.  It seems to make everything look a little brighter and warmer than Old Olive, and I love how this turned out.  Let's get to the specifics!

Card base is Wild Wheat that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored and folded in half.  Next there is a 5 1/4" x 4" layer of Wild Wheat cardstock.  This is die-cut with the large maple leaf and one of the small ones too.  (Keep these for later use.)  I made sure I had room at the bottom for adding my sentiment later.  After die-cutting this layer, it was embossed with the Distressed Tile 3D Embossing Folder found in the Mini Catalog on page 75.  I love the tiled look, but the uneven distressed look really adds so much to the overall look.  After embossing, a Blending Brush and Wild Wheat ink was used on the edges to darken a bit and make the detail really stand out.

The next step was to add the layer of All About Autumm DSP behind the leaves.  For this I chose the print looking down on the colorful forest of trees.  The DSP was trimmed to about 3 3/4" x 4 1/4".  There was no point in covering the whole back of the layer when only a portion of it would actually show.  (Now I've got more to use on another project!)  I thought of attaching it to the card base and the Wild Wheat layer added with Dimensionals above, but changed my mind and attached it to the back of the embossed and die-cut layer.  This way it showed up better than having the shadows darkening it.

The veining for the large leaf was cut from the Oxidized Copper Specialty DSP.  I love the mottled look of this so the veining doesn't smack you in the face.  Used here, it's more subtle than a solid gold or copper paper.

A small maple leaf was die-cut from Cajun Craze cardstock.  This was added slightly off-set over the small maple leaf on the card front using just one Dimensional.  I didn't want to totally cover the DSP, but I also didn't want it to be just the DSP showing like the large one.  So this was a good compromise.  There was also a 4" x 1" strip of Cajun Craze cut for the card.  I had a piece of the DSP left over from another project that measures 3 3/4" x 3/4".  Figured this would make a nice band across the bottom of the card.  I planned on adding the sentiment over this, but you can see I changed my mind on that idea.  This strip was attached to the card front with "green glue" right near the bottom edge.  At this point, the Wild Wheat layer was attached to the card front with Dimensionals.

The inside of the card has a layer of Very Vanilla cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This is left plain, but a little Blending Brush and Wild Wheat ink could be added here.  It was attached inside the card with adhesive.  There were two leftover leaves from die-cutting the front layer.  These had a little Wild Wheat ink added to them with a Blending Brush.  The sentiment from the Autumn Leaves sets was added across the large leaf stamped with Cajun Craze ink.  Both the leaves were attached flat to the inner layer.

The sentiment for the card front was inked with a Cajun Craze marker to get just a part of the sentiment.  It's stamped onto a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used my Paper Snips to fussy cut around the sentiment.  It's added to the card front with Mini Dimensionals.

To finish the front of the card, the copper ribbon from the Copper & Natural Ribbon Combo Pack was tied into a smallish bow.  It's then attached to the card front with Mini Glue Dots.  

For the bling, three copper sequins were added.  They're from the Neutrals Adhesive-backed Sequins found on page 141 of the Annual Catalog.  These copper sequins have been a must-have embellishment for my autumn cards!

That's it for today.  I keep sneaking in more fall cards and I've been putting off really diving into my Christmas cards.  Since this is basically the end of October (yikes!!), I really need to get motivated on that!  I promise I'll get creating on them very soon!  Come back and see what's happening here and keep me focused on those Christmas cards!

Thanks for stopping in today.  Feel free to leave a comment.  You know I love hearing from you.  If you're placing an order soon, I'd appreciate if you'd consider ordering from me.  And if you do, please use the Host Code at the top of this post.  Thank you so much for your patronage!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Let's Cool Down With An Autumn Card

Hey there!  Are you as hot as I am?  Whew!   I am so not used to such hot weather.  The heat index was over 100 degrees yesterday and I really didn't want to go out of the house.  What did we do before air conditioning?  Since it's been so hot, I thought it was time to work on more autumn cards to cool off.  The All About Autumn 6" x 6" Designer Paper is just gorgeous and has been begging me to play around with it a little more.  So that's what I did yesterday.

The layout on this style of card is super simple, but it gives just enough of a different fold to make it interesting.  For this style of fold, the Designer Paper really does all the work.  And come on, I know you've got lots of DSP just sitting there waiting on you to come and create.

For this card, I started with a base of Crushed Curry cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that is scored in half at 4 1/4".  Then a 1" strip is cut from the front flap of the card.  Easy so far, right?  The All About Autumn DSP is cut at 3" x 6", which is then trimmed down to 5 1/4".  I'm saving those 3/4" x 3" pieces for something down the road.  No idea what yet, but I'll be ready when I figure it out.  The layer of DSP is attached to the card front with adhesive carefully lining up the edges.

