Woodland Wonder Slimline - #FMS469

I liked the layout of Kim's Freshly Made Sketches #469 design and all the great samples by the FMS Design Team this week, so decided to give it a go.

FMS#469

My original plan for this sketch was to create a thank you card using a large font "thank you" instead of the three lines in the sketch.  My "any shape" image was going to be a floral image.  

Well that was the plan when I started out but somewhere along the line it morphed into a slimline birthday card.  That's the fun thing about creativity, you're not always sure where the path will lead.    

Here's My Card:  

My slimline card featuring stamps from the Woodland Wonder stamp set measures 9 x 4 inches.  I cut a piece of Cinnamon Cider card stock that measured 8" x 9" for the card base and scored it at 4".  The first layer is a 7 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece of Old Olive and the Whisper White layer measured 7 1/2 x 3 1/2".  

The Woodland Wonder Stamp Set #155321 includes balloons, animals from the forest, pieces of a tree that you can put together, and great sentiments to let someone know you're thinking of them on their special day. This set features 16 photopolymer stamps, that work well with either the Stamperatus stamp platform or with acrylic blocks a, b, d, i.  This stamp set doesn't have coordinating dies  but at $23.00 CDN it's a terrific value and it's super easy to fussy cut out the images.  This stamp set is available in the January to June Mini catalogue from now until June 2021.  

I stamped "happy birthday" three times on the left hand side of the card, leaving a gap in between number two and three so I could fit in the little "yay" flag. 

I stamped all the images on the card stock using my Stamperatus stamping platform. The platform made it so easy to line up the images.  All of the images were stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black ink and then coloured with Stampin' Blends. Inks used to colour the animals, tree and grasses at the base included light and dark shades of: Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Gray Granite, Smokey Slate, Balmy Blue, Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie, and Basic Black. 

I re-stamped all the images on masking paper, fussy cut them and applied them over the original images before sponging in the sky with Pool Party ink.  I was so excited to do this step because I purchased the new blending brushes from Stampin' Up and this was my first try with them.  I was not disappointed!  

I stamped all my images on Stamping Masking Paper by Inkadoodle.  This works better than post it notes for me, because they sheets stay tacky for a long time and you can fit a lot of images on them to cut out. Another great thing about this masking paper is the full coverage of the image which makes it easier to sponge over. 

This picture isn't quite right though, because in my eagerness to start sponging, I stamped on the wrong side of the paper. Fortunately I had only cut out one image before discovering the error or my ways.  

Okay, error corrected and everything is masked properly in this photo.  I started blending at the top of the panel and the new blending brush was easy to move around and gave me the exact colouring I was looking for.  I think I am in love!  

To create the grass look at the base of the tree I used a stamp from the By The Dock stamp set. I applied the stamp in various directions to create the uneven ground effect and coloured it with light and dark Old Olive blends.  

By The Dock Stamp has a number of great stamps but the one I've used the most is the little patch of grass.  So versatile.

For the inside of the card I again began with a 8 3/4"x 3 3/4" piece of Old Olive card stock and an 8 1/2" x 3 12" piece of Whisper White. 

I stamped the sentiment "hope your day stacks up to be one good thing on top of another" in Momento Tuxedo Black ink and added the rabbit and balloon to the right side.  The "Happy Birthday"  sentiment is from the Here's A Card stamp set and was  stamped in Old Olive ink.  

It wasn't my intention when I started stamping the inside of this card to have balloons across the bottom, but my inky fingers left some marks that I had to cover up.  The cover-up worked except for the green balloon which seems to be flying a little higher..... oh well.

Well that's it for my post today.  I'm really enjoying the slimline card and glad that I switched gears and made this card.  It gave me an opportunity to try new things like the blending brushes and the Woodland Wonder set.  What fun!  

