Saying Goodbye: Secret Garden Bundle

Saying goodbye to a favorite stamp set is even harder when it also has coordinating framelits...which is the case with the Secret Garden set. Today I have a card to share that uses the Secret Garden Bundle and a really cool technique created using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

Adhere your punched or die cut pieces onto a cardstock base and then run through your Big Shot using an embossing folder with an all over tight pattern. Once it is embossed, the die cut pieces are embedded into the background, giving it the name Inlaid Embossing. I think it kind of has the look of a woven textile. The Square Lattice Embossing Folder is perfect for this technique. Here's a closer look...

The largest flower was embossed with Pool Party Embossing Powder and then watercolored using the Aqua Painter. Can you spot all the retiring items used to make this card? Check out this photo for some clues...

In addition to the Secret Garden stamp set and framelits, I also used:

• Express Yourself (Hostess set)
• Large Pearls (part of this weeks weekly deal!)
• Square Lattice Embossing Folder
• Needlepoint Border Embossing Folder
• Pool Party Core'dinations Cardstock

Today is the last day to take advantage of  FREE SHIPPING so if you don't already have the great products used to create this card, now is the time to get them!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Sweet Sorbet Layout

It's hard to believe that today is already the last day of Sale-a-Bration! If I had to pick just one of the great items offered for FREE this year, as my absolute favorite, it would have to be the Sweet Sorbet DSP. I love the pretty floral, pastel prints with the pop of black. I sure did use it a lot! Here's one final post showing the Sweet Sorbet papers...

I think it works really well with the bold stamp images from Secret Garden, so I used those to create the background design on the large circle and also for a few of the accent flowers I used for embellishments. Here's a closer look at the left side of the layout...

The title, "Here comes trouble" is something we often jokingly hear when my friends and I get together. We're not really trouble, but I must admit that we do like to laugh, get a little silly and probably a little too loud when we get together...but hey, we enjoy each others company and like to have fun, nothing wrong with that, right?

I will probably still add a little something to the top right of this page above the journaling. I was thinking perhaps a little banner? but I ran out of time and wanted to get this posted while it was still SAB. :-)

So, what was your favorite FREE item offered this SAB?

Sweet Sorbet Friends Shadowbox

WOO HOO!!! Today is the first day of Sale-a-Bration!!! I have a cute scrapbook page I made for a friend to share today. It uses the Sweet Sorbet DSP which is a FREE selection during SAB. The page is 8x8 and was made to fit inside of a shadowbox frame. The faces of my friends have been blurred because they are all in the witness protection program! Just kidding about that, but I was not sure how they would feel having their photo online so I blurred them to protect "the innocent".

I don't have the coordinating stamp set called Petal Parade (yet!) but I do have Secret Garden with the coordinating framelits and I think it goes really well with this paper. The little Summer Starfruit flowers are from the Petite Petals set in the Occasions Catalog. It has a matching punch. The only fussy cutting I had to do was a couple of the leaves that I cut from the DSP. Here's a closer look to see the detail.

Here is the page after I framed it inside the shadowbox frame.

I also made a birthday card to go with the gift. This was the best photo I got of the card...not that great, but I already sent the gift off in the mail.

The main image on this is from the See Ya Later set...also a FREE selection during SAB. My color choices for this project were selected from the Sweet Sorbet DSP and include:

• Pool Party
• Crisp Cantaloupe
• Pistachio Pudding
• Summer Starfruit
• Basic Black
• Whisper White

Make sure to check out my online store to see everything new from Stampin' Up!... including the Texture Boutique Embossing Machine, Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit, the Weekly Deals (new today!) and of course Sale-a-Bration! 

Remember...if you are one of my customers, don't forget to add my Hostess Code (in my last newsletter) to receive your FREE thank you card kit from me. 

Eleanor's Secret Garden

Here is a card we did at one of my recent card classes.

The flower from Secret Garden was embossed in Early Espresso EP on Pink Pirouette and then water colored with Aqua Painter and Cherry Cobbler ink.

Stamps:  Everything Eleanor, Secret Garden & Blooming With Kindness
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler & Pink Pirouette
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler & Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Secret Garden Framlits, Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, Basic Pearls

Here's the same card...different color combo.

Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy & Crumb Cake. With Baja & NQN retiring, I will miss using that color combo so much!

