Stepped Up Masculine Colorful Seasons

Hope you had a great weekend! Today I have a couple cards to share using the Colorful Season Bundle.

The card on the left is a little more simple to create and the other has a few more details.

Both cards use Thick Very Vanilla cardstock for the base, Old Olive for the main panel and a die cut square using the Stitched Shapes Framelits. The intricate leaf cut from Copper Foil using the Seasonal Layers Thinlits shines beautifully. 

The stepped up version has added texture to the Old Olive background piece created using the Pinewood Planks Embossing Folder. The die cut sentiment piece also has a subtle texture created using one of the stamps from the Timeless Textures stamp set inked in Crumb Cake. 

1/4" Copper Trim layered over Burlap Ribbon along with a bow tied in Linen Thread finish off the card. Stepped up or clean and simple, both cards are sure to be well received by whoever you are to send them to. 

Flashback Friday - Noble Deer

Happy Friday! Today I would like to share a retirement card I made using, appropriately enough, a retired stamp set...Noble Deer. I remember purchasing this great set on my first order as a new demonstrator. It is still one of my favorite stamp sets.

My hubby's friend and co-worker is retiring after 40+ years on the job and he's an avid hunter, so I thought this card would be perfect for him. I watercolored the beautiful image using my Aqua Painter and die cut it using the largest square die in the Stitched Shapes Framelit set.

The "congratulations on your retirement" sentiment is from another great set, which is current...Wild About Flowers. I used my favorite new embossing folder - Pinewood Planks to give some texture to the Crumb Cake layer. The image and the base layer are both matted onto Always Artichoke.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Stepped Up Feathery Friends

Today I have two versions of the same card to share with you. The first version, shown below is a card we made at my recent All Occasions Card Class. It is very cute, but more basic because the attendees were making 8 cards within a short time, so I kept the design more simple.

The background pieces were stamped with images in the Feathery Friends stamp set. The adorable little bird and fussy cut flower were watercolored using an Aqua Painter. A piece of Berry Burst Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon separate the Tranquil Tide layer from the Lemon Lime Twist layer. The adorable little bird just looks like she's singing, "oh, happy day!" So I chose that sentiment from the Thoughtful Banners set.

It's a cute card, right? I know the ladies at my class love it, but I wanted to show you how adding a couple small touches can make a basic card even more special.

I added a couple embellishments die cut using the Flourish Thinlits to pull the Tranquil Tide color down onto the Lemon Lime Twist layer. The center of the fussy cut flower also received a little Glitter Enamel Dot.

I hope you liked seeing the comparison of these two cards. Have a happy day!

Sugarplum Dragonfly Dreams

When I design the cards featured in my card classes I try to keep the cards fairly simple, yet still have pretty details to make them interesting. This card using the beautiful Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and it's coordinating Detailed Dragonfly Thinlets was one of the four cards created at my last All Occasions Card Class.

I just love the color combo of Sweet Sugarplum, Fresh Fig with a pop of Berry Burst. The detailed layer of the 2-step dragonfly image was stamped in Fresh Fig, and the solid image used to add color to the wings was sponged with color to give a blended look. You cannot tell from my photo, but the wings have beautiful shimmer from the Wink of Stella used over the top of the wings.

The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black and set off with a strand of Black Mini Sequin Trim...isn't this new trim fun? The dragonfly sits on a Whisper White background layer textured with the awesome Hexagon Embossing Folder.

Thanks for visiting today...enjoy your day!

Pocketful of Posies

I'm just lovin' creating adorable little pockets using the the Pocketful of Sunshine stamp set with it's coordinating Pocket Framelits. The pocket framelit both cuts and scores so you can create these little pockets in no time! Here is a fun card that uses the Flower Shop stamp set as well. This is one of the cards we made at my All Occasions Card Class last week.

The pocket is sized perfectly to hold a gift card or a tag. In this case the pocket holds a tag with a message.

I just cut the pocket shaped tag along the inner stitching so it was a little smaller than the pocket to easily slide in and out.

The "you make me smile" sentiment is from the Colorful Seasons stamp set. Love the font used in that set! I also love this color combo...Pool Party, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Berry Burst & Lemon Lime Twist...it's so happy & fun! As long as I'm calling out favorite new products...LOVE the Pinewood Planks Embossing Folder!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Colorful Seasons Double Z Fold

Here's a fun Double Z Fold Card using some of my new favorite stamp sets and dies.

Those adorable birds in the Feathery Friends host stamp set make me smile...they are so darn cute! I knew when I first saw them that I wanted to use them with the branch in the Colorful Seasons stamp set. I watercolored the birds using my Aqua Painter and cut them out. The wings are cut out and popped up as well for extra dimension. The new Mini Stampin' Dimensionals are perfect for adhering tiny die cuts such as the wings.

I used several of the new In Colors for this creation...Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst & Fresh Fig along with Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party & Old Olive. The flowers on the tree branches are from the Colorful Seasons stamp set. They are stamped using the Rock n Roll Technique along with a sponge dauber to soften/blend the edges where the two colors meet. The branches are die cut using the coordinating Seasonal Layers Thinlits. This bundle really is a must have in my opinion!

The picket fence was created by stamping the Hardwood stamp inked in White Craft Ink onto Crumb Cake cardstock and then cutting apart along the planks. I trimmed the top of each picket and then sponged the edges. The flowers and stems were stamped using the Jar of Love stamp set and die cut with the Everyday Jars Framelits.

I started with a base of Pool Party cardstock measuring 4- 1/4 x 11" scored at 2- 3/4" and again at 5- 1/2" The Whisper White background layer was cut at 10- 3/4 x 4 and sponged with Pool Party ink and masks cut from post-it notes using the cloud dies included in the Up & Away Thinlets.  After sponging my cloudy background I cut 3 panels to fit just inside the scored folds of my card. The photo above shows the card opened flat.

The card folds up, as shown above to fit inside a standard envelope. This card was time consuming, but fun to make. It went to my dear Aunt on her birthday today. She is also a stamper, so I know she will love this card...otherwise I doubt I could part with it! LOL

Hope your day is a happy one!