Rose Wonder Meets Color Burst

I needed a quick birthday card the other day after discovering that one of my friends at Walmart was celebrating her birthday. I actually came up with the design and created the card before leaving for work—probably the fastest card I have ever made!

I started by using my MISTI to stamp the rose from the Rose Wonder stamp set on watercolor paper with Basic Black Archival ink. I then re-stamped it using Versamark and heat embossed it with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Using a small paintbrush, I wet the leaves and then sprinkled on green Color Burst. I loved the varying shades of green that resulted! I repeated this process with the rose, this time using reds. I used the paintbrush to draw some color into areas where the paper still showed. I set the painted matte aside to dry.

Next, I used Jet Black Stazon to stamp the sentiment on Thick Whisper White card stock. I used the Rose Garden Thinlits to die cut the sentiment.

I used my heat tool to dry the watercolor completely and then adhered a piece of craft foam to the back using Fast Fuse Adhesive. This was adhered to a Real Red card base. The sentiment was adhered using Dimensionals. To complete the card front, I adhered a handful of crystal sequins.

For the inside of the card I stamped some leaves in Cucumber Crush and inked the edges as well.
All in all, I pretty happy with how this card turned out!

Next time, I will have more time to work with the Color Bursts to give the rose more detail. I really want to give the Color Bursts a workout to see how many ways they can be used!

Have you had a chance to play with Color Bursts yet? Drop me a note below–I'd love to hear from you!

Exciting News and Botanical Thank You

I got very exciting news the other day–the card that I submitted to Kylie Bertucci's International Blog Highlight was voted into the top ten! Out of 46 entries from around the world, the ten of us will be participating in a International Blog Hop on May 11. I am so grateful to the people who took the time to vote for my card–I truly appreciate it!

Today's card is one of multiple cards I created to thank my stamping group for their orders this month. 

I started by cutting a standard card base from Night of Navy and a matte from Delightful Dijon. Using my MISTI and Night of Navy ink, I stamped the sentiment from the Watercolor Wishes Card Kit. I used Night of Navy Seam Binding to knot around the matte and then adhered it to the card base using Dimensionals.

I used the Botanical Builder Dies to die cut the leaves and flowers. I used my McGill Paper Blossom Tool Kit to shape the flowers and then glued them together using Multi Medium Matte. I created a pleasing arrangement, snapped a photo for reference, and then adhered the arrangement to the matte using Multi Medium Matte and Dimensionals.

For the inside of the card, I used a stamp from Botanicals Garden to stamp on a piece of the now retired Naturals White card stock with Delightful Dijon ink. I then sponged the edges with Night of Navy.

I chose the following colors as I love the way they look together. Feel free to save this color combination for your own designs if you like it!

I like the way this card design turned out. Do you? Drop me a note below!

Retirement List

It's that time of year when Stampin' Up! clears out the old stuff to make room for the new! To make it easier for you to see what's on the list, I have included a picture reference below for both stamps and everything else that is retiring. To see items faster, use the arrows to scroll through the list manually.

For those of you who already tried to place an order and met with difficulty, Stampin' Up's system seems to have corrected itself so the ordering process should go smoother now.

Be sure to place your order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!

These are items that I am most sad to see go:

• Berry Basket Bigz L  #137366
• Circles Collection Framelits #130911
• Ovals Collection Framelits #129381
• Squares Collection Framelits #130921
• Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder   #133520
• Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder #132174
• Crystal Effects #101055
• Bird Builder Punch #117191
•  2-1/2" Circle Punch #120906
• 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch #127811
• 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch #119854
• 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch #118874
• 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch #129404
• Washi Label Punch #138296
•  Extra-Large Oval Punch #119859
• Large Oval Punch #119855
• Scallop Oval Punch #119856
• Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack #133787
• Candy Dots Brad Bases #132293
• Brights Candy Dots #130931
• Neutrals Candy Dots #130934
• Regals Candy Dots #130932
• Subtles Candy Dots #130933
• Silver Basic Metal Buttons #133319
• Gold Basic Metal Buttons #13376

Of course, I am also going to miss all the ribbons and seam binding . . . so useful in adding just the right touch to a card or project!