While we're cutting DSP, I chose another print that will be a nice accent when the card is closed.  This one is Copper Clay with a copper foil design on it.  Gorgeous, isn't it?  This is trimmed at 3/4" x 5 1/4".  It's attached to the outer edge making sure it lines up with the front layer.

The inside of the card has a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock that measures 3" x 5 1/4" just the same as the front so it's totally hidden when the card is closed.  A piece of Very Vanilla was die-cut with the Autumn Leaves Dies.  I like the notched corners of this die-cut.  Just an added little detail.  The sentiment from the Autumn Leaves set was stamped on this using Copper Clay ink.  The inside sentiment comes from the Cheerful Daisies set.  Love the wording and it fits so well the person I'm making this card for.  It's also stamped with Copper Clay ink.  That's it for the stamping portion.  Quick and simple, right?

The sentiment label is attached to the card front with Dimensionals.  Please make sure you keep the Dimensionals only under the front flap area.  The right edge hangs free.

After trying several different embellishments, the Copper & Natural Ribbon Combo Pack was used.  The copper ribbon really enhances the copper foil trim on that little strip we added.  The Neutral Adhesive-Backed Sequins in the copper tone were the perfect little bit of bling to finish.  

There, isn't that just the easiest card to make?  I liked it so much, I tried it again with a different print.  Have a look...

Now which do you like better?  The Crushed Curry with the maple leaves, or the Copper Clay with the forest path?  I must admit, I can't make up my mind.  The Copper Clay card uses the very same strip of copper foiled DSP as the first and it compliments this look perfectly.  But because of the darker cardstock and DSP used, the look is changed quite dramatically.   The same Copper Adhesive-Backed Sequins were used here and still work nicely too.

I cannot make up my mind on which I like better.  I love the nice clean look of the design.  I'm really not one to add multiple layers and lots of doodads.  This is the kind of card I prefer.  They both just make me happy to look at them.  Hope they will make some "someone else" happy too.

Thought you might want another look at the Copper Clay version of the card.  Nice, huh?  I just love the photography that was used for this designer Paper set.  So detailed and simply gorgeous!  Makes me long for autumn to get here soon.

Just a reminder that there are only a few days left to redeem your Bonus Coupons.  Don't forget them!  And... The September - December Mini Catalog is ready for ordering on September 6th!  I hope you're as excited as I am.  I've been enjoying using these new stamps, dies, and Designer Paper so far.  I'll be needing to get a few (ha ha) more stamps to create my Christmas and other assorted cards.  Oh boy!  

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope these cards have given you a chance to cool down.  Unless they got you "fired up" to get creating too.  

Happy stamping and creating!

Sharon

Earthen Textures is Fantastic

Hello there!  It's good to be home again and I'm brimming with ideas to share with you.  It seems I've always got more ideas when I'm stamping with someone else.  It's just that back and forth of "what if..." and then jumping from here to there with ideas.  You know what I mean?  So, of course it was fun stamping with my sister over a long extended weekend.  Let's get started right away.  The card I'm sharing is the Earthen Textures Bundle which I wanted to order as soon as I laid eyes on it.  I had so many ideas spinning around and I've already made some of them, but certainly not all of them by any means.

I love how earthy the colors on the card are with a pop of brightness so it's not too dark.  This card starts with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half for a basic card.  The next layers are made this size because the piece of Fresh as a Daisy Designer Series Paper was 4 1/8 x 2 3/4".  The Pecan Pie layer measures 4 3/8" x 3 1/8" for a nice frame.  The Early Espresso layer measures 4 1/2" x 3 1/4" to give a skinny frame of dark color to balance the dark in the design.

I love these die-cuts from the set!  The tall pot is stamped on Pecan Pie cardstock with Pecan Pie ink.  This gives it a wonderful, mottled look.  The shorter pot was stamped with Pecan Pie also, but this time it was off-stamped to give a lighter, more subtle look.  Isn't it fun how the tone-on-tone inks look so different simply by off-stamping one of them?  These both were die-cut and sort of arranged on the DSP layer.  

It was too blah at that point, so the two extra pieces were die-cut from Distressed Gold DSP.  Wow, what a difference adding that pop of old gold to the pots.  I wasn't sure the gold handles would work on the taller pot, but I just added them lower where they fit better.  They're both attached with adhesive.

