Today I have a card with minimal stamping for Simply Monday.
Whenever I need a quick card, I usually reach for Designer Series Paper and my dies to give it a bit of WOW while keeping it simple! That is exactly what I did for today's card.
This card started with a standard 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" card base, but I trimmed 3/4" off the bottom of the card front and then added 1" of beautiful Specialty paper on the bottom of the back flap. This pretty paper serves double duty as it not only makes the card front beautiful, but it also makes the inside of the card pretty without additional work.
The Dry Brushed Metallic Paper Specialty Paper is gorgeous, and it is still available as an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE.
For the card front I stamped the tree ring 4 times across the Basic White cardstock with Blackberry Bliss ink.
After using the Tree Rings Hybrid embossing folder and dies to make the Blackberry Bliss and Pretty Peacock tree ring, I temporarily positioned it on the card front and stamped some Lost Lagoon leaves so they would peek out from behind the ring.
The two small acorns were die cut from a leftover scrap of the Dry Brushed Metallic Specialty Paper and Gold Foil. The dies from Tree Ring Dies made this quick and easy, and I love how these dies also add some texture to the die cuts.
After adhering one acorn directly to the tree ring and the other with a dimensional, a tiny bow of Gold Cord was added to finish the card.
Since this card is meant card to just let someone know you are thinking of them, I simply matted the Basic White for the inside on Lost Lagoon cardstock before adhering it the Pretty Peacock card base. This leaves plenty of room for a personalized note! If desired, I can always add a sentiment later.
A list of products used is shown below. For more information on any item, just click on the image and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! store where you can purchase it -- or just learn more.
Happy Sunday Stampers! This week I am featuring the Ringed in Nature stamp Set and its coordinating Tree Rings Hybrid Embossing Folder and Dies. This bundle includes a large variety of stamps which are perfect for all seasons of the year.
Since we are almost to the end of July, I need to get busy working on my Christmas Cards, so you are going to start seeing more Christmas Cards from me. I know it is still early, but if I don't start now, I create a lot of stress for myself in November and December when I still have 50-60 cards to make. I also enjoy the challenge of using stamp sets that are not necessarily Christmas stamp sets to try to make a Christmas Card.
Today is also Share it Sunday at Crafty Collaborations, so I'm joining the fun with these creative stampers and hopping along with them. On Share it Sunday, there is no specific theme, so we can just share whatever we have been working on.
Since the Ringed with Nature stamp set has a flower that looks like a Poinsettia to me, I thought I would make a simple Christmas Card.
My card is made with Thick Very Vanilla Cardstock, and I've added a mat of Shaded Spruce. Shaded Spruce it one of my favorite Christmas "greens". It is a nice rich green with just a hint of blue. The top layer of Very Vanilla is embossed with the Tree Ring embossing folder, and the little tree ring "perch" for my Calypso Coral Poinsettia was made using both the Hybrid Embossing Folder and the coordinating dies. The "bark" of the tree ring was cut and embossed from Pecan Pie cardstock and the center from Crumb Cake.
The Tree Ring dies include several "tree stem" dies that you can mix and match as desired. One has little berries on it which I combined with a couple of the other stems. These are all cut from Shaded Spruce cardstock and used behind my poinsettia. I cut some berries from Calypso Coral and added them to that stem for a bit more color,
A piece of Wavy Trim was placed behind the tree ring and the poinsettia petals were coated with clear Wink of Stella to add just a bit of sparkle and shine. Every good Christmas card needs a little sparkle and shine, right?
The merry Christmas sentiment is also from the Ringed with Nature stamp set. The sentiment was die cut with a Labels Aglow Die.
For a complete list of products used, please refer to the Product List below.
I stamped a poinsettia on the inside of the card and added a few stamped leaves so it didn't feel left out and "naked". The inside sentiment is from the beautiful Hope & Peace Christmas sentiment set. You won't find this stamp set in the Annual Catalog, but it is still available as an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE! If you are looking for a Christmas stamp set that shares the true meaning of Christmas, you will love this set!
I hope you will now grab your favorite beverage, relax, and take a few minutes to Hop along with Crafty Collaborations on our Sunday Blog Hop. ENJOY!
You met Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox previously this week, but today they have decided to meet together for a visit at the fence.
I have been wanting to try a lattice card since I first saw one, but just have never gotten around to trying it. Finally, this week I thought I would try. I found some excellent instructions and tips by Karen Titus from Stamping on the Back Porch, so all credit goes to her for making this lattice fun fold much easier than I expected.
Her written instructions were easy to follow, but I thought I would make a short video to show you how to assemble the lattice (or fence) portion of the card.
I hope this helps. If you have questions, just ask!
Once I completed the fence, I started stamping images from the Playing in the Rain stamp set. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to decorate my card, so I just started stamping various images and coloring them with my Stampin' Blends. I ended up using the fox, the rabbit and two flower patches for this card, but I also have a leftover turtle that turned out really cute that I will save for another card. I tried to tuck him on the inside, but because you can see through the fence, I thought the flowers behind the fence looked better.
The fluffy clouds in the sky were made by die cutting a piece of lightweight paper (copy paper) with the Basic Border Die that looks like clouds. Then I used the paper as a mask, and a Blending Brush and Balmy Blue ink to make the clouds.
I wanted the sentiment to look like it was part of the sky, so I used the same process to add some clouds to my sentiment circle. I minimized the size of the sentiment by "flattening" one side.
Here are a couple of close-ups of my little critters.
By using the Paper Piecing Technique for both of their coats and Mr. Fox's hat I saved a little bit of coloring time.
I used Designer Series Paper from Hello, Irresistible for Mr. Rabbit's coat and from Inked Botanicals for Mr. Fox's coat and hat.
The grass below the fence was made from a strip of Old Olive cardstock and a Stampin' Up! "fringe" scissors that I have had for years. If you don't have fringe scissors, you can always just snip away with your paper snips. Alternatively, there is a die in the Beautiful Ballons Dies which would make excellent fringe for grass.
The grass on the inside of the card is a little taller than on the front so that it peeks through above the fence rail. I also positioned the flower patch so that just a bit of it would be visible through the fence.
What do you think? This card may be a little over-the-top, but I really like how it turned out. I will save it for someone who will appreciate the extra effort! I'd love to hear your comments.
