Two Tone Flora Fancy Card

Hello friends!  Here we are with what might be my last Easter card before they all get in the mail so they can arrive on time.  This time I didn't really use a set that is focused on Easter.  I went with a pretty spring-time floral instead.  So of course, this card would be very versatile to have on hand.  It would all depend on what kind of sentiment was used inside the card to determine its use.  I like that kind of versatile card to have on hand.  Just add a sentiment inside and you're good to go.

Isn't this pretty?  I wanted to stick with pastels for spring, and this worked out just fine.  Let's create together.

I started with a card base of Soft Sea Foam that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  The lacy frame is one of the Darling Details Dies.  It leaves a pretty lacy window to build this floral bouquet on.  The Basic White Thick layer of cardstock measures 5 1/4" x 4".  The lacy window was die-cut from the center of the cardstock piece.  This is attached to the Soft Sea Foam card base by using Tombow Multi Purpose Glue along the outer edges so that the lacy edge wasn't attached flat but has a shadowy effect that enhances the lace.

Next up is making the pretty floral bouquet.  All of the flowers and leaves for the card are from the Two-Tone Flora stamp and die set.  All the pieces are stamped on Basic White cardstock.  The two largest flowers are stamped with Flirty Flamingo ink.  The darker one is stamped full strength, then stamped again to get the lighter one.  The detail stamp uses Poppy Parade ink.  Again, it's stamped full strength on the darker one and then stamped again on the lighter one without re-inking.

The medium sized flower is also stamped with Flirty Flamingo ink that is off-stamped for the solid stamp and full strength for the detail stamp.  

The tiny flower clusters were off-stamped with Flirty Flamingo ink and the detail stamp was also off-stamped.  There were also two of these flower clusters stamped with Coastal Cabana ink that was off-stamped on the solid stamp and full strength on the detail.  

The leafy spray was stamped with Garden Green ink that was off-stamped first, then stamped twice on the Basic White.  That made one spray even lighter than the first.

Lastly are some two leaf sets that are stamped with Shaded Spruce ink.  These were all off-stamped to lighten them up a lot.  After stamping all of these pieces, they were die-cut with the coordinating Two-Tone Flora Dies.  

Next was positioning all the pieces into a pleasing bouquet.  I did cut apart the flowers from the pink tiny flower cluster.  I liked the look of tucking the individual flowers around the bouquet.  Some of the flowers and leaves are attached flat with just adhesive, while some of them have Dimensionals to build up the layers.  

The butterfly is from the Paper Butterfly Accents.  These are fun to add to your project with minimal fuss.  For this butterfly, I used a Blending Brush and a tiny bit of Flirty Flamingo ink on the outer edges of the wings.  The body and antennae were lightly colored in with a Basic Gray marker.  It's attached with two Mini Glue Dots under the body area.

The inside of the card has a layer of Basic White cardstock.  It measures 5 1/4" x 4".  The same flowers and leaves were stamped inside the card making sure to off-stamp each of the elements.

The sentiment is one I've had for years and years.  I love the words of the sentiment and also the unique font that was used.  Sorry, I have no idea who the stamp company is so I cannot give any credit.

I wasn't going to use any sort of bling on the card, but obviously I couldn't help myself!  There are five of the Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels tucked in and around the design.  They pick up all the spring colors and really enhanced the design.

That's all I have for you today.  The retired list is out, but I've been struggling to get it posted on my blog.  Technology has done me in again today.  When my hubby gets a minute, I'll ask him to help me out here so I can share the list with you.  Believe me, it's a huge one and there are some good discounts on some of the items.  Stay tuned...

Thank you for sharing some of your valuable time with me today.  It's always wonderful to hear from you and have you share what you've been creating.  Keep up the creativity and make sure you mail out those beautiful cards you've been making.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Lacy Layers

Hello my friend.  How are things going for you today?  Here we've been dealing with freezing weather again and alas, my pretty flowering trees are dealing with frost and not looking so pretty anymore.  This weather is so confusing, I haven't a clue what to expect at all!  And of course, it's raining again today.  It just makes me want to stay inside and curl up with a good book.  Or maybe a nap would be a good idea.  Instead, I've got two pretty cards to share with you.  I've been playing around with the Two-Tone Flora stamps and dies lately and just lovin' it.   You can find these on pages 14-16 in the January - April Mini Catalog.  But I haven't even used the big full-size lacy background die.  It's about time don't you think?