I love these big palm branches and cut several from Early Espresso cardstock.  Two seemed to fill in the card without being too busy.  These were attached behind the short pot using adhesive.  After having these pieces ready to go, I attached the tall pot where I wanted it flat with adhesive.  The short pot was attached with Dimensionals to pop it up a bit.

The sentiment is from the Earthen Textures stamp set.  I like the nice simple font used on these.  It was stamped on the bottom right of the card base with Early Espresso ink, so it stands out.

I tried several different embellishments and thought the gold sequins from the Pastel Sequins set worked the best.  Two of the larger size and one of the smaller size were added.   The brushed gold on them was a good compliment to the Distressed Gold accents.

After the card was done, I felt it still needed a little something dark near the bottom of the design.  There was a cute little branch in the Timeless Arrangements bundle that was a good size.  It's die-cut from Early Esspresso cardstock, then attached with adhesive near the bottom of the pots.  I think it made a great balance with the colors.

Hope you like this edition featuring the Earthen Textures Bundle.  Has it given you any ideas that you'd like to try?  How about a few more ideas?  

This design was made by my sister Connie.  She used the coordinating DSP for the background with an added pop of the More Dazzle DSP.  Love the sentiment too.  It is another one from this same set.

Another design from Connie with this set.  I love how the feel of the cards is different just because of the colors used and the placement of all the pieces.  I'm absolutely thrilled with the versatility of this set.  So many ways to use this.  And think outside of the usual earth tones when using this set.  I'll have more to share in the future, of course!

Just a quick reminder of the Designer Paper that's on sale this month.  Lots of interesting paper packs to choose from. 15% off.  The DSP on sale is shown on pages 129 through 132.  Check it out!

If you're ordering soon, please consider using the Host Code shown at the top of the post.  It's so greatly appreciated.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Nature's Prints Wreath

 Good morning from sunny Florida!  We're down here for our grandson's baseball team which is playing in a tournament over the next week.  Yesterday there were skill matches for homerun hitting, accuracy and distance in throwing, and timed running.  He took place in all three events along with droves of other boys.  There was supposed to be a parade of teams and opening ceremonies last night, but they were cancelled because storms moved in late in the afternoon. There are so many teams here!  Some from as far away as Oklahoma and Texas.  What an awesome complex to play at and be part of all the fun.  But we have run into a few glitches while here.  Like neither the internet nor bathrooms working in the rental house all the time.  Not that those two are connected, but ewwww!  Right now, the septic tank is being worked on.  And the internet is connected at the moment, so I'm trying to get a post in here quick before it's lost again.  So, let's talk about card making, shall we?

I made this card almost two weeks ago, but never got around to getting it posted.  I love wreaths - on doors, inside houses, or on cards.  So when I saw the Natural Prints Dies had a wreath die, it was on my list right away.  I had all these ideas for cards, but then struggled to get the first one made.  The little add-ons to the wreath have been changed three times trying different colors and flowers.  I finally got it the way I liked it, so I'm sharing it with you.  

The card base is the new In Color Tahitian Tide.  Isn't it a pretty, clear turquoise color?  The first layer is Basic White that measures 4" x 5 1/4".  To add texture and interest to this, it was embossed with the Brick and Mortar 3D Embossing Folder.  To help define the bricks just a bit, a light rubbing of Sahara Sand with a Blending Brush was used.  It was attached to the folded card base with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue, then set aside while I worked on the rest of the design.

The wreath was my next step.  I cut the wreath from Garden Green cardstock first.  The Natural Print Dies also has several medium to short greenery stems you can cut.  For this card, several of each size were cut from Granny Apple Green and tried some yellow flowers with that.  Honestly, for some reason it just didn't look right to me, so off they came.  Next I tried Mint Macaron, but after looking at it awhile, that idea was ditched too.  That's when the whole idea was shelved for another day.

Ok, here it is another day, and I give it another try.  This time I went darker for the add-ons and used Evening Evergreen. I even cut a couple extra pieces from Garden Green too. The Garden Green pieces have a brushing of Garden Green ink on the edges using the Blending Brushes.

I also switched the flowers I was trying to use to the Artistically Inked little trio of flowers.  Then changed the color to Fresh Freesia ink, stamped them and die-cut them with the matching Artistic Dies.  Much better mix of colors in my humble opinion.  Ok, let's see if I can get this card actually finished.

The wreath is attached to the card front with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.  Then the bits and pieces were laid out in a generally pleasing fashion but weren't all attached yet.  I wanted to get the sentiment ready before the final layout was finished.

