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May 29, 2020

Jar of Flowers with a Favorite Card Sketch

It's been quite calm for almost a week straight. Here is a view of what I saw with my morning coffee yesterday as it rained. You can't exactly see that this is a row of geese unless you zoom in but what we heard was definitely geese!

Now I want to share one of the first cards I tried with the Jar of Flowers set. I've used this sketch many times with other flower sets so it's kind of one that I use to break in a new set.

Basic plan is to stamp the flower/bouquet image going off the edge in one corner. You could also do it in opposite corners - maybe a little more off the edge on the upper corner since I have this thing about not wanting the design to be top heavy. Maybe that's just me...
It doesn't matter if you cut this top layer first or later after you see it on the paper. Lately I've been using the Stitched Rectangle Dies to do the cutting after I've stamped. For this card I used the dies for both the colored layer and the Basic Black layer.
This image was colored with the Mango Melody, Lovely Lipstick, Calypso Coral, and Mossy Meadow Blends.
For the card base itself, you want to score the card and mask off the back before stamping your black outline images. Don't fold it before stamping or it will affect your images near the edge of the card. Another way to do this is to just stamp a quarter sheet and adhere it to a card base later.
I wanted a larger greeting so I turned to Tasteful Touches for the informal and simple greeting.
I like to finish this off with this diagonally placed bow. In this case I used a new simple white ribbon that is part of the Flowers for Every Season Suite which also features the Jar of Flowers Bundle. This ties beautifully and I'm always excited to have white ribbon because I tend to favor light colored ribbon and be able to color it with Blends.

Here are a couple of other cards I've done with this layout.

Petal Palette with DSP and Rose Wonder greeting (all products are retired) Original post is here.

I created this Good Morning Magnolia beauty just after I received my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator pre-order last year, using colors from a weekly challenge: Old Olive + Calypso Coral + Peekaboo Peach (with a die cut for dessert). The original post for this card is in my Splitcoaststamper's Gallery here. A few notes:

It is a large stamp so I designed the card to be 5"x7" in order to get all of the elements I wanted including the background on the card base which is just the main images stamped in black.
I used Light Pumpkin Pie + Light Mango Melody + Light Petal Pink to approximate Peekaboo Peach for the center of the Magnolia.
This Peekaboo Peach ribbon is the only thing I had left in that color. Since it was a little wide (I was casing a card above that used Baker's Twine.), I folded it when I wrapped it around the upper right corner. Seam Binding is definitely my favorite ribbon to use on cards.
Having the magnolia die cut (dessert) allowed me to have it overlap over the background images.

As you can see there are a lot of variations of this style. What stamp would you use for one of these cards? I'd love to hear from you if you try this design!

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Check out the Stampin' Up! catalogs link at the top of my blog. If you don't have regular Stampin' Up Demonstrator and would like hard copies of any of our current catalogs please feel free to email me at [email protected]

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog. Clicking on any of the items in the product list below will also bring you to my shop.

Chris

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the May host code, UYY4462B , I will send you a sampler of products from the new Ornate Garden Suite. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Posted at 11:53 AM in Good Morning Magnolia, Jar of Flowers, Petal Palette | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 27, 2020

Blossoms in Bloom meets the Paper Craft Crew Challenge

It's Wednesday and there is a new sketch challenge up at the Paper Craft Crew:

I decided to play again with the Many Layered Blossoms dies and came up with this little number:

I chose to keep my colors simple and soft with only Soft Sea Foam and Very Vanilla and started with making the bolder large die cut and gluing it to the Soft Seafoam 1/4 sheet with Multi-purpose Liquid Adhesive applied with a sponge. I lay the die cut upside down in the negative outline while I do this which helps keep the front of the die cut from acciently getting any adhesive on it.
I used a guillotine style cutter to cut through the double layers of die cut and background layer. Be firm yet, gentle with it.
Attach the Soft Sea Foam layer to a top fold Very Vanilla card base.
The Stitched Shapes circle gets a Soft Sea Foam greeting from the Blossoms in Bloom stamp set - there are a few that would fit on here. Fill in some of the empty space with the smaller flowers from the die set. I cut a few out from both Sea Foam and Vanilla and played a bit.
Add the ribbon and gold trim to your card base before attaching your circle.
Fill in with any extra die cuts and embellish with a few pearls.

Here is another view from the other side:

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:29 AM in Blossoms in Bloom | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 26, 2020

Ornate Style Meets A Grand Kid

I've been wanting to try another one of these "lace edged tablecloth corner" cards. I'm not sure what else to call them though I've done a few of them.

