Aloha, all!
With all this time on my hands as I no longer have meetings or appointments scheduled every day (or so it seemed), I’m making cards. Are you surprised? Probably not. But I do have a LARGE stash of Stampin’ Up! products and a LOT of people whom I don’t get to see as much as I used to. Put those together, and my favorite card of late is one that says, “I miss you.”
The Botanical Prints Product Medley
I made my first set of cards using the Botanical Prints Product Medley from the Stampin’ Up! January – May Mini Catalog. This product medley includes a stamp set, dies, papers, and some accessory pieces. There are no instructions for making those cards because this is not actually a kit. It’s just an assortment of coordinating products.
The papers in this medley are 6″ x 6″ and each sheet has one side with a monochrome design featuring four different colors. The other side is a black and white design, some with flowers and fruit and others with geometric designs. Once I had it in my hands, I wasn’t sure I liked it. But then I started seeing card-makers coloring in some of the designs. Boy, did that make a difference.
Adding Color to the Monochrome Prints
For the above card, I took a sheet with a Terracotta Tile background and just colored in the leaves (with Old Olive Stampin’ Blends) and the flower centers (with Daffodil Delight Blends). The paper went from blah to nice with a few flicks of a marker!
This card has a Crushed Curry background. Once again, I colored the leaves using Old Olive. But the lemons didn’t look quite as nice white as those flowers did. I experimented with some colors, and finally chose Pineapple Punch. The lemons had a bit of shading printed onto them, and that worked better with the Pineapple than other yellows.
Coloring the Black and White Prints
Finally I chose one of the black and white prints to see how that would work with some color. But rather than color a whole sheet, I die-cut an oval in the center of the sheet and just colored that in. I used Pumpkin Pie, Petal Pink and Old Olive. Then I mounted the plain oval onto a scalloped oval and put it back in its place on the card. What a nice contrast with the original design!
And Now to Introduce the Accessories
Each card has at least one of the accessories that comes with the Botanical Prints Medley. The first card has one of the medley’s die-cut label bases with a preprinted border. I also used the medley’s stamp set and coordinating dies to make the die-cut flowers and leaves tucked under the label. The second and third cards show off the beautiful Old Olive 1/4″ Twill Ribbon (so easy to tie bows!). The lemon bunch in the center over the label is one that I colored and cut out of the paper by hand. It’s covering the same print on the paper underneath it.
I Miss You
The “I Miss You” stamp is one that I’m just keeping out on my desk and that I’ll use for most of my cards. It’s one of the 32 stamps in the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set – a set worth having in anyone’s stash! In the first card, it’s on a precut label. In the second I punched it using the Label Me Fancy Punch. And in the third, I die-cut a label with one of the Stitched So Sweetly dies (my new favorites!).
Keeping Busy and Making a Difference
Stampin’ Up!’s statement of the heart is one that I think about quite a bit as we and much of the world are staying at home trying to minimize the effects of the new virus. “Share what we love” is the phrase that comes to mind at a time when I can’t share of myself with meetings, visits and lunches out at a favorite restaurant. I have a long list of people with whom I’m going to share that I miss them, and that will keep me busy. I hope you’re able to make some cards and send them to people. It’s a virtual hug – with a fold in the middle.