The sentiment is from the Nature's Prints set.  It's one of four sentiments that have this cool, funky font that I just love.  It's stamped on a piece of Basic White cardstock using Garden Green ink.  It's then die-cut using a label die that's part of this same Nature's Prints Bundle.  It has just a tiny bit of Tahitian Tide brushed around the edges using a Blending Brush.  It's positioned on the wreath and attached with Dimensionals.  The extra pieces of greenery were tucked in and around the wreath.  Some were attached with adhesive, and a few were attached with Mini Glue Dots.   Each of the flowers were attached with a Mini Glue Dot just in the center and curved a bit on the edges so they weren't totally flat.

Three of the littlest flowers were attached to the front of the label along with a little greenery.  It needed a bit of bling to finish it off.  I tried rhinestones, pearls and sequins and none of them really enhanced the card at all.  Then I remembered those cute little Brushed Brass Butterflies!  Three of them were added to the card and I pronounced it finished, before I decided to change something on it again!

Hope you like wreaths too and want to give this one a try.  Usually I have no problems putting wreaths together, but this time it took a little more effort.  Guess my mind was thinking on other things instead.

If you're planning on placing an order, there is a new Host Code listed at the top of the blog page.  Please consider using it - I would appreciate it greatly!  And thanks for waiting around for me to get another post for you.  Hopefully we'll have internet connections here tomorrow too.  Take care and get creative.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

 

Vintage Nature's Prints

Hello Friend!  Hope you're having a fabulous Monday.  So far this has been a very productive day.  Hubby has been playing with the electrical stuff again, but we're all good and everything has power that's supposed to.  Yay!  It's been a while since the last post.  If you're one of those who have been praying for Rick's health, the procedure last Friday went well, and he came home from the hospital on Saturday.  Yay!  Health-wise, things are looking good right now and I thank God for it all!  But that, along with Father's Day, has kept me away from posting anything for awhile.  

While meandering around Pinterest the last week or two, I saw a good number of 'vintage-looking' ideas that I want to try making again.  It's been a while since I've made this kind of card and thought it was time to try again.  It's the idea of working more in the muted tones - usually browns, and many times with some collage type stamping in the background too.  I used the Nature's Prints stamp set and the matching Natural Prints dies.   So far, I've stamped this set in greens and blues.  Now it was time to try it in browns.  Here's what I came up with...

I love the tone-on-tone look of this and was very pleased how it turned out.  Just what I planned, (well mostly), and you know that doesn't usually happen!

It all starts with a card base of Soft Suede cardstock cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored in half and folded.  At this point, I figured the next layer would be Early Espresso, with Very Vanilla cardstock on top of that.  So that's how I cut it.  

First I stamped on the Very Vanilla piece using Crumb Cake and the fern stamp.  This was stamped in around the outside edges.  I switched to the 'berry branch' stamp and used Soft Suede ink.  This was also stamped along the edges.   Then I added Crumb Cake ink around he edges with a Blending Brush.  This gave a nice soft color, but it needed more.  

This piece was embossed with the Timeworn Type 3D Embossing Folder to give added texture and interest to the layer.   After embossing, there was another layer of Crumb Cake ink added with the Blending Brush along the edges, and even a touch of Soft Suede ink brushed onto the corners.  It was good to go.

Time to work on the sentiment.  This sentiment is one of four that are part of the Nature's Prints set.  It was stamped with Early Espresso ink onto Very Vanilla.  It was die-cut using the sentiment label from the Natural Prints Dies.  The die gives a nice, embossed edge all around it.  Part of the 'berry branch' was stamped to the left side using Crumb Cake ink to fill in.

At this time, I decided a layer of gold paper would perk up the whole card which was getting pretty dark.  The Very Vanilla layer was cut down a bit to 3 3/4" x 5".  The Early Espresso layer was trimmed to  3 7/8" x 5 1/8".  And a gold layer was cut to 4" x 5 1/4".  Before layering it all up, I did a little die-cutting in both the gold and Early Espresso layers.  On the Early Espresso layer, I cut three of the longer stems and one of the short stems.  The gold layer has one long stem and also a sentiment label cut.  I just cut the ends of the label off to place under the sentiment so just the very end of the gold shows on each side.

The layers were all attached together with adhesive.  A piece of the crocheted trim (retired) that's Very Vanilla looked nice with this.  A 6" piece was banded across the card and attached in the back.  The layers were then attached to the Soft Suede card base using Dimensionals.

The sentiment was attached over the trim using Dimensionals.  The stems were all attached to the card under the sentiment layer on the left side.  The gold one was tucked in between all the browns.