Retiring Stamps

Retiring Everything Else

Painted Rose For Global Design Project

On my way home from work today, I stopped to pick up a prescription for my husband. As I passed the magazine rack in the store, some colorful covers caught my eye and I had to stamp some pictures for inspiration. As I drove home, a card design was staring to gel in my mind.

After supper, I quickly began making my card because I had to finish it tonight in time for the Global Design Project deadline!

The color scheme for my card changed dramatically from the one I first thought I'd use! I will still utilize the color scheme I first thought of but I'm pleased with the one I selected for this card.

I used Jet Black Stazon to stamp the rose from the Rose Wonder stamp set on a piece of the Typeset DSP. I used the same watercolor technique as I did yesterday, placing rubbing alcohol in my Aqua Painter instead of water, and painted using the Watermelon Reinker. I set it aside to dry thoroughly.

A Basic Gray card base for a 4.75 x 6" card was cut and then I cut a partial matte from Watermelon Wonder and used one of the now retired Adorning Accents Edgelits on it to give an ornate edge to my matte. I then used the matching piercing template from the Paper-Piercing Pack Essentials to pierce a line that followed the cut edge.

Next, I stamped the matte using Watermelon Wonder and stamps from the Timeless Textures stamp set. The matte was then adhered to the card base using Fast Fuse adhesive.

I used the Rose Garden Thinlits to cut the rose and two stems of the leaves from Basic Black and cut off the rose's leaves. Now that my painted rose was dry I was able to glue the die cut rose over top of the painted rose using Multi Medium Matte.

I cut a strip of Basic Gray to go across the card front and embossed it using the Pretty Print Embossing Folder and then sponged a bit of Smoky Slate ink onto it to make the embossing stand out more. It was adhered to the card front using a strip of self-adhesive fun foam. The leafy stems were adhered to the strip using Multi Medium Matte and then the rose was adhered over top using Dimensionals.

Using Jet Black Stazon ink, the sentiment from the Bloomin' Love stamp set was stamped and the scroll from the Number of Years stamp set was stamped over it on Watermelon Wonder. It was then die cut using the die from the Large Numbers Framelits. It was adhered at the bottom of the card using Dimensionals.

Three pearls were placed under the embossed strip of Basic Bray to complete the card front.
The inside was kept pretty simple. Whisper White was matted with Watermelon Wonder and adhered to the card with Fast Fuse. One stamp from the Timeless Textures stamp set was stamped in the bottom right corner to complete the card.

So, do you like it? I think the Watermelon Wonder and Basic Gray work well together, accented by the Basic Black. If you would like to use this color scheme, feel free to save the graphic below.

I've entered this card in the Global Design Project #30. Why don't you come and play sometime?

I'd love it if you could leave me a comment below to let me know you stopped by! Have a great day!

Birthday Blooms For Kylie Bertucci's International Stampin' Up Blog Highlight

I have been looking forward to participating in Kylie Bertucci's International Stampin' Up Blog Highlight. The theme is Love–any kind. However, as the time to post my project drew nearer, I still had no inkling of what I was going to create!

In the meantime, I have been working on some other projects that have gone awry so I took the evening off and watched tv.

Then, just before going to bed last night, an idea for my project popped into my head! I sat down and sketched it out, noting all the color and paper details, including a new technique that I wanted to try. Just the other day, Michelle Long had posted a card she had created by painting with her Aqua Painter filled with rubbing alcohol. I loved the technique and decided to use it on my card. Satisfied that I had noted everything I needed I headed off to bed.

Today, I sat down in my craft room to create my project and it came together quite nicely–almost exactly as I planned it except for a color change and a change in how I was going to add my sentiment.

I started by designing out the measurements for my project in my Silhouette Cameo design software. Once I knew the actual sizes of paper I needed, I proceeded to cut:

1. 3 1/2 x 3 1/2" Typeset DSP
2. 3 3/4 x 3 3/4" Basic Black matte
3. 5 5/8 x 5 5/8" Pacific Point matte
4. 6 x 6" Basic Black card base

On the Typeset DSP I stamped the floral image from Birthday Blooms with Jet Black Stazon Ink. I used Stazon instead of Basic Black Archival because I would be using alcohol in my Aqua Painter instead of water. I proceeded to paint the image using Pacific Point, Cucumber Crush, and Crushed Curry reinkers.