I was excited that the new Designer Series Paper would be on the demonstrator pre-order earlier this month, partly because I couldn't wait to use it as a background to take my card photos AND because it is also full of woodgrain prints that I can use for these "table scene" cards. Both the card and the background in the above photo use this paper.
I arranged the die cut lacey rectangle over my woodgrain covered 4" x 6" card base, trimmed the part that would cover the top of the card and then stamped it with a portion of the bouquet stamp using Tuxedo Black Memento ink.
I colored with Lovely Lipstick Blends Combo along with the Mossy Meadow combo, Balmy Blue Combo and the Light Night of Navy Blends to deepen the light blue flowers. I've often found success using the Light Night of Navy as a fill in for Blueberry Bushel. I also added a little Crumb Cake combo for the background and I think this really ties it in to the woodgrain background.
The greeting comes from a great new set, A Grand Kid, and would make a great graduation card. While three of the eleven stamps are very specific to grandchildren, the other eight would lend themselves for use in multiple relationships. Check out the thumbnail at the bottom of the page to see the rest of the greetings.
I did this for a color challenge that designated enamel dots for "dessert". The Happiness Blooms dots would have worked really well for this but since I'm apparently out of them I used the Dark Lovely Lipstick Blends to color some of the retired/Gold Glitter Enamel Dots and they filled in perfectly.

Here are a few more shots:

This one shows another woodgrain pattern:

Lovely Lipstick

Balmy Blue

Blueberry Bushel

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

A Grand Kid Cling Stamp Set (English)

[152500]

Product List

Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

[146912]

Posted at 02:00 AM in A Grand Kid, Ornate Garden Suite | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 25, 2020

Playing with a Color Challenge and the Forever Fern Bundle

Last week I hosted a color challenge with these colors:

Granny Apple Green

Shaded Spruce

Coastal Cabana

Dessert for this challenge was to include a circle.

It was a natural to go to the soon to be released Forever Fern Bundle and the larger Forever Greenery Suite:

I die cut three of the die images that don't require stamping out of the three challenge colors - cardstock, that is. Check out the link in the product list to see all of the beautiful dies that are part of the Forever Flourishing Dies/ Forever Fern Bundle.
Since the Forever Greenery Suite includes these beautiful gold circles that was a simple way to include a circle. I was curious about how easy it would be to attach these circles to your card but a few tiny dots of Multipurpose Liquid Adhesive did the trick.
A Gold Embossed greeting and some Gilded Gems from the Ornate Garden Suite repeat the shiny gold of the circle and easily complete this simple look.

Of course the process I went through before getting to this card wasn't that quick and I developed a few other ideas and cards in the process. I started playing with these colors thinking I would try the baby wipe technique - but I was up at the lake with no baby alas, no baby wipes. I tried to use some make-up remover sheets but that didn't work so then I needed to rescue the ink I had put on them. Here are a few photos:

I basically just smeared the makeup wipe onto a couple of pieces of white cardstock. First the back sheet which I haven't used yet and them the top sheet.
The ink was getting a little sparse so I added a few drops of Whisper White which didn't blend all that well so I embossed it with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder and by the time I cut this piece into smaller pieces I think I can safely say I rescued the ink.

In the end I ended up with these other cards before settling on the one I used for the challenge. I'm still working my go to spot for photo shoots when I'm at the lake. It was a little too sunny for these but I think you will get the picture...

This colorblocked base is always an good for a try when doing a color challenge. It also features the Label Me Bold set from the Occasions Catalog. Unfortunately this set will retire. I will miss it since it is SO easy to use. No need to emboss or worry about stamping it straight. Just stamp a bunch of images and keep them to VERY easily snip out as needed. Do a bunch in black that can be used for almost any color scheme or coordinate to your card.
Leaf images are stamped with Versamark on the color-blocked portion.
I used a leftover die cut from the Smooth Sailing Die cuts for the skinny border above the color-blocking.
I LOVE the little Flowers for Every Season Gems and used the clear ones on this card.

This uses the detailed sunflower die from Sunflower Dies. I thought about using this card for the challenge since the sunflower center could be my circle but even though it technically used all the challenge colors they are, though beautiful, a bit mashed up.
Once again the greeting is from Label Me Bold - stamped in Coastal Cabana.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Forever Greenery Suite Collection (English)

[154143]

Forever Fern Bundle (English)

[154094]

Label Me Bold Cling Stamp Set (English)

[151631]

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

[147097]

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

[147088]

Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147163]

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147165]

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[131164]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink Refill

[101780]

Versamark Pad

[102283]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131297]

Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146990]

Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146981]

Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder

[152718]

Smooth Sailing Dies

[149576]

Flowers For Every Season Gems

[153645]

Gilded Gems

[152478]

Gold Hoops Embellishments

[152474]

Posted at 02:47 PM in Forever Fern, Forever Greenery, Label Me Bold, Sunflower Dies | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 24, 2020

Christmas in May? Lots of Cheer Says Goodbye

I have a few special Lots of Cheer cards to jump in and share with you this Memorial Day Weekend.

