Aloha, all!
When I began the month of March, I had all good intentions of showing off the cards that I’d made using a FREE stamp set and FREE punch that you can earn for a purchase through the end of the month. Today’s the 23rd, and there are only 9 more days to earn these FREE products!
Thoughtful Blooms and the Small Bloom Punch
This is the third of the four projects that I made at the beginning of the Sale-a-Bration period to show the Thoughtful Blooms Stamp Set and the Small Bloom Punch. We’ve been through nearly three months of this promotion, and I do believe these remain my favorites. As with the other three cards, I got the idea for this card from another Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, Michelle Zanavich. I really wanted to do a lot of cards with the stamp set and punch very quickly. And CASEing* other demonstrators is really the best way to do this. Believe it or not, people CASE my designs for the very same reason! Check out the cards I made CASEing Sam Hammond Donald and Sue Lehrer.
Fun With Strips
I could just as easily have made this card with a background layer of the Soft Sea Foam cardstock embossed with the Layering Leaves embossing folder. But then I probably would have had to add another layer, probably using Bermuda Bay cardstock. Instead, I used Michelle’s idea of cutting the stamped layer into four strips. Then I angled them just a bit to create some textural interest. I’m going to have to use this idea more often – maybe horizontal strips?
To make the layer that I cut into strips, I first stamped the solid larger flowers using Bermuda Bay ink. Then I stamped the other larger flower using Soft Sea Foam ink. I spaced them so that they balanced the Bermuda Bay flower. Step 3 was to stamp the image with the dots to give the background some texture. Finally, I stamped the small flower, using Bermuda Bay ink again, to fill in the remaining spaces.
Once I cut and positioned the strips on top of the embossed Soft Sea Foam cardstock layer, I added the sentiment element where I thought it would fit best. I find that, when I’m doing a project with pieces angled in different directions, it’s best to wait until I’ve done the layering before deciding where to put the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment using Bermuda Bay ink onto Whisper White cardstock. Then I cut the sentiment using one of the dies from the Painted Labels die set. For the edge, I used my Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write Marker to color the outside ring AND the edge of the cut piece. No white shows around the edge at all.
A Final Embellishment
I just can’t leave a card unembellished. For this card, I tried to find the right ribbon as well as a place to put it. When that didn’t work, out came my Pearl Basic Jewels. Pearls and flowers are ALWAYS a good combo!
I hope you have fun crafting during this time when so many of us are stuck in our homes trying to wait out the bug that’s going around. I’m in the middle of a marathon CASEing and crafting session I’ll share with you in a week or so!
Happy Stamping!
*Copy And Share with Everyone”
