COLORFUL GRAPHICS WITH COUNTRYSIDE CORNERS

Let's send a colorful and happy Hello to someone today.  I dare you not to smile when you look at this card!

First step: Choose up to 6 of your favorite bright and cheery colors.  I used my Color Coach to help guide me on which colors work well together.  My colors are Poppy Parade, Lemon Lime Twist, Lemon Lolly, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake and Tahitian Tide.

Step 2: Cut a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" piece of cardstock in each of your favorite colors.  If you decide to use 3 colors, you will be able to make 3 cards.  If you choose 6 colors you will have enough pieces to make 6 cards.

Step 3: Layer each of the 6 largest dies from Countryside Corners on a piece of semi-sticky tape -- like Post-it Tape.  Download the tutorial at this link for more hints on how to best layer the dies.

Step 4: Die cut each of your cardstock colors with the assembled and layered dies.  Be sure to keep all pieces in the same orientation as you die cut them.

Step 5: With the largest Countryside Corner die-cut a backing piece to which you will adhere the Countryside Corner frame pieces.  Use the color of your card base for this backing piece because if you end up with a little edge showing, it will blend into the card front.

Step 6: Starting with the largest frame, work from largest to smallest and assemble each to the backing.

You can now use that element as desired as your focal point on your card.  See my card on Monday to see it used "as-is".  

For today's card, I cut the focal point into quarters (vertically and horizontally).  Then I rearranged the 4 pieces as shown.  You could also cut the focal points diagonally from corner to corner or in strips.  Use your imagination.  And remember, if you used 6 unique colors, you will have six focal points to play with!

I used the Handmade Tag Punch to create a little perch for my ladybug.  Doesn't she just make you smile?

I used some of my extra die cuts to make a little smaller focal point so it would fit on the inside of my card.  I then cut it in half and used it to decorate both the inside and the envelope.

A list of supplies used is shown below.  For more information on any product, just click on the image.

Product List

Countryside Corners Dies [161471]	Hello Ladybug Bundle (English) [157699]	Stylish Shapes Dies [159183]	Handmade Tag Punch [159690]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Poppy Parade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119793]	Lemon Lime Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144245]	Lemon Lolly 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [161720]	Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131297]
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [120953]	Tahitian Tide 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159261]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad [147050]	Basics 3 D Embossing Folders [161598]
Linen Thread [104199]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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REMEMBER & HONOR

Today, on this Memorial Day 2023, I send blessings and thanks to all who have served and lost loved ones in the service of our country.  

My Dad was a WWII Vet, and Mom lost a brother in that war, so Memorial Day was always a day of remembering those who served our country.  Sure, we had picnics and celebrations welcoming summer, but the day always started with a visit to the cemetery and a special service remembering and honoring those who had served.

My featured bundle this week is Countryside Corners and today's card uses only the dies from that bundle.  I love these dies and I could see so many uses for them that they were one of the first items in the new catalog that went on my wish list.

To make the Red, White & Blue focal point for this card, I layered each of the 6 largest dies on Real Red, Night of Navy and Basic White cardstock and then cut all 6 of the die cuts at the same time.

The important thing is to space the dies equally, and for an easy tip on how to do that and maintain it for multiple cuts, please download the free tutorial at this link.

Since these dies are sized for an A4 size cardstock, not our normal US  8-1/2" x 11" size, I trimmed 3/8" off my card so that the focal point would be equally spaced on all four sides.  This is obviously optional, but there is also more information on this in the tutorial.

Next make a die cut with the largest die from the same color as you plan to use for your card base (in my case Night of Navy).  Then working your way from the largest to the smallest die cut, start adhering the white, red, and blue die cuts to that backing.  By using the same color as the card front for your backing, if you have a slight edge of the backing showing, it will not show when you lay it on the card front!

Another hint: Just in case your spacing of the dies was not 100% equal, be sure to keep track of the orientation that you die cut each color.  You will want to assemble each of them in that same orientation, so they fit perfectly together.  

The little stars were cut with two dies from the Sentiment Silhouettes Dies and the sentiment is from Textured Floral stamp set and die cut with a Stylish Shapes die.

I used some leftover stars to add a bit of decoration to the inside along with an embossed strip of Night of Navy bordered in Real Red.  I used the On-Line Exclusive Basic's 3D embossing folder that looks like stars (or flowers) for this strip and for the card front.

Because I die cut Red, White & Blue cardstock to make my focal point, I had enough die cuts leftover to made two additional focal points.  I was on a roll, so turned them into similar cards.  These two cards use some retired embellishments and ribbon, but I thought I'd share just so you have a couple more ideas.

For a list of products used on the first card please refer to the following:

Product List

Countryside Corners Dies [161471]	Sentiment Silhouettes Dies [158733]	Stylish Shapes Dies [159183]	Textured Floral Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [161229]	Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100867]
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [102482]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [147110]	Simply Elegant Trim [155766]	Basics 3 D Embossing Folders [161598]

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Product List

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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TWISTED RIBBON & TEXTURED FLORAL - SHARE IT SUNDAY BLOG HOP

Welcome to Share it Sunday.  Today I am hopping along with The Crafty Collaborations Team.  We are a group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators from all over the world who like to share our ideas.  As you hop along with us, we hope that you will find ideas to inspire your own paper crafting projects. 

There is no theme for today's HOP, so we are just sharing what we have been working on.

I recently demonstrated the Twisted Ribbon Technique on Connect to Create, so I thought I would share one of those cards with you today.

I only recently discovered this technique and I love it! The video shows how easy it is.

I hope you will love it too.

This card uses the Textured Floral Bundle and Nested Essentials Dies along with the Hello, Irresistible DSP -- an On-Line Exclusive Product.

It doesn't really show in the photo, but the flowers were coated with Wink of Stella to give them a little sparkle and shine.

The inside of the card was decorated with a couple more stamped Textured Floral Flowers and then double matted with the coordinating colors.

If you would like a tutorial with all the cutting dimensions for today's card, please use this link to download a free copy.  A completed Product List is shown below.

Don't forget to jump through the list below to follow the other blogs in the hop.  Be sure to leave some love as you go!

Blog Hop Index

Product List

Textured Floral Bundle [161232]	Nested Essentials Dies [161597]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]	Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133679]	Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119683]
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101856]	Hello, Irresistible 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [161139]	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad [161678]	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [147094]
Exposed Brick 3 D Embossing Folder [161600]	Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels [158130]	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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