Simple Stems a Versatile Stamp Set

Here's another flower stamp set that I think simply rocks, and I'm sad because it's only going to be available for another two weeks.  

It's called Simple Stems and is in the Occasions Catalogue on page 33.  

Simple Stems is a 7 piece two-step stamp set that offers a lot of versatility as you'll see in the cards I'm posting today.  This set coordinates with the Secret Garden Framelit dies.

Wood Mount #133098 $23.95 or Clear Mount #133101 $17.95

Here Are My Cards:  

Supplies: 
Stamp Sets:  Simple Stems, Express Yourself, Blooming With Kindness
Classic Ink Pads: Real Red, Coastal Cabana
Card stock:  Crumb Cake (for base), Real Red, Whisper White
DSP:  Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper

Accessories:  2 1/2" circle punch, Basic Rhinestone Jewels, Dimensionals, Adhesive.

For the inside of the card I used a sentiment from the Blooming With Kindness stamp set.

The Blooming With Kindness stamp set includes six wonderful sentiments along with the gorgeous bloom.  I love the script.

To Make This Card:

1.  Cut Crumb Cake card stock for card base to measure 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and score at 4 1/4".

2.  Cut Whisper White card stock to 3 3/4" x 5" for the inside of the card.  Stamp with sentiment and one of the flowers.  For the "happy birthday"

sentiment on the card front, cut a piece of Whisper White to measure 1/2" x 3 1/2" and stamp your sentiment in Real Red ink. Cut ends like banners and attach this piece last to the card front.

3.  For the DSP Layer cut 3 coordinating patterns of DSP from the Fresh Print Paper stack measuring:  First - cut DSP to measure 1 1/2 by 5 1/2" and cut in half lengthwise.  Second piece - cut piece to measure 1 1/8" x 5 1/2" and for the Third piece cut it to measure 1/2" x 4 1/4".

4.  Adhere DSP pieces to the face of the card by laying one of the first pieces on the left of the card center, then the second piece and finally the second of the First pieces.

5.  Punch out a 2 1/2" circle of Real Red card stock and attach with dimensionals to card front, overlapping the DSP strips.

6. Adhere the "third" piece of DSP over top of the red circle.  Attach with glue dots and dimensionals. 

6.  Stamp two flowers - one in Real Red and one in Coastal Cabana.  Fussy cut around the edges of each flower and attach at the top end of the circle with dimensionals.  

7.  Add the sentiment banner beneath the flowers, and place basic rhinestone jewels in each of the quarters on the circle, and in the corner of the white banner . 

Another Variation on this Card: All the measurements given above still apply to this second card I made using the Petal Parade stamp set.  I did however  changed up the ink colours to Cranberry Crisp, Coastal Cabana and Delightful Daffodil.  I also eliminated the "third" strip of DSP for this example.  The paper is "Sweet Sorbet" from the SAB catalogue.

Cut the 2/12" circle from Basic Black Cardstock. Stamp the three flowers in Cranberry Crisp, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight and fussy cut around the outline of each flower.  Adhere to the front of the black circle, just overlapping the top right hand side.  Add basic rhinestone jewels around the bottom edge of the circle.

The sentiment for these cards is from the Chalk Talk stamp set and is cut out with the Chalk Talk framelits. These are still available as a bundle in the Idea Book and Catalogue but only until May 31st. 

Kids Birthday Card Using Simple Stems:

I also made these really cute kid's birthday cards using Bold Brights (Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point and Real Red) card stocks and inks, after seeing a similar layout on Pinterest using this same layout.  It was so cute I just had to make one, which led to more.  

Who would have thought these little mop heads could be made from a "flower" head.  Cute, cute, cute!!!  I'll be looking at my stamps a little more closely from now on. 

Here's the inside of the card.  I kept it pretty simple. Tip:  If you want to keep this card flat for mailing or don't have store bought google eyes on hand, you can get almost the same look using the punch outs from the Owl Builder Punch. 

As you can see I couldn't stop at just one card I made a bunch of them.  It never hurts to have kids cards on hand.  Any combination of these "mop heads" would work for example this could be for a three year old (3) or you could have four for a four year old.  Use your imagination. 

Hope you liked these cards.  I really wanted to show you the versatility of this set and although I didn't use every flower in it,  I'm sure you get the picture.  Happy Stamping and leave me a comment if you liked this post. 

Penny

Fabulous Florets and Secret Garden go Triple Time

Stampin' Up! is retiring two of my favourite floral stamp sets in the next couple of weeks.  The first set I will truly miss is called "Fabulous Florets".  This six piece stamp set offers a lot of versatility with it's gorgeous line stamps.  Whether you're combining these stamps to make a bouquet or using them individually you'll be amazed at how creative you can be with this set.

 

This six piece set comes in wood mount #128574 $28.95 or clear mount #123027 $21.95

The second retiring floral set is Secret Garden, another of my favourites.  This seven piece stamp set is also versatile and teamed up with the Secret Garden Framelits, it leaves other stamp sets in the dust.  For this card I used the leaf image. 

Before these sets retire I want to share a card I cased from Sandi MacIvor of Stampin With Sandi.  Sandi used Fabulous Florets and Summer Silhouettes for her card which features the Triple Time Stamping technique.  I really liked the rich colour combination Sandi used so didn't make any changes there, but I subbed out the leaf image from Secret Garden for the one she used from Summer Silhouettes and changed the sentiment.

I used the "Many Thanks" sentiment from "Another Thank You" Photopolymer Stamp Set.  This beautiful stamp set has sold out in the past few weeks.  Fingers are crossed it comes back in the Annual Catalogue.

Here is my Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Fabulous Florets, Secret Garden, Another Thank You
Ink:  Versa Mark, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Early Espresso
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White 
Accessories:  White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Trimmer, Sponge Dauber, Adhesive

How It's Made:
1. Cut card base from Crumb Cake to measure 4 1/4" x 11. Score at 5 1/2".
2.  Cut two layers from crumb cake measuring2 1/4 x 3 1/2" and 3 1/4 x 4 1/2".
3. Cut three layers from Whisper White card stock measuring 2 x 3 1/4", 3 x 4 1/4" and 4 x 5 1/4".  Also cut a piece measuring 5' x 3 3/4" for the inside of the card.
4.  Use repositioning tape on the back of the two smaller Whisper White layers and attach them to the largest Whisper white layer, so they are stacked. 
4.  Stamp flower image from Fabulous Florets in Versa Mark ink three times from the top right hand corner to the bottom left hand column.  Cover with White Embossing powder and heat set.  
5.  Using Pool Party, Crumb Cake and Real Red randomly stamp additional flower images around the card layers being careful to leave some white space in between and to not overlap flowers.
6.  Stamp the leaf image from Secret Garden or Summer Silhouettes (pg 127 IB&C) three times in Pear Pizazz and twice in Crumb Cake around the perimeter of the card in the white space between flowers.  
7.  Ink up a sponge dauber with Crumb Cake and rub it over the embossed flower images on each of the layers. Later when card is assembled you can daub in other areas of the card that may need some additional colour or blending.
8. Separate the Whisper White layers and adhere the largest one to the Crumb Cake card base.
9. Adhere the other two Whisper White layers to the Crumb Cake layers and then layer these matted pieces to the card front.  Make sure your stamping images line up.  
10. Stamp sentiment stamp image on the front of the card.  
11. Adhere 5 x 3 3/4" piece of Whisper White card stock to the inside of the card.  Stamp floral images on this piece. 
12. Step back and admire your art work!  

I sponged around the edges of the layer for the inside of the card and stamped a couple of the flower images in the lower left hand corner. 

Make sure when you add your layers that all your stamped images lines up perfectly.

I found the embossing really adds a  "wow" factor to this card.  It was amazing, once the flowers were sponged with the Crumb Cake ink they virtually popped off the page. 

 

This card is absolutely stunning when you see it in real life.  The flowers are vibrant and alive with colour and yet by sponging the Crumb Cake around the heat set flowers, you attain a softness that pulls everything together on this card. 

