Fairless Stampin' Flair: September 2023

Friday, September 29, 2023

PETAL PARK CHRISTMAS

I continue to strive to meet my self-imposed challenge to create a Christmas card each week using whatever products I am featuring that week.

Well, using the Petal Park Bundle to create a Christmas card was certainly a challenge. This bundle definitely does not scream "Christmas!" But I was determined.

I first got some assistance from the Christmas Pinecone Dies, and then I also took color inspiration from a card I saw by "Frenchie" on Demonstrator Planning Place. She shared a couple of cards she had made with the Saint Nicholas stamp set. On one of the cards, she gave Santa a Lost Lagoon Santa Suit, and I really liked the warmth of her card, so I decided to use Lost Lagoon for my Christmas card.

The pine branch background was die cut from Pretty Peacock Soft Shimmer Specialty Paper, and I used Pecan Pie and Early Espresso for my pinecones.

Then it was time to add some Petal Park flowers. I tried several different reds embossed with white embossing powder and also white cardstock embossed with the colored embossing technique using various red inks. I ended up with Cherry Cobbler flowers heat embossed with white embossing powder.

After scattering several flowers around the pinecones, I still thought it needed some additional white to brighten it up a bit. So, I die cut an additional piece of Basic White cardstock with the pine branch background die and snipped it apart to make several little branches. Then I tucked them among the pinecones and flowers. And just in case, the Pretty Peacock Soft Shimmer pine branches didn't give enough sparkle, I brushed some clear Wink of Stella on the white branches. The sentiment from Hope & Peace completed the card.

What do you think of my result? Did I successfully meet my challenge?

With all of my experimentation on the front of the card, I ended up, as usual, with leftovers. I was brought up in a home where leftovers never went to waste. As a result, it is difficult for me to throw away leftover stamping bits! As I often do, I used my leftovers to decorate the inside of my card and added another sentiment from Hope & Peace. I love the Christmas sentiments in this stamp set. It is available as an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. You can click on it in my Product List below to see the additional Christmas sentiments it includes.

For a tutorial for today's today, use this link to download a FREE COPY.

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Wednesday, September 27, 2023

PETAL PARK FLOWERS & DOUBLE EMBOSSED ENAMEL

My card today uses the flowers from Petal Park and a special technique that I demonstrated a couple of weeks ago on Learning with Friends.

The technique is called Double Embossed Enamel and unfortunately, I still haven't totally mastered photographing objects that have lots of shimmer and shine, but the in-person result of this technique is so pretty. It shows a little better on the video, so if you haven't already seen it, I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this Learning with Friends segment.

The Double Embossed image was made with the Elegant Eucalyptus 3D Embossing Folder and silver embossing powder.

The silver technique element was the focal point for this card, but it needed a little something to add some color. So, I used the Petal Park Bundle and made three Highland Heather flowers to set off the sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set.

Check out the product list below to see more sentiments that come with this set. It is a new sentiment stamp set in the Fall Mini catalog. I am a firm believer that you can never have too many sentiment stamp sets and my stamp closet definitely is living proof that I live that philosophy!

Did you notice that I referred to my stamp storage area as a "closet" and not a "cabinet"? It's true. I actually have a closet and a cabinet full of stamps! It's an addiction! Can anyone relate?

But I digress...

Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added to the flower centers to give a little more sparkle. I love how iridescent embellishments pick up the colors around them, so they seem to work with anything!

For the inside of the card, I used some "leftover" flowers from the card front to add a bit of color.

I wasn't sure how many flowers I would need for the front, so I made extras and had three leftovers. Since I already had them stamped and punched out with the Petal Park Builder Punch, I used them for the inside of the card. If I hadn't had leftovers, I would have just stamped the 3 flowers directly on the Basic White cardstock.

Use this link to download a copy of a tutorial for this card. The tutorial will include a link to the Double Embossed Enamel video as well as writing instructions for the technique and the card.

Click on any image below to learn more about a specific product that I used.

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Monday, September 25, 2023

PETAL PARK CHEER - FOR SIMPLY MONDAY

Today's Simply Monday card was actually made for a challenge I participated in recently to create a card with the Petal Park bundle using only stamps, ink, and paper--plus we were allowed to use the punch that came in the bundle. This is the card I submitted for the challenge.

But as soon as the challenge was over, and I submitted a photo of the card, I had to add a little bling. So, I added Basic Rhinestones to the center of each flower.

Which version do you like best? Bling or no bling?

Cards made with only stamps, ink, and paper cards are not really in my wheelhouse. I like bling and embellishments! And besides, how difficult is it to add some Rhinestones? Not difficult at all.

Since the challenge required that I limit the design to stamps, ink, and paper, I needed to find another way to add interest. So, I did that with lots of layers. I used Lemon Lolly for my card base, and then added layers of Soft Sea Foam and Basic White. I repeated the three layering colors again and popped that second layer up with dimensionals.

Sometimes I have difficulty aligning two-step stamps, but the flowers and leaves stamps that come in the Petal Park stamp set are extremely easy to align, so that made me happy.

The leaves were stamped with Mossy Meadow for the outline and Soft Sea Foam ink for the leaf centers. The yellow flowers were stamped with Daffodil Delight outlines and Lemon Lolly centers, and for the Pool Party flowers, I stamped the outline image full-strength and for the flower centers I stamped off before stamping. The flowers were then easily and quickly punched out with the coordinating Petal Park Builder Punch and placed randomly over the leaves.

If you love flowers and are a "Simple Stamping" stamper, you will love this bundle.

Since the stamp set does not include any sentiments, we were told to use the Happy Labels Stamp Set for our sentiments, so I added "Just a Note" from that set.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the flowers again, but this time did not add the extra Pool Party Flowers and I stamped the yellow flowers in the position where the stamp designer intended. This is a fairly good-sized stamp, so it doesn't leave a lot of room to write a message on the inside of the card, but sometimes we just want to send someone a smile and a note to say hi! I think the happy colors of this card would make someone smile, don't you?

If you would like a tutorial for this simple Stamps, Ink, and Paper card, use this link to download a FREE copy.

The products used were few, but I have listed them below for your reference.

The bling is obviously optional. LOL

What gets your vote? Bling or no bling?

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