The inside of the card needed to match with the front design, so the fern was stamped twice with Crumb Cake ink.  The 'berry branch' was stamped twice with Soft Suede ink.  Then to carry the vintage look even more, the edges of the Very Vanilla layer were brushed with Crumb Cake on all edges and Soft Suede just on the bottom right corner where the stamping is.  Altogether it worked just fine. 

Do you ever get done making a card and then wish you had done just one more thing?  Looking at the "finished" card, I decided it needed some speckles added with the Early Espresso marker flicked on the card front.  So that was added and the card was finally pronounced finished.  Yay!

Hope you like this idea.  I think it came out quite nicely and is just what I wanted.  It's nice to go back to ideas I've used in the past and give them a redo with new stamps, dies, or whatever.

If you're placing an order soon, please use the Host Code shown at the top of my blog page.  I really appreciate it!  Hope you've gotten your new holiday mini catalog and Sale-a-Bration brochure by now.  If you don't have it yet, it should be coming soon.  If you don't get it by July 6th, let me know so I can send another one out to you.  Thanks for everything, especially your patience with me.  You're the very best!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Hey Chick!

Hey there!  Looks like I needed to make a thank you card today, so I'm going off the beaten path for a while.   In fact, I'm so far off the beaten path today that I seem to have ended up in the yard with all the chickens.  But that's ok.  It's been a fun side excursion.  I'll be upfront with you and tell you I grabbed stamps from a bunch of different sets both current and retired.  I had a whole pile of them on my table when I was finished!

Today's card is all about the chickens and eggs.  Our daughter has made a new friend down here.  Her friend wanted to raise chickens, so she studied up on the many various breeds and then made her choices.  Last fall she received 4 dozen eggs that she would hatch into her chicken flock.  We've been getting updates and pictures on all these cute little fluff-balls that have now grown up to be feisty hens.  Oh, and one rooster with a major attitude.  There were a few more roosters, but they were passed on to another farm.  Anyway, the hens are finally laying eggs, and we were the recipient of 2 dozen gorgeous, colorful eggs.  Oh yum!  Thus the need for a thank you card with chickens and eggs on it!

The card started out with Mango Melody for a base that is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  I chose that color because the yolks are just about that very color.  The next layer is Poppy Parade cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  Then a layer of Very Vanilla to do all the stamping and creating on.

I used a Blending Brush to add Cinnamon Cider ink to the bottom third of the cardstock for the ground and Balmy Blue near the top to lay in some sky.  Since I already had the Blending Brushes out, I did some blending of those two colors on scraps of Very Vanilla cardstock so I could die-cut some eggs.  I also used some Mint Macaron ink for this, because that was the color of some of the eggs we had received. After that, some grass from the Oceanfront stamp set was added to the ground area rather randomly using Garden Green ink.

Then one of the hens from Hey, Chick and one from Hey Birthday Chick were stamped on Very Vanilla scraps with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  These were colored with Stampin' Blends in these colors:

Daffodil Delight Light & Dark, Mango Melody Light & Dark, Pumpkin Pie Light, Poppy Parade Light.  It was fun blending these colors into one another and seeing just what I would come up with. 

For the inside of the card, I stamped two stamps from the Best of Cluck set.  These chicks were all colored with the mix of yellows and golden shades that were used on the chicks from the front of the card.  There's also a little of the Cinnamon Cider 'ground' underneath the bunch of chicks.

The extra chick (Best of Cluck) was stamped, cut out, and then attached over a strip of Poppy Parade cardstock that was placed at the right side.  I wanted to bring all the colors together inside the card too.

It was time to go back to the card front and start putting all those eggs and the two chicks together.

The chickens were positioned and the eggs laid out in a pleasing fashion.  The eggs were attached with Mini Glue Dots and kind of piled up together.  There is one egg more off to the side that has a Dimesional under it to make it pop.  The chickens have  a bunch of Mini Dimensionals under them, and there's one under the egg that's about to hatch too.

I didn't think there was a need for any bling in the chicken yard.  I may be wrong on that.  But I was afraid they would just try to eat any rhinestones I added thinking it was just their food!

Hope you enjoyed hearing all about the fancy chicks that my daughter's friend is raising.  Heather wants some too, but so far we've talked her out of getting her own and just hanging out at her friend's chicken yard.  Didn't know you could raise chickens in the city, but the gentleman behind us has a few and you can hear the rooster early in the morning.  Thank goodness he's not too loud and doesn't wake me up!  Guess things are a little different in the south.

Maybe we should make a goal to get out some stamps that we haven't played with in a long time and give them some ink and love.  It just seems to get the creative juices going when I work with something I haven't laid eyes on in over a year.  It's almost like playing with something new!!

Have fun and get creative, chick!

Sharon