Aren't these two cards just gorgeous?  I can't quite decide what the final use will be for either card, so there are no sentiments yet.  But they will be easy to add with a little label-style die and the words.  Easy peasy.  But for now, let's get started putting them together.

The card base is cut a little differently than usual.  It measures 5 1/2" x 5".  The card is scored and folded 4 1/4" as usual.  This gives you just a 3/4" fold-over strip where you attach your lacy piece.

Next, the large lacy die was centered on a Basic White piece of cardstock that measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" so it's a full-size card front. Run cardstock and die back and forth through the embossing machine at least twice to make sure all the sections are fully cut.  Use the Brush Tip attachment to the Take Your Pick Tool (page 155) to easily remove all the little pieces from the pattern.  Isn't this leftover piece just beautiful all by itself?  On one of my cards, I used Basic White Thick and just regular on the other.  It seems both cardstock choices worked out just fine.

The lacy layer was added to the card front at this time.  I wanted a softer, muted look on the card, so a piece of Vellum Cardstock was cut to measure 5 1/2" by 4 1/8".  This is attached inside the front flap of the card making sure all the edges line up nicely.  To me, this was an important addition to the card design.  But if you like the card without the Vellum layer, do it your way!

The flowers and leaves were stamped next.  The colors used for this card are Flirty Flamingo, Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent, and Orchid Oasis.  When stamping the flowers, the solid image stamps were inked up with the color and off-stamped before stamping on the Basic White cardstock piece.  The detail images were inked and stamped at full strength.  This gives you nicely color-coordinated flowers.  Don't you love the pretty periwinkle blue color that the off-stamped Orchid Oasis is?

The leafy stem is stamped in Soft Succulent ink.  There are two of these stamped to fill in the area better.  One of them was cut apart and only part of it was used. The larger double leaves were inked with Soft Succulent then touched on the edges with Evening Evergreen ink to give them a two-tone look.  Everything is then die-cut with the coordinating dies which make it so easy to make this card.

All the pieces were laid out in order.  Some of the pieces were attached to the lacy layer with adhesive.  You don't have to worry about the adhesive sticking to the inside of the card because of that Vellum layer inside the card.  Woo Hoo!  Otherwise, you'd have to be very careful where you added the adhesive.  The main flower has Dimensionals added under it to add depth to the look.

The final touch for this card is the Soft Succulent Satin Shimmer Ribbon found on page 146 of the Annual Catalog.  This is gorgeous ribbon and it's so easy to manipulate because of its softness.  

I've spent the last day arguing with myself about the use of added bling on this card.  After much deliberation, there are no extra bling additions to this card.  I thought it took away from the lovely lacy look too much.  That's the real focal point here in my opinion.

Here's the other version of the card.  The ink used for the flower colors changed to Mango Melody and Poppy Parade.  These colors were not off-stamped but were stamped full strength.  The smaller flowers were stamped with Highland Heather with Gorgeous Grape for the detail.  The leaf colors were the same as before.  As you can see, these colors make a much bolder and brighter card.  To give it some added appeal but not added color, a length of the White Glittered Organdy Ribbon was tied around into a knot on the side.

Well, I'm curious to know which of these versions do you prefer?  They are both beautiful.  I love the lacy look with the added Vellum behind it.  Makes it so elegant looking.  Let me know what you think.  I love hearing your comments.

Thanks for being patient with me.  Seems like my posts have been getting a little random lately.  I'm trying to get posts done on a regular basis, but I seem to be falling behind.  Thank you for checking back just in case there is something new.

Have you been online checking out the new Stampin'Up! Online Exclusive items?  There are some great products there for you.  I'll be trying to showcase some of them as the days go by.

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