Thanks for visiting today. Have a nice weekend!

Helpful Tips for Water-coloring With Re-inkers

It seems that whenever I post a creation that shows water-coloring I get nice comments (thank you for that!)  and a lot of questions asking how to achieve good results, what supplies am I using, etc... While I was busy water-coloring a set of cards last week using Secret Garden & Summer Afternoon I decided to take some step by step photos to show how I color my images.

For me I find it easiest to use my Aqua Painter and Classic Ink. I like to squeeze a little re-inker in the lid of my ink pad or simply squeeze the ink pad to leave extra ink on the lid and I pick up the color with my brush and away I go. I use Stazon Ink to get a nice crisp image that will not bleed. While water color paper is certainly a good option, I tend to mostly just use Whisper White or Very Vanilla card stock.

Here's my image stamped in Black Stazon on Whisper White. Make sure to have paper towel handy to blot any excess water that may flow through the Aqua painter. For this reason I have found it best to only fill the barrel about half full. Don't squeeze because you don't need a lot of water.

I pick up some ink with my brush and start painting where I want the darkest parts to be. In the case of this flower the insides of the petals at the edges where the petals meet and where a petal might have a slight fold or bend, would be the darkest areas.

Make sure to leave some light, white areas as you are coloring. Allow the colors to blend and fade before reloading your brush with more color. You can always add more color...but once it's there you cannot take it away. When you re-load your brush with color add it to the areas you want darkest, or blot off excess color onto scrap if you are done with the darkest areas.

I went back and darkened up petals in above photo and was ready to add some contrasting color. I started with the center, as I wanted that the darkest.

See how the bottom part of the center is a little darker and I worked my way up to the top center as the color started to fade? This makes it appear to have a highlight on the center. I decided to add the Rich Razzleberry color I used here to the petals as well.

This tied in with the color scheme of my finished card. I could have also used a darker blue at this time or any other contrasting color to get a totally different look. Here is the flower on my finished card.

My top 3 tips:

• Don't use too much water...otherwise colors will get too light and paper can become pilled/over worked.
• Make sure to leave very light, even white areas for highlights
• Practice! The more you practice the better you will become! 

Hope this helps!

Serene Spring Birthday Bunny

My Aunt's birthday fell during the Easter weekend this year so I made her a card that would cover both holidays.

I love this adorable little bunny image from the retired Hostess set Serene Spring. I used the same layout and products as I used here  on this Summer Afternoon card,  but I changed the colors & of course the stamp set.

I loved the color combo of Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party & Calypso Coral for a pretty Spring birthday card so much, that I created another one using Summer Afternoon.

Both cards also use En Francais, Tulip Frame EF and one of the new Needlepoint Border Embossing Folders. The greeting is from the Itty Bitty Banner set and cut with the coordinating Bitty Banner Framelits.

I have received a lot of nice comments and some questions regarding water coloring since I posted the Summer Afternoon trio of cards last week. I am working on a photo tutorial about water coloring I hope to have ready by the end of the week...so check back if you are interested.

Summer Afternoon Trio

Here is card three of the set I created using Summer Afternoon, Secret Garden & the Floral District DSP.

I also used the Needlepoint Border & Framed Tulips Embossing Folders & the Itty Bitty Banner set which was cut with the coordinating Bitty Banner Framelits. Here's a look at the full set.

If you want to learn more about each individual card scroll down to see the other posts. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Summer Afternoon in Secret Garden

On my last post I shared a card I created using the hostess set Summer Afternoon along with Secret Garden and the Floral District DSP. Since I had all these items out and was liking the results I created a set using each of the images from the Summer Afternoon set. Here's the second card...

I have a little "oopsie" to share on this one. I had already adhered my water colored image to a hand cut mat (traced around outside of framelit with pencil) of "Melon Mambo" only to realize it was actually Rose Red which I found out when I grabbed a real piece of Melon Mambo to emboss the Framed Tulip layer. So I had to go with Rose Red and just made sure to chose DSP prints that didn't have Melon Mambo in them so it wasn't too obvious. The ribbon & ink are a bit lighter/brighter but I don't think it takes away from the finished card. Other colors used here are Daffodil Delight & Baja Breeze.

I also used the Needlepoint Border EF, Itty Bitty Banner set which was cut with the coordinating Bitty Banner Framelits and the Labels Framelits.