This is a top fold vellum card that also features the Stitched Rectangle Dies and the Subtle Embossing Folder.
I ran the shiny Pretty Peacock foil paper (Noble Peacock Suite) through the Subtle 3D embossing folder, turned it 90 degrees and ran it through again giving it kind of a shiny textile look.
After deciding that my original frame was too big, I cut out the middle and mounted it onto a top fold Vellum card stock card and let the white image rectangle appear to visually float inside the skinnier frame.

This is a newer take on an old favorite color scheme that I originally did with older colors: Blush Blossom and Sage Shadow plus a long retired teapot set shown here:

The Christmas tree balls were colored with Petal Pink and Mint Macaron Blends Combos.
I embossed the Petal Pink layer with the Tufted 3D folder which is also retiring. Too soon I think!

You can see a few more of my Lots of Cheer here.

We are heading out soon to try to get in a second hike today. Here is a waterfall we came across on our hike this morning:

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 04:52 PM in Lots of Cheer | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 20, 2020

Wiggle Worm Plays a Sketch Challenge

Good morning fellow cardmakers! I have a Paper Craft Crew Sketch challenge to share with you today.

We are trying to feature retiring sets this week and I've been thinking that Wiggle Worm might not have received all of the attention it deserves. Here's the little dragonfly:

Unfortunately I didn't get my photo taken at quite the right time of day. The card base is white!
I went mostly with colors I already had on my desk for a color challenge: Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce. I couldn't resist adding a little Poppy Parade color to the cute little mushroom with the Dark Poppy Parade Blends.
A white on white background with just a little extra texture from the Coastal Weave embossing folder gives the perfect background.
Give the wings and the mushroom a little shimmer with some Wink of Stella.

Here's a repost of one more Wiggle Worm card before it is retired:

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 05:29 AM in Wiggle Worm | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 17, 2020

Saying Goodbye to Over the Moon

It took me awhile to warm up to Pineapple Punch, a retiring In-Color, but I really love how it works with this color combination for a color challenge that I hosted over on Splitcoaststampers last summer. The fun, cartoon style set, Over the Moon, along with the Bermuda Bay Mini Striped Ribbon will also retire.

Coastal Cabana

Pineapple Punch

Basic Gray

I was thinking something cartoon-like with these colors and when I saw this cow with boots and a daisy I knew who would be featured on my card.

This cow is stamped in Tuxedo Black and colored with a few Blends.
I used Dark Pool Party and Light Bermuda Bay to get close to Coastal Cabana.
The greeting is embossed in white on Basic Gray.
I color blocked the challenge colors and ran them through the big shot with my Subtle embossing folder twice (turn it 90 degrees before the second pass) in order to get a textile like look for my background.
Thinking the daisy made this card a little feminine already, I added a bow, scalloped Smoky Slate border and glitter dots to finish it off.

Here a couple more bonus cards for this set:

Can you find all of the places I included checks in this card?

This is another card that I did as Dirty Girl over on Splitcoaststampers last summer. The theme was "All the Bells and Whistles" so I included a card with a cow bell.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Over The Moon Cling Stamp Set

[149331]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100730]

Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[121044]

Pineapple Punch 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146971]

Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131297]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill

[147277]

Layering Circles Dies

[151770]

Glitter Enamel Dots

[146934]

Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131202]

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[144605]

Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[144600]

Pineapple Punch Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

[147030]

Basic Black Light Stampin' Blends

[147940]

Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

[151775]

Bermuda Bay 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Mini Striped Ribbon

[146939]

Posted at 10:00 PM in Over the Moon | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 16, 2020

Introducing Tasteful Touches

Hello there stampers! I have another sneak peek for you today.

What do you think of the texture here? It's the same folder I used a couple of days ago.

Whereas I used it plain on white cardstock earlier, this time I inked the inside of the folder with a Whisper White Craft ink pad before embossing the Night of Navy cardstock. Now I love this folder even more. The white ink really makes this texture pop! Bonus: Night of Navy Cardstock with White craft ink is REALLY close to our new In Color Misty Moonlight. I trimmed this piece to 3 1/2" x 5 1/2".
I attached a 1" piece of In Good Taste DSP (kind of a white and navy plaster design) to the right edge of a Whisper White card base before attaching the embossed Night of Navy layer. A skinny piece of Night of Navy is glued next to this embossed layer to give it more definition.
The Tasteful Touches Bundle includes a wonderful collection of decorative images with greetings plus a versatile set of label dies. I chose the "good things" greeting, thinking it I would add a Father's Day message on the inside. The detailed feather is also stamped on the label. I attached this to my card with Stampin' Dimensionals.
For simplicity I chose to cut a few feathers from Night of Navy and Misty Moonlight with the Nature's Thoughts Dies but you could stamp the Tasteful Touches feather and trim them out. The Nature's Thoughts dies both cut and emboss so I inked them the die with Night of Navy ink before cutting the Misty Moonlight feather, giving it just a little extra definition. I used Multi-purpose Liquid Glue to attach these to the label and a skinny dimensional under the part that was off the label.
A few 2020-21 Enamel Dots is Misty Moonlight give it the perfect finish.

