Stylish Stems for Norma

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I’ve been giving out birthday cards at work for a year now; I don’t manage to make them for the entire department (I don’t even know some of the people) but I’m enjoying the joy that someone feels when they get a handmade card. Last year, someone jumped up and hugged me and said I’d made their day. It’s an enormously touching response to my hobby that I enjoy for its own sake. So here’s a card I’ve made for Norma, whose birthday is today. It’s also for the Paper Players current challenge – it’s about time I entered a challenge; when I “entered” one lately, I forgot to go to the challenge site and actually enter!

Liz Bailey Stampin' Up! Demonstrator - Stylish Stems - Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies

Here’s the banner which inspired my card:

I really love the Special Reason bundle which includes the stamp set and the Stylish Stems framelits dies. The dies are unusual in that it includes shapes to cut around the stamp set images and dies that create a shape that allows a paper or coloured image to show through. They are really versatile. I took a piece of watercolor paper and used the watercolor pencils to lay down color – rich razzleberry and melon mambo – using darker, more intense colors in the centre and fading outwards like a peony, creating that effect with a blender pen. I used the stylish stems framelits dies to cut out the front part but once I’d glued that to the watercolor paper, I needed to trim it. That didn’t go too well! I ended up using my carl trimmer because the stampin’ up one wavered and couldn’t make straight lines through the double thickness. I should’ve made the watercolor smaller and used dimensionals. But now that both pieces were the same, I added a border of rich razzleberry. This was then added to a whisper white card to which I’d added a sentiment from Dragonfly Dreams.

I hope you enjoyed today’s project. Please use the hostess code to get free handmade cards; the current one is PNF6CKRH (if your order is over $150, don’t use the code, you get the rewards, but you still get the free cards from me). Click here to go to my online shop or here to join my team. To sign up for Paper Pumpkin, click here.

And don’t forget that during Sale-a-bration, for every $50 you spend (before taxes and shipping) you get to select a FREE product from the Sale-a-bration catalogue. Don’t have paper copies of the catalogs? Drop me an email and I’ll put one in the mail.

See you tomorrow,

Liz

12 thoughts on “Stylish Stems for Norma”

  1. Jan Clothier

    Such a gorgeous card! So stylish and clean. I like the way you’ve coloured the paper underneath the flower cut out. The razzleberry border is a great finishing touch.

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  2. Super Stamp Girl

    Liz, purple is one of my favorite colors, so this card really captured my eye. You have definitely nailed “clean and simple” and I love this. Thanks for joining us at The Paper players this week. Crystal, DT

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  3. sandy m

    I love this, Liz! Your layout is perfect for a CAS card, and the coloring of the negative space is gorgeous. So glad you joined us this week at The Paper Players!

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    1. Liz Post author

      Thanks Sandy. I need to pay more attention to the challenges at the Paper Players. They are a lot of fun. So glad that you liked it.

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  4. Bev Gerard

    Good for you in giving out b’day cards to people at work! What a lovely way to touch others … and as card makers, we reap an inner reward too. Such a pretty color to bring this floral to life!

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    1. Liz Post author

      Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Bev. It’s definitely true about the inner reward. Definitely win-win.

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