Check back for my next post to see the final third card of this set.

Secret Garden on Summer Afternoon

Being in a Secret Garden on a Summer Afternoon sounds pretty darn good right now...doesn't it? Guess I'm longing for flowers and warm weather because I've been playing with both of these sets. Here's the first card of a series I created using those products along with the Floral District DSP.

Both the flower cart image and flower image were stamped on Whisper White with Black Stazon ink and then water colored using my Aqua Painter & Classic Inks pooled in the lid of my ink pads. That is my favorite way to color, and I get the best results by layering on the color and making sure not to let the water flow out too much...so be sure to have paper towel handy to blot excess.

I used two different embossing folders here as well...the Tulip Frame and one of the new Needlepoint Border EF. The greeting is from the Itty Bitty Banner set and cut with the coordinating Bitty Banner Framelits.

Make sure to check back here because I'll be posting the rest of the set this week.

Secret Garden Flower Pot Pocket Card

I've made several of these flower pot cards in the past and couldn't wait to try another one using the Secret Garden set & matching Framelits.

Each flower was embossed using Pool Party Embossing Powder & then water colored using the Aqua Painter & Classic Inks. Here's a look at the flower tag pulled out from the flower pot pocket base. The oval "happy birthday" tag was created using the Oval All set (retired) and Teeny Tiny Wishes.

The flower pot base was embossed using the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder which compliments the scalloped rim nicely...that was cut using the Large Scallop Edgelit and embossed with the Delicate Designs Embossing Folder. To give it a little more definition, I used a sponge dauber & Wisteria Wonder Ink to highlight the embossing. Here's a closer look.

I created this card to match a cute little cardboard container I found at the Dollar Tree. Since I wanted it to fit inside the box & appear to be part of the wrap, I wasn't worried about this card fitting into an envelope...which was rather nice when designing.

I chose my colors of Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Regal Rose, Lucky Limeade & So Saffron to coordinate with the gift box. Here's how it looks when it is in the box.

Doesn't this make a cute gift set for a Spring Birthday or Easter? Here's the link to another simpler version of the flower pot pocket card that I created in the past.

Thanks for visiting me today...have a great weekend!

Textured Secret Garden

For this card I stamped a background using several of the images found in the Secret Garden stamp set. Then I ran it through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

The focal point flower at the bottom was embossed using Pool Party Embossing Powder on Vellum Card stock. I then used my Aqua Painter & Classic inks to add a little color. Then I sprayed it with a little homemade shimmer spritz to give it a little sparkle. (70% alcohol mixed with several drops of Frost Shimmer Paint) Here's a closer look...

The little embossed strip at the bottom was created using the new Needlepoint Border Embossing Folder. (it comes in a pair & this is one of the designs) The Needlepoint Border Embossing Folders and Secret Garden stamp set are both available in the Spring Catalog. The Itty Bitty Banner stamp set and the Island Indigo Satin Ribbon are FREE selections during SAB.

Thanks for visiting me today.

My First Creation With Secret Garden

For me trying to resist a pretty floral set is difficult...BUT trying to resist one that also has a matching set of framelits, well that's pretty much futile! I tried to resist...REALLY! Here is my first creation with this set.

We got quite a bit of snow over night and it's still coming down out there...so these pretty, spring like colors are a welcome sight! The other day while working on another project, I happened upon an unusual color combo which I really liked, so I'm using it again here...Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party & Elegant Eggplant.

I stamped each flower in VersaMark and then embossed them using Pool Party Embossing Powder. The larger flower, was stamped on Elegant Eggplant card stock and then I used bleach in my Aqua Painter to bleach out the card stock. It made it look kind of like Rich Razzleberry, didn't it? After I had it bleached, I added some shadows with Eggplant ink & my Aqua Painter (one that wasn't filled with bleach). The two smaller flowers were just stamped on Wisteria, embossed, and water colored. When I was done I sprayed them with a little home made shimmer spritz. (mix alcohol with a few drops of Frost Shimmer Paint in Stampin' Spritzer container). Here's a closer look.

The sentiment, stamped in Elegant Eggplant, is from the Sale-a-Bration set Vintage Verses. I really like this set a lot too.

I'm glad that I'm so weak because I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with the Secret Garden set! Have a good weekend...to those that are being hit by this blizzard...stay safe!