I loved how this turned out! It really is such a fun technique! I started with very little color and then built it up as the color dried very quickly due to using the rubbing alcohol instead of water. This method works much better than water on normal paper because it dries so fast!

After my image had dried completely, I placed the paper between a couple of sheets of scrap paper, covered it with an old pillowslip and ironed it! The paper had bubbled a bit in the area where I had painted but ironing got it completely flat again! I adhered the painted paper to a black matte using Fast Fuse Adhesive.

Next, I embossed the Pacific Point matte with the Brick Wall Embossing Folder. To give the embossing a more distinct look and to give the wall a bit of character, I sponged over the matte with Night of Navy ink.

For a bit more texture, I used Tear & Tape to adhere two pieces of Basic Black 3/8" Stitched Ribbon diagonally across the matte. Once the ribbon was in place, I adhered a piece of self-adhesive black fun foam and then adhered the matte to the card front using Fast Fuse Adhesive. The fun foam really works well to provide lift to a matte but to do so evenly. I used Dimensionals to adhere the painted image to the middle of the embossed matte.

Now this is where my plans for this project changed. I had wanted to white emboss a sentiment on black card stock. However, because the Typeset DSP has a Very Vanilla background, the white would have looked wrong which leads me to ask, "Why doesn't Stampin' Up have any Very Vanilla Embossing Powder?"

After choosing my sentiment from the First Sight stamp set, I decided to stamp the words and cut them up. I stamped three sentiment "pieces" of Very Vanilla with Jet Black Stazon ink and then trimmed them down in size. For the word, LOVE, I used my MISTI to stamp it first in Basic Black Archival and then in Versamark and heat embossed it with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder. I inked the edges of each piece using Basic Black Archival ink.

I added Dimensionals to the backs of each sentiment and laid them out on the painted matte. After finding a pleasing arrangement, I used Glue Dots to adhere loops of Gold Metallic Thread behind LOVE to make it the focal point of the sentiment. I added a rhinestone to the "O" as well as three other rhinestones, which I colored with a Copic marker, for the front of the card.

For the inside of the card, I cut a matte from Very Vanilla and stamped the floral image in Pacific Point. I inked the edges of the matte before adhering it with Fast Fuse to complete the card.

 

I'm really liking how my card turned out! If you like it too, could you please vote for my card by visiting Kylie's Blog? To vote, just look for the photo of my card–mine is number 28–and then click on the little heart in the top right of the photo. It should turn red once you have voted. If my card gets into the top five, I will be able to take part in an International Blog Hop! I would really appreciate your help with this because this is such a great opportunity!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Vellum Overlay For Stamp, Ink, Paper

It was opportune that Jennifer McGuire's post showed up in my Inbox this morning. Her video depicting how she created several stunning cards using a vellum overlay technique really grabbed my attention! I decided to attempt the technique for the color challenge over at Stamp, Ink and Paper.

I really like these colors–at least two of them! I think that Bermuda Bay really looks stunning with the Night of Navy. Soft Sky is not my favorite because it is so pale but I was able to include it on my card by using a ribbon.

I decided to use the Rose Wonder stamp set for this technique because I knew that it would look wonderful on the vellum, but for the inner card, I decided to use the Floating Reinker Technique.

I chose a piece of very light watercolor paper (non-Stampin Up) and cut it to a standard card size. The rose image was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Instead of spraying the image with water as is done in most of the tutorials (they were using Shimmery White paper) I decided to add water with a paintbrush. That way, if I needed to re-wet any sections of the image, I could do so easily.

After wetting the image, I used my Aqua Painter to pick up a little bit of Night of Navy and dabbed it into the various sections of the rose. As soon as the ink touched the water on the rose, it "floated" into the embossed section it had been added to; it didn't float evenly, though, so a nice mottled effect was the result. I repeated this procedure for each section of the rose and then switched to Bermuda Bay reinker for the leaves.

