A side benefit of making the thank you card for Dr Demaira was that there was a stamp of a stack of presents in the same set that I borrowed from my upline. I stamped a few of them in rose red and real red and pacific point and then realised that they’d look really great if I coloured the three presents in different colours. So I got out my stampin’ write markers and tried it out. I really like how it worked – I got suggestions from the Colour Coach which worked well. I used pacific point, melon mambo and pumpkin pie.
As I said, I simply coloured in each present using a different stampin’ write marker; then I moistened the ink by breathing on it hard (just channel the end of a run) and stamped onto the very vanilla. I would never have partnered these colours but I trusted the colour coach and loved the result. I definitely recommend that tool. The backgrounds dsp in melon mambo to line the envelope finished off the card.
I had previously done another card where the mat and colour of the sentiment was the same as the biggest present and I think it looks almost monochromatic. Somehow all the Tempting Turquoise pretty much overshadows the Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzazz. It’s a completely different look and another example of how different colours can totally change the card.
I stamped and coloured a number of pieces of cards in this stamp for later use so stay tuned for more examples.
Last week I created a monochrome birthday card with the mixed bunch stamp set. My critique board suggested more colour and although I thought to start with a couple, they wanted me to go crazy. So I did. And I love the result. And so did they.
Base: rose red
Top layer: very vanilla
Stamp set: mixed bunch, Sassy Salutations
Inks: All from the regals family – rose red, elegant eggplant, perfect plum, island indigo, crushed curry and garden green
I think that this is an incredibly happy and cheerful birthday card and I’m very grateful for the CB’s suggestions. I of course used the stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the flowers and lined the envelope with the rose red backgrounds DSP. Those last two items may be predictable, but they make sense. This card is a little labour intensive due to all the stamp cleaning, but it would be fast to mass produce. I think it would also make a good thank you card or a thinking of you if someone needed a pick me up. Almost as good as a bunch of mixed flowers. 🙂
Last night after dinner I was sitting on the sofa and wondering when my free stamp sets were going to be delivered. Naturally, I grabbed my iPad and checked on the package to find out that they had been delivered 8 hours previously. Of course I hurried out to the mailbox to get them. How did I get free stamp sets? When I signed up as a demonstrator, I discovered that if I sold (which includes my own purchases) $300 per month for 3 months, I’d earn 2 free stamp sets. Good deal. 🙂 And not hard to do.
I started with my favourite flower from Mixed bunch and some rose red ink. I decided to fill the card apart from a gap for the sentiment. Of course, in my haste, I neglected to actually select the sentiment first and couldn’t find an appropriate Happy Birthday to fit. So I grabbed “You’re in my thoughts” from a the Dozen Thoughts stamp set and used that. It was okay but there was something not quite right. My brother pointed out that it was just not bold enough to stand up to the flowers. So this morning, I did it the right way round – I stamped the sentiment FIRST! Here’s what I ended up with:
Base: 8.5″ by 5.5″ rose red
Top layer: 4″ by 5.25″ very vanilla
Stamp sets: Sassy Salutations, Mixed bunch
Ink: Rose red
As long as you stamp the sentiment first so that it has room to breathe, you can’t go far wrong constructing this card. I stamped the complete right hand side flower first and worked my way to the bottom left hand corner and then filled in the edges. I finished this off with a rose red liner for the envelope from the backgrounds DSP stack in regals.
I really like this card. It’s happy and bright and cheerful and perfect for a birthday. And the sentiment isn’t overwhelmed by the flowers. I think it would work well as a thank you card too. I see lots of possibilities for this stamp. Stay tuned!
My job is being outsourced and I decided to turn down the opportunity to join the outsourcing company. I am very grateful for all the people who have reached out to me and told me that I’ll be missed and that they believe I’ll easily find something else. This makes it easy to decide on the theme of today’s card.
This is a SEVEN layer card which is definitely a record for me. This was also my first use of DSP (Designer Series Paper). I have a lot of DSP but I struggle to use it; I feel that I’m colour challenged and so matching plain is easier than pattern. SU! make matching easy by telling you which colours are in the patterns, but I still have to make it feel balanced. You don’t grow if you don’t push yourself, right?! I CASEd this one from Susan Itell. I love this paper – it’s from the All Abloom stack which is full of really pretty patterns and at $6.95 for 48 pieces of 4.5″ by 6.5″ paper, a good value.
Base: Daffodil Delight 8.5″ by 5.5″ scored and folded
Mat: Daffodil Delight 4″ by 5.25″ scored using the stampin’ trimmer every quarter of an inch.
All Abloom paper – 1.75″ by 5.25″
After assembling the first few layers, I turned to the banner. I don’t have the banner framelits (yet!) nor a square of hexagon punch so I had to cut the end of the banner by hand. Easy to do with a ruler to find the centre. I used lost lagoon (since that’s in the paper) and more daffodil delight. The sentiment is from Sassy Salutations and stamped in the lost lagoon ink. I wanted to mimic the flower in the dsp and used the itty bitty accents punch pack to make the flower shape. I could not find anything to make the small flower centre and I had to wait (impatiently) for a new SU! order containing the cupcake punch. My sister was fairly convinced that the cupcake punch would have limited use in her crafting since she wasn’t expecting to make a lot of cupcake cards. I could see her point. But we’ve come to realise that the punch is really useful because it creates quite a number of shapes. BTW, I did get a cupcake stamp set too. 🙂
I decided to make my own envelope using the envelope punch board and daffodil delight. I completely messed up the liner, forgetting that the framelit envelope liners won’t be the right shape for this kind of envelope. I instead glued a strip of the DSP to the front. I think it works well.
I’m also thankful for Stampin’ Up!’s Paper Pumpkin promotion which ends on Wednesday. Paper Pumpkin is a kit in a box which is sent to you monthly (whilst you’re a subscriber) and contains everything that you need to make the project(s) with the possible exception of glue. Until Wednesday, they are offering 50% off for the first two months. I’m going to join up because at $10 for the first two months, how can I lose? 🙂 If any of you decide to join, please put me in as your demonstrator. Thanks.
Here are the details:
Offer Details: Use the code HALFOFF2 to join Paper Pumpkin before September 10, 2014, and get 50% off the first two months! After that, keep the creativity coming for only $19.95 + tax per month (shipping included)
The Fine Print:
For new subscribers only.
Available for month-to-month subscriptions, not prepaid subscriptions.
Discount applied to one kit per month for the first two months of a new subscription. After the first two months, the price for each month’s kit will go to the regular price: $19.95.
My sister recently got me hooked on making cards – not something that I ever thought I would enjoy and I have found that I absolutely love it! I think about card design at many odd moments, even when out running and it’s given me a greater appreciation of design in general. I am an independent Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and will be featuring cards and projects made with their products.
Today is a special day with the launch of the Holiday Catalogue (it’s also my birthday, so it seems a good day to start a blog!). It’s full of tempting items and I bought more than I initially planned. I confess it feels a little odd to be making Christmas cards in August when it’s 70 or so degrees outside, but I can’t resist playing with my new purchases.
Details:
Base: Very vanilla card stock 8.5 x 5.5 inches scored in half
Mat: Cherry cobbler cut at 5.25 x 4 inches
I used the Merry Christmas sentiment from Sassy Salutations stamped in versamark and then sprinkled on the stampin’ emboss powder in gold. The heat tool did the magic and turned the dull looking embossing powder into a glorious gold. I then used the confetti stars punch at the bottom of the card. My experiments have shown that by having a 5.25 inch piece of card and starting the punching at just past the little star on the right of the punch, that no stars will be cut in two. Using my gold Stampin’ dazzle marker, I dotted the middle of some random stars to get the placement on the cream card and then scribbled a small square around the dot. I was really pleased with how this one turned out.
