Friendship Leafy Cluster Card

 I saw the beautiful stamp, die, and stencil set Friendship Leafy Cluster from Simon Says Stamp and knew that I just HAD to get this set. The leaves are beautifully delicate and the sentiments are perfect for those friendships that bring so much meaning to our lives.

I picked a peachy color scheme for this card. I stamped the leafy image on the background using the Simon Says Stamp Fog ink, then stamped and heat embossed the primary leaves with Brutus Monroe's Gilded embossing powder. I used the coordinating stencil to fill in the leaves with Peach Fuzz and Apricot inks from Pinkfresh for a monochromatic effect.

I stamped the "friends" sentiment in Altenew Obsidian pigment ink, then die cut and stacked additional die cuts behind it for dimension. I layered two of the leafy cluster die cuts together, then added an offset vellum die cut beneath them.

Once I adhered everything to the card base, I added a few peachy crystals from my stash which turned out to be the PERFECT color. I immediately knew who I was sending this card to and it went off to her the next day!

This is such a lovely set--the full set is out of stock at Simon currently. Click the "notify me" button to get an email when this is back in stock! 

Koi Pond Birthday Card

I had a great time making this card! This card went to my oldest on their 27th birthday. They live several hours away now so I didn't get to see them to celebrate, but I put all the happiness I could find into the card for them!

I stamped the Koi Pond background stamp (discontinued) from Hero Arts with Versamark ink onto watercolor paper and embossed with Gina K's detail black embossing powder. Since watercolor paper has more of a tooth than regular Neenah cardstock, I made sure to stamp twice and really press to get the ink transferred to the surface. 

After the background cooled, I taped it to a board and used my Gansai Tambi watercolors to fill in the areas with color. I went back over some of the areas multiple times to build up the color, as there are some tiny areas in this stamp and it's a little tough to get nice color without overtopping the embossed lines. I let it dry then cut the panel to fit on a green cardstock A2 notecard from my stash. I popped the panel up slightly with some thin foam tape, which also helps to straighten out any warping caused by the watercoloring process.

I added a simple foiled sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio's Foiled Sentiments Ephemera 1 pack and a few Boiled Sugar Baubles from Trinity Stamps. 

I still find watercoloring an image rather intimidating. What about you?

Sweet Rainbow Birthday Card

 I've made a promise to myself this year to get into my stash of kits, classes, and miscellaneous crafty finds that I've never touched rather than buying new things! I have a giant stash--it's similar to my "to read" shelf on GoodReads. If I need to make a card from every single set I have before I die, I'm going to live for centuries, lol.

How am I doing on this promise?

👍👍 Getting into old things

👎👎 Not buying new things

This birthday card I made for a young relative uses the Sweet Rainbow stamp set from Simon Says Stamp's 2019 STAMPtember limited edition card kit. 2019! I'm jumping back into the wayback machine for this one!

This happy little cloud and star are just so cute! I stamped them on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White in the 110 lb. weight then gave them some simple coloring with Copic markers. A little touch of white gel pen makes for a reflection. I fussy cut the image—I don't have the dies and, because they're discontinued, that makes me REALLY sad. Fussy cutting is NOT my favorite thing! I've learned over the years to get the dies when I get a stamp set because I always want them.

I used Gina K Designs inks in Red Velvet, Tangerine Twist, Grass Green, and Blue Raspberry to stamp the rainbow on my card panel, then stamped the layered Happy Birthday message below it. I used Copic markers to color that in, letting the comics layer over each other as I filled in each letter.

A bit of clear sparkling Nuvo Aqua Shimmer finished off the star (although the photo doesn't pick it up). The cloud and star friends were popped up with some foam tape, and the whole panel added to a card base made of Gina K Designs Blue Raspberry cardstock. It's a bright happy blue, perfect for the little boy I was sending it to!

I was pleased how this turned out! I'll be having more fun with this set. I've also set up an eBay alert—I want to snag the dies! 

What is your opinion on fussy cutting? If you love it, what is your best tip for getting clean cuts?

Two Cards with Patterned Vellum

I'm starting out the new year by digging into my stash, using those products I've collected over the years but never used! (Crafty collecting is a thing, right? Asking for a friend.)

I pulled out this Vintage Butterflies patterned vellum from Crafters Companion--covered with butterflies and florals in soft colors. It got me thinking about Valentine's Day and I thought I'd see what I could come up with!

Vellum and pink cardstock

For my first card, I created a top folding notecard using Ballet Slipper cardstock from Concord & 9th. Using my nesting oval infinity dies from Hero Arts, I cut an oval into the front of the card. I made a frame for the oval out of some matte gold cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. I selected part of the paper and trimmed it to fit behind the oval window. I adhered it using some Connect glue from Gina K, and added the gold frame on top.

I backed the front of the card with a white panel, to hide the glue and edges of vellum. I spattered the card front with gold acrylic ink and added a few gold butterflies using the dies that coordinate with Concord & 9th's Butterfly Love turnabout stamp set. I also stamped the "spread your wings" sentiment from the same set in black ink. 

(Also, I need to get a better photo setup... part of my plan for 2024!)

For the second card, I used a leftover piece of the same vellum and folded it over the top of another pink notecard, gluing it only to the back of the card so the front is a vellum overlay. The piece wasn't quite as wide as a standard A2 card, so I centered it on the panel. I added narrow gold cardstock strips on either side of the vellum to frame it out against the pink. I used the Love die from Gina K, cutting it twice from white cardstock and once from gold, then adhered it to the top half of the vellum panel.

I stamped and gold heat embossed "you so very much" on a scrap of green cardstock and popped it up on a foam strip, tucking it against the love die. I loved it and didn't dare add another thing!

I really enjoyed stretching myself again and playing with this beautiful vellum! I hope you enjoy and try some of these beautiful vellums yourself. Let me know what you create! I'd love to see more ideas for cards with this product!