THE ROAD AHEAD

My last Covered in Sunshine card for this week uses the same sentiment as my Simply Monday card.  I thought it was appropriate to start and end the week with a sentiment that draws our attention to the road ahead.

Spring is a favorite time of year for me as it feels full of hope and renewal.  And when we have hope, we tend to think about what the future may hold for our "ROAD AHEAD".

If you are wondering which "designer series paper (DSP)" I used behind the wildflower die cuts, I didn't use DSP.  I made the design using my favorite technique, Shaving Cream!  The shaving cream technique always makes unique and pretty backgrounds.  And the fun part is that no two ever look the same.

If you are unfamiliar with the Shaving Cream Technique, here is a video I made several months ago that shows you how to do it.  It is so much fun!

The sentiment is heat embossed with Black Embossing Powder and to make some of the words in the sentiment stand out, I also heat embossed those on three of the colors that were in the Shaving Cream background.  I then snipped them out with my Paper Snips and adhered them to the sentiment with dimensionals.

My "Wildflowers" were die cut with two of the dies from Harvest Dies.  Again, colors from the Shaving Cream Background were used.

The pattern on the Basic White card front was made with the Stitched Greenery Die.  I feel like this is a bit of a "sleeper" die -- at least it was for me.  I've had it for several months, but never got around to using it until recently.  I love the subtle look it adds to a card.  My mom would have said, "It just does something to it"!  I agree with her.  It's subtle, but it does add just a little something to jazz the card up a bit.

When I make a Technique Sheet of any kind, I usually try to make it larger than the finished size I want.  That way I have leftover "scraps" to decorate the inside of my card and sometimes even enough to decorate the envelope.  

If you would like to make this card, please download the free tutorial at this link.  It provides cutting dimensions and step-by-step instructions.  But if you have any questions, please just ask!  I'm here to help you with all your crafting needs.

A list of the Stampin' Up! Products that were used in this card are listed below.  If you decide to purchase any of the products, don't forget to use the April Host Code.  You will be entered into a drawing to receive a small gift from me!

Product List

Covered In Sunshine Cling Stamp Set (English) [160726]	Stitched Greenery Die [155451]	Harvest Dies [156504]	Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131197]
Gorgeous Grape 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146987]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146986]	Mango Melody 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146989]
Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101910]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [131156]	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [147164]
Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [147162]	Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [147163]	3/8" (1 Cm) Gorgeous Grape Sheer Ribbon [154572]	Basics Embossing Powders [155554]
Heat Tool (Us And Canada) [129053]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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TECHNIQUE TUESDAY - RAINBOW FOR A FRIEND

Today, I am excited to participate in the Technique Tuesday Blog Hop at Crafty Collaborations.  

Our theme this month is water coloring, and I have a really fun technique to share with you that uses water coloring in a little different way. 

The Technique used on today's card is called Watercolor Emboss Resist, and I used my featured stamp set of the week, Covered in Sunshine.  This stamp set has such beautiful sentiments, and they are large in size which works perfectly with different background techniques.

I first stamped the sentiment on watercolor paper with VersaMark ink and then embossed it with Black Embossing Powder.  For this technique, any color of embossing powder can be used, but because of my bright rainbow of colors, I wanted to make sure that my sentiment popped, so I used black.  I recommend that you use a Stamparatus (or similar tool) to stamp the sentiment.  Watercolor Paper has some texture, and you want to make sure you get good coverage of your VersaMark ink to obtain a crisp embossed sentiment.

After heat embossing, I then used Water Painters to watercolor over the embossed image and create a free-hand rainbow.  Colors from top to bottom are:  Real Red, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Pear Pizzaz, Balmy Blue and Highland Heather.

If you would like to learn more about the Watercolor Emboss Resist Technique, please watch the following video that I shared on Connect to Create a few weeks ago.  This video demonstrates two different methods for the technique.  Today's card uses Method 1.

Once the water coloring was dry, I die cut the sentiment with a Stitched Rectangle die and popped it up on dimensionals.