I set the painted image aside to dry, and worked on other things for awhile. Then, I touched up the image with my heat tool to be sure it was totally dry. The paper had warped slightly so I touched it up by ironing it, between scrap paper and covered with an old pillowslip, using a low temperature.

Next, after determining the size of vellum for my outer card, I cut, scored, and folded it. I placed the inner card into place and set it into my MISTI. There I placed the rose stamp over the vellum, lining it up with the image showing through from beneath. I stamped it in Versamark and heat embossed it with White Stampin' Emboss powder.

While I had my MISTI out, I also stamped the sentiment from the Picture Perfect stamp set using Jet Black Stazon ink. I let it dry and then made sure it was using the heat tool. I then colored in the sections using the Wink of Stella pen.

Once that was completely dry, I put the painted card on the inside and attached the two with a length of Soft Sky Seam Binding. The final touch was to add a few rhinestones to the front of the card.

What do you think? Drop me a comment below–I'd love to hear from you!

Gift From The Garden Corner Fold Card

I love to make cards with lots of flowers and embellishments but sometimes simple is good!

Today's card has a great look but is quite easy to make. It has a lot of layers but if you cut all your materials, all you have left is to put it together!

The card technique I am using is called a Decorative Corner Fold. What is nice about this card is that it folds flat for mailing but stands up very well! There are many different ways to embellish your card. You'll find a few ideas in this Pinterest search result. I consulted a video tutorial at Debby's Designs to get the details on how to make this card.

I cut a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2" card base from Cajun Craze and scored it on the long side at 2 1/8, 4 1/4, and 6 3/8." I also cut a piece of Cajun Craze at 1 x 5 1/2" and scored it vertically at 1/2." While I had my Cajun Craze card stock out, I also punched two, 1" circles and one, 2 1/2" circle using my circle punches.

For mattes, I chose Delightful Dijon and cut four pieces, 5 1/4 x 1 7/8." I also punched a 2" circle from the same card stock. I chose a flowered piece of paper from the Botanical Gardens DSP and cut three pieces, 5 x 1 5/8"; I also cut a piece of Whisper White to the same size to use for the sentiment on the back of the card.

On the 2" circle of Delightful Dijon, I stamped a watering can from the Gift For The Garden stamp set. I stamped the sentiment above it using a stamp from the Endless Thanks stamp set. Both stamps were done in Cajun Craze. Delightful Dijon was used to ink the edges of the die cut.

Using Cajun Craze again, I stamped the sentiment from the Gift From The Garden stamp set onto the Whisper White card stock. I then proceeded to ink the edges of this piece, and all the DSP pieces with the Cajun Craze ink. The pieces of Delightful Dijon card stock were inked with their matching ink.
I used my bone folder to crease all the folds in the card base and then adhered all the Delightful Dijon mattes and then all the DSP and the sentiment on Whisper White using Fast Fuse Adhesive.

Next, I took the long strip of Cajun Craze and creased it on its 1/2" score line. I applied Fast Fuse to one half of the strip on the mountain side of the fold. I lined this up with one side of the card base and adhered it to the wrong side of the card. I then applied adhesive to the second side and folded the card flat over top of it to connect the two ends of the card. This formed the "box" of the card.

I flattened the card so that the sentiment panel was at the back of the card. I folded the 1" circles in half and applied adhesive to one half of each of them. After determining where I was going to mount the large circle die cuts, I adhered the half-circles on either side of the centre score line about 1 1/2" from the top of the card.

The stamped circle die cut was adhered to the Cajun Craze die cut using Dimensionals. I then added adhesive to the remaining half of each 1" circle that had been glued to the card front and then placed the large die cuts on top. This allowed the die cuts to pivot as the card was either flattened or stood up.

Even though the sentiment I chose had to be stamped in landscape format on the card, I am sure that the recipient won't mind. After all, the viewer would not be looking at both the card front and the card back at the same time, right?

I chose not to embellish this card further, allowing the patterned paper to take centre stage under the die cut.

Feel free to save this color combo if you would like to use it for inspiration for some of your own cards!