If you like the Fabulous Floret stamp set you'll have to act fast because it will be retiring in a couple of weeks.  Check it out on my on-line store. If you liked this card or want information on the technique, please leave a comment.  Thanks for visiting and come back again real soon!

Penny

Thank You Cards You're Going To Love

I don't know about you but I'm always running out of thank you cards and I like to have a large variety on hand to cover any situation that arises. My mom always taught me that one of the most important things in life is showing your gratitude for a gift, a good deed or just because.  She also taught me not to wait to express that gratitude. As a result, I'm always on the lookout for quick and easy thank you card sketches and designs that I can use. 

On a recent search of Youtube I found four fun Thank You cards designed by Connie Stewart and Josee Smuck in their Simply Stampin Stampin Gals Gone Wild Wednesday series. This is a great inspirational site.  Connie is an American Demo and Josee Smuck is her Canadian counterpart.  

I never like to waste cardstock, it's so precious, so what really intriqued me about these cards which feature the Secret Garden and Oval Framelits is that you can make four cards from one card concept and use up most of the scraps.  

Is it any wonder I fell in love with the quick and easy design of these cards and wanted to CASE them?  I only changed one thing when I made them the first time - I left off a bow on the first card because I wanted cards that mailed flat.  

Card One is a top fold card featuring an oval window which shows off the inside of the card.  Both the dimensional flowers and the "Thank You" sentiment make a bold image. After stamping with the Another Thank You stamp set, I've simply fallen in love with it.  So stay tuned, you'll probably be seeing a lot more cards from me with this sentiment, or one of the other 9 from the set.   

For the inside of the orange card I stamped the "Thank You" image first and then added the flower and one stamped leaf, which hid a little ink smudge (don't tell anyone!).  In retrospect I think I would use my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up flowers and leaves and stamp the images on the cardstock and then add a couple of dimensional flowers. It might add a little more depth doing it that way.

This is the inside view of the Old Olive card.  

Card Two  is a Gatefold Card that is constructed with the left over ovals from the first card to create the "latch".  

This view shows the two cards.  It would have been super easy to do a change-up by adhering the flowers on the second card on the opposite side, or a different configuration.   

Here is a view of the card's interior.  It's stamped with Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp set and images from Secret Garden.  

Here's a closeup of the oval latch .  I stamped an additional flower and adhered it to the back side of the oval to give it a more finished look.   

Here you can see how the gatefold closes oval over oval.  The Old Olive oval tucks in behind the yellow flower on the bottom of the card and this helps keep the card face closed.  

Supplies:

Card Stock: Old Olive, Whisper White and Tangerine Tango

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Star Fruit, Raspberry Ripple

Stamp Sets: Another Thank You Photopolymer set, Secret Garden

Secret Garden Stamp Set  Clear Mount#129144 Price: $22.95 or Wood Mount #131940 Price $31.95.This 7-piece set is perfect for spring and summer motifs. Coordinates with our Secret Garden Framelits Dies.

Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set #133454 Price: $16.95. Use this exclusive 10 piece photopolymer stamp set for any occasion that calls for a thank you. Stampin' Up! recommends clear block sizes A, B, C, D, and F (not included in the set).

Accessories:  Oval Framelits, Secret Garden Framelits, Big Shot, Magnetic Platform, Trimmer, Large Rhinestones, adhesive, dimensionals.

Well that's it for today stampers.  I hope you've liked these cards too and that you'll try out this fun technique for yourself.  Just watch the video as noted above.   Leave me a comment if you enjoyed this post.  

Penny

Fusion Floral Class

FLORAL FUSION CLASS HELD ON JUNE 30, 2013

I love flowers in any shape or form and my recent Floral Fusion Class was all about "shape and form". 

Participants made four fast and fun flower cards.  Each card highlighted a different technique and different materials.  If you weren't able to attend this three hour class and would like too, I'm offering it again on July 9th, so please contact me to register:

Date:            July 9, 2012
Time:           9:30 to 12:30pm
Place:           Abbotsford
Cost:            $20.00* covers materials, supplies and PDFS for all 4 projects
Class Size:    Only 4 spots left.

*Place a minimum $25.00 order at this class and your class fee is waived.