Here is one more look at that wonderful texture:

The items in this suite work really well together yet also can lend extra character to just about any other sets you may have in your collection. I can see myself easily using this along with the Positive Thoughts/Nature's Thoughts dies. The images work together well and there is at least one label to fit every greeting in Positive Thoughts.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 05:00 AM in Tastful Touches | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 15, 2020

Daisly Lane Meets the Beads & Baubles Embossing Folder

This is one of my favorite cards and though the daisy stamps and punches will continue into the next catalog a couple of important components are retiring and I wanted to make sure you had a chance to consider whether you might need them in your stamp stash.

Wouldn't this card be great tucked into a care package?

I'm really going to miss Blueberry Bushel! It's such a clear, bright blue and just look how great it looks with a little white craft ink applied to the inside of the Beads & Baubles Embossing Folder. This folder will be retiring AND on sale, while supplies last for $5.95 (US). Doesn't it kind of look like little raindrops are falling on the daisies?
The daisies are stamped in Seaside Spray with images from the Daisy Lane set and punched with corresponding punches. You need two punched with the large punch and 4 punched with the medium punch. This card really shows off the advantage of having more than one size of a flower. It looks so much more natural. I also really like the effect that having one of the daisies go off of the front gives to the overall look.
The Perennial Essence Floral Centers are a bright and fuzzy. Since they are a little thick you may need to include extra postage if you mail a card with these though, of course. they won't add any extra cost if you are able to give it in person or include it in a package. Besides, you save a lot buying them since they are currently on sale, $3.60 for a package of 18. They are a wonderful tactile addition and I simply adore the way they look with Blueberry Bushel!

If they haven't sold out by the time you read this you can find them by clicking on thumbnails in my product list.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Daisy Lane Bundle

[151118]

Daisy Punch

[143713]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

[101731]

Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150085]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Blueberry Bushel 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146968]

Beads & Baubles Embossing Folder

[149713]

Perennial Essence Floral Centers

[149442]

Posted at 06:00 AM in Daisy Lane | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 14, 2020

Introducing the Jar of Flowers Bundle

Today I have another sneak peek of the upcoming Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog for you. Let's take a look at the Flowers for Every Season Suite, especially the Jar of Flowers Bundle.

When I placed my first preorder, the suite's pretty 6"x6" designer series paper wasn't yet available so I used that as an opportunity to try out an "out of the box" idea I had for the stems. Due to COVID-19 related production delays the new In-Color Inks were also delayed so I mixed some of our existing colors together to get what I hope are similar results. Keep in mind that you will likely have other colors available if you try this.
I stamped the stems cross hatch style along the right and bottom edges of a 1/4 sheet of Whisper White. You could do this directly on a Whisper White card base if you have your card planned out better than I did when I started playing. I stamped these in Soft Suede. After playing around with other features on this card I decided to color over those crosshatched stems with my So Saffron Dark Blends.
When I started playing with the bouquet images, I stamped them all in Mossy Meadow and grabbed several Blends markers and joined Kelly, my husband, to start watching the series Ozark on Netflix while I colored and snipped them out. It was relaxing and they really don't take that long to cut. You can see the colors used by checking the product list at the bottom of this post.
I stamped a few "blotches" of Seaside Spray using a stamp from the Dressed to Impress stamp set (#151666) in the lower corner of a 1/4 sheet Whisper White and added the greeting from Celebrate Sunflowers in Mossy Meadow. After the stamping I embossed the piece with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder before trimming it down 3/8" on two sides. This was layered on to a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Mossy meadow before attaching over the crosshatches on the base card.
I punched the jar out with the co-ordinating punch after stamping it with Seaside Spray and the stems in Mossy Meadow. I added a little scribble of Seaside Spray Blends for water in the jar and tied a piece of the new Bumble Bee gingham ribbon around the top of the jar. Don't you think this ribbon is just made for sunflowers?
Both the jar and bouquet are popped up on the card with dimensionals. I added a few of the Flowers for Every Seasons gems to finish this off.

As I publish this most of these new products are not yet available, though you could choose from them as part of your starter kit if you sign up to be a new demonstrator with me. Let me know if you want to know more about how to do this. Otherwise, the Annual 2020-21 Catalog will go live on June 3 at 1pm Central Time (US).

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List