Cheers and as always, 

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 

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Hard When You Have to Say Goodbye - Eclipse Card

Recently I had the pleasure of gathering with other council members in our community to say farewell to a friend and neighbor who's moving to another location. While we are happy that she's moving closer to family and old friends, we're certainly going to miss this wonderful woman, whose intelligence, wit and kindness contributed so much to making our complex a great place to live.  I offered to make a farewell card for the group to sign, and I wanted it to be as special as she is.  

Although most would consider the Coming Home and Home Together Dies from Stampin' Up! to be Christmas or winter themed, I knew they would work for other occasions too such as a House Warming or Farewell.  Because I wanted to personalize this card in a really special way, I decided to incorporate my friend's name into the design by making what's called an "Eclipse" card.    

Here's What I Designed:

I love using my Cutter Bee EK Success Alphabet Dies when adding lettering to a card because they are large and bold.  My general rule of thumb is that four alphabet letters from this set will fit comfortably across an A2 card but if your word is five or more letters you need to have a larger card face.  Because I was using five letters I chose a new, all the rage, card style called a "slim line".  The base measures 8 1/2" x 4".  

In my humble opinion, all really good things start with a plan and a template.  Making a template allows me to work with the layout, spacing, backgrounds and colours as well as the placement of sentiments.  

For this card I began with a scrap piece of white card stock that measured 8 1/8 x 3 5/8", and I drew two lines across the length of the card to make it easier to line up both the images and die cuts.  

Next I stamped and fussy cut three of the house images and two of the large trees from the Coming Home set on post it notes.  These cutouts enable me to get the right layout between the two pencil lines.

Once I was happy with the layout I marked the placement with a pencil, removed the post it notes and stamped the permanent images on the marks.

I coloured all the images with the blends so I could get an idea of how the finished card would look.  This also helped me choose a colour for the layer that went between the card base and the designed layer.  I chose Cinnamon Cider one of SU's In Colour series this year.  This layer measures 8 1/4" x 3 6/8".  

Moving on to the background, I put the post it notes in place over the houses and trees and then using a 2" scallop circle I sponged in the clouds with Pool Party ink.  I took the sponging right down between the houses and trees.  Using a Garden Green blend I coloured in the grass and then I stamped the image of the car and the sentiment "Time For a New Adventure" from the Well Said Stamp Set #148796.   

Next I laid out my Alphabet dies, evenly spacing each of the letters. Once they were lined up I tore off a piece of Glad Press and Seal, covering the letters and carefully pressing the air out and wrapping the excess around the card layer.

I've found this to be the one of the best ways to keep my dies from shifting when running them through the Big Shot.  They stay in place well, keep the bits that need to go in the center of the letters and it doesn't take much effort to remove the Press'n Seal when you're done.  

When I was finished with my template and was satisfied, I did it all over again on the actual card.  It was so easy the second time because all the guess work was out of it.  Now I have a template should I decide to make another card in this style, so it was a win, win all around.

The Alphabet letters are placed back in the cut holes mounted on dimensionals.  This gives a really good 3-D effect and depth to the card. 

Although it's difficult to see I added Nuvo drops to the windows  in the car and houses.

I was very pleased with the final card layout and the colouring.  I added a few more details like colouring in the road and adding some smaller trees on the ends.  

For the inside of the card, which I didn't take a picture of before it was signed off on, I added two layers of Whisper White card stock on either side of the card base. Normally I would only add one layer but the additional piece of card stock  provided additional space for signatures.  Instead of just stamping a farewell sentiment for the inside layer of the card I composed a farewell verse and printed this layer off on the computer.  I also stamped a house and some trees on it before adhering it to the card base.   

Here's the matching envelope I made for the card.  Because this  card was presented in person and not being mailed,  I wanted it to look extra special and I stamped three different house and images and some street lamps for this scene.

The sentiment "Wishing You all the best" is from a retired Stampin" Up! set called Blended Seasons.  I thought that was a nice lead in to the card.  

Well folks that's all I have for you today.  I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into how I take a card idea and create a design from scratch.  I'd love to hear how you design your cards - do you case other ideas or do you play with your own ideas.  How about techniques?  Have you ever made an Eclipse card?  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator 

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