The bottom of the Calypso Coral cardstock was covered with a piece of designer series paper (DSP) from Fancy Flora DSP.  This DSP has so many different colors in it that it is easy to find something that coordinates with almost any color.

I wrapped the "seam" with Frayed Ribbon and added a few Fun Flower Resin Shapes to add a bit of sparkle.

The inside of the card was trimmed with another piece of the designer series paper matted to a strip of Calypso Coral cardstock.

If you would like a tutorial for today's card, you can download a free copy at this link.

I hope you will now take a few minutes to relax and hop through the Technique Tuesday Blog Hop.  You will enjoy the inspiration of all these wonderful stampers!

Blog Hop Index

Below is a list of Products used on this card.  For more information on any item, please click on the image and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! store.

Product List

Covered In Sunshine Cling Stamp Set (English) [160726]	Stitched Rectangles Dies [151820]	Calypso Coral 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [122925]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]
Fancy Flora 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [160413]	Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper [149612]	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [147084]	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [147101]
So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [147109]	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad [147104]	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [147105]	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103]
Versamark Pad [102283]	Basics Embossing Powders [155554]	White 3/4" (1.9 Cm) Frayed Ribbon [158138]	Fun Flowers Resin Shapes [159123]
Stamparatus [146276]	Heat Tool (Us And Canada) [129053]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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SIMPLY MONDAY - COVERED IN SUNSHINE

We are now in April, and hopefully the beautiful spring weather will arrive soon here in Michigan.  Since it is the beginning of a new month, I have decided to try something a little different for the next several weeks.  If you have followed me for any time at all, you have probably noticed that my cards usually tend to have lots of details or maybe a fun technique, and as a result, require several products to be recreated.  

I actually find it MORE difficult to make clean and simple cards than cards that would be called "for avid crafters".  So, to help myself grow and learn, I have decided that on Monday's I am going to create a card called "SIMPLY MONDAY".  This is my first "SIMPLY MONDAY" card.

Each week I will still continue to feature a new stamp set or bundle for the week.  This week the stamp set I am going to use is called Covered in Sunshine!  This stamp set has 3 large sentiments that are amazing!  It can be found in the January - April 2023 Mini Catalog.

Today's card base is made with Orchid Oasis cardstock which is one of the 2022 - 2024 In-Colors, so it will be around for another year.  The card also uses two different designer series papers (DSP) that coordinate with Orchid Oasis.    The glimmer paper on the left is from the 22-24 In-Color 6" x 6" Glimmer Paper Collection.  The patterned paper on the right is from Fancy Flora DSP from the Mini catalog.

To create my 2" wide tag, I used the Delightful Tag Topper Punch.  I love punches because they are quick and simple.  This particular punch is retired, but you could use the Fancy Tag Topper Punch which is also a 2" punch, and as I write this post is available on the clearance rack!  I am a strong believer in using products I have.  If I use something you don't have, please substitute it with something you already own!

After feeding the Blue/White Ombre ribbon through the holes on each end of the tag, I adhered the tag with dimensionals to the card front.  Tying the ribbon in a bow and adding three Iridescent Pastel Gems completed the front of my Simply Monday card.

To decorate the inside, I used my "go-to" solution of adding a simple decorative strip.  I used the same DSP and Glimmer paper as I used for the card front.

I would love to hear your feedback about my idea to have a "Simply Monday" card each week.  Is this something you think you will like?  Sometimes, we need a quick card and don't have time for the avid crafter card style that I love.  This card took about 30 minutes -- mostly because I couldn't decide which colors to use, and the bow didn't want to cooperate!  LOL  

Use this link to download a tutorial for today's card.

A list of the products I used is shown below.

Product List

Covered In Sunshine Cling Stamp Set (English) [160726]	Delightful Tag Topper Punch [149518]	Orchid Oasis 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159267]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]
Fancy Flora 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [160413]	2022–2024 In Color 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Glimmer Paper [159246]	Orchid Oasis Classic Stampin' Pad [159214]	Iridescent Pastel Gems [160429]
Balmy Blue/White 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Variegated Ribbon [160448]

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