Wednesday, June 7, 2023

ONE FOR YOU, ONE FOR ME

 Beer Anyone?  I have one for you and one for me!

Do you struggle with making cards for the men in your life?   I think many stampers struggle a bit with making masculine cards.  I know I do. This Brewed for You stamp set, and its coordinating dies are great for masculine cards. 

This card was made with the masculine colors of Boho Blue and Cooper Clay.  An ice-cold beer on a sweltering day can really hit the spot, but to warm the card up a little I used Very Vanilla rather than Basic White cardstock.

There is a "lady-sized" beer in the glass and a frothy "man-sized" beer in the stein.  The beer color is another of the new In-Colors, Wild Wheat.  This is a color that I'm still "learning how to use", but it seems like a pretty good color for beer, don't you think?  It probably depends on the kind of beer you drink.  It definitely makes a better "lite" beer than a "stout"!

The background was made with a mask from the Artistic Mix collection, a Blending Brush and Copper Clay ink.  Copper Clay and Pebbled Path are battling for my favorite new In-Color.  Making interesting backgrounds with Masks, Blending Brushes, and ink is so simple, but often forgotten.


The little mesh mat behind the beer was made with a die from Chic Dies -- another beloved but forgotten die!

Do you like the shape of the sentiment?  This is one of the dies from Gorgeously Made Dies.  If you overlooked the new Gorgeously Made Bundle in the 23-25 Annual Catalog, click on the link in the Product List to get a better look.  This bundle has some awesome dies!  I really like this one for sentiments.  It's not too big, and not too small and there is just enough "torn" interest on the ends to jazz it up a little.


For the inside of the card, I added another stein of foamy beer and a sentiment from the Brewed for You stamp set.

If you would like more details and cutting dimensions, please download the tutorial at this link.

A complete Product List is shown below.


Product List

Monday, June 5, 2023

SUMMER BEVERAGES FOR SIMPLY MONDAY

The featured stamp set this week is Brewed for You.  It has coordinating dies called Brewed Dies.  Summer definitely arrived in Michigan last week with temps in the 80s - 90s.  Today's card sports a variety of colorful drinks to keep us hydrated.


I designed my drinks for the bright colors, but not being an aficionado of colorful drinks, I'm not sure what they really are.  Will you help me identify them?  Leave a note in the comments if you know what drinks are these colors.

The background from my beverages is one of the pretty designs from Bright & Beautiful Designer Series Paper (DSP).  This is a happy, colorful collection of DSP with a range of bright bold graphical prints to this softer design.  Click on the link in the product list below to see all the designs in the Bright & Beautiful Collection.


The dotted background was made with one of the embossing folders from the Basics On-Line Collection of embossing folders.


The drinks were all colored with Stampin' Blends, and I used the Color Lifter Blend to lighten some spots to look like bubbles.  A coating of clear Wink of Stella on the drinks and a few Iridescent Rhinestones scattered on the card front add some more "bubbles."

A Lemon Lime Twist leaf was added as a garnish for each glass.  I used Lemon Lime Twist cardstock for my little leaf because -- well, what could be a more appropriate name for a garnish on a summery drink?

A coating of clear Wink of Stella and a few Iridescent Rhinestones add some more "bubbles" for our card.

I think this will make a cute thank you card for a "fancy drink" lover, don't you?


If you would like a tutorial with all the details, you can download a free copy at this link.

Check out the full Product List below to see which products I used.

Product List

Friday, June 2, 2023

ELEGANT COUNTRYSIDE CORNERS

It's been a lot of fun this week using the dies from Countryside Corners bundle to create some graphic shapes and cards full of color.  But today's card is all about simplicity and elegance.  And it is the first time that I have used the stamp set that is part of the Countryside Corners Bundle.  I probably shouldn't call it a stamp "set" because it is actually only one large stamp.

With this large stamp you can create multiple design layers of the shapes that match the Countryside Corners Dies.  After you stamp the image, you can leave them as one large design or die cut each design layer individually to create borders and frames.  The choice is yours.


After embossing the image with gold embossing powder on Very Vanilla cardstock, I chose to die cut so that 3 of the decorative borders would show.  The large sparkly gold border is the More Dazzle Specialty Paper.


The order of the various layers was strategically done so that the beautiful Gold & Vanilla Satin Ribbon looks like it is woven through the layers.  I think this is one of my favorite ribbons of all time.  It is gorgeous, and if you are looking for elegance, this ribbon does not disappoint.

I am also loving this new Exposed Brick 3D Embossing Folder.  Normally, we don't think of brick as elegant, but the way this design was created it definitely works as "elegant".


The sentiment from Courage & Faith was also embossed with gold embossing powder and then die cut with one of the Countryside Corners dies.  The shapes of these dies pair beautifully with the Courage & Faith set.  If you are a person of faith, you will love this stamp set.  Check it out in the product list below to see all the images.


I had a very narrow "scrap" of the More Dazzle Specialty paper, so decided to use it to add just a tiny bit of sparkle to the inside of the card.  I purposely keep the inside very simple.  Elegance doesn't always need to be "over-the-top".  Sometimes less is more!

A written tutorial for today's card is available to download at this link.

A complete Product List is also shown below.  If you have questions or would like more information on any of the products, just click on the image and you will be able to see all the details.


Product List