February 2020 Card Group Projects

When preparing for the February card group meeting I was inspired by cards and layouts designed by Dena Rekow from the Creativity Cave.  Having a sketch layout in place really makes a card design come together quickly and easily and that is incredibly helpful when crafting time is limited.  This months designs are quick and simple with no fancy folds or techniques and so I decided we'd have time to include a fourth card.   

I absolutely loved the SU! 'Positive Thoughts' stamp set as soon as I saw it in the mini catalogue and I bought it straight away.  I was chuffed to bits when SU! later released matching dies for the stamp set!  Dena made this card design using Pacific Point but I wanted to try it in a different colour.  You need to stamp the butterfly three times without re-inking to get the different shades and to achieve a really successful result it's better to stamp using a deep, intense colour and I chose Lovely Lipstick.

 

Here's the inside and the envelope.  I stamped off the beautiful maidenhair fern image twice before stamping it on the inside panel and stamped it full strength on the envelope flap.

 

I CASEd another Dena design for this card.  The pretty punched flowers and the abundance of white space give a really fresh feel to the card.  The card base is Smoky Slate and the mat layer is Bermuda Bay.  I stamped the top flower in Bermuda Bay ink and the two other flowers in Pool Party ink.  After punching the blooms I shaped them, glued them to the card front and added a rhinestone jewel to each bloom centre.

 

Here's the inside and the envelope.

 

This next card features a layout perfect for patterned paper.  The 'Tropical Oasis' paper pack is gorgeous and I thought the palms and cars design was ideal to make a masculine card.  The patterned paper is a 3" x 3" square - perfect for maximising the use of a full 12" x 12" sheet if you batch make a bunch of cards!  The card base is Early Espresso and the mat layer is Pear Pizzazz CS that has been embossed using the Coastal Weave 3D embossing folder.

 

Here's the inside and the envelope.

One of Dena's January layouts really appealed to me, it's very simple but has loads of potential I think.  For this card I've stripped it down to the bare essentials but I can show this card that I made a  little while ago which steps the layout up a few notches.  I took my tablet along so I could show the ladies photos of different card samples of the design. I took some different patterned paper from the same pack that had toadstools and leaves on it so the ladies could choose which pattern they wanted.  The toadstool paper was the favourite!

I punched eight 1" circles from a floral patterned paper but flipped two circles over to show the patterned side when I glued the circles down.  I stamped the sentiment and that was the front completed, so quick and easy. 

 

Here's the inside and the envelope.  The flower image is from the SU! 'Painted Seasons' stamp set which co-ordinates with the patterned paper I used to punch out the circles for the card front.  I stamped in Poppy Parade ink, full strength for the envelope flap but stamped off twice for inside the card.

 

Sometimes a flat design is needed if you want to pop something in the post and none of the four cards have popped up elements.  Of course, all four cards can be stepped up and made more dimensional and fancy - the beauty of a basic simple design is that it is a stepping off point!  

Supplies for butterflies card:
Stamps: SU! 'Positive Thoughts' & 'A Wish for Everything' sets
CS: SU! Lovely Lipstick & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Lovely Lipstick
Tools: SU! 'Stitched Rectangles' die set

Supplies for blooms card:
Stamps: SU! 'Thoughtful Blooms' & 'Sending You Thoughts' sets
CS: SU! Bermuda Bay, Smoky Slate & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Bermuda Bay, Pool Party & Smoky Slate
Tools: SU! 'Small Bloom' punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels

Supplies for palms & cars card:
Stamps: SU! 'Timeless Tropical' set, Stampendous 'Sending Wishes' stamp
CS: SU! Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Tropical Oasis' DSP
Ink: SU! Early Espresso & Pear Pizzazz 
Tools: SU! 'Coastal Weave' embossing folder, M&C Boutique stitched rectangle die

Supplies for punched circles card:
Stamps: SU! 'Painted Seasons' & 'Perennial Birthday' sets
CS: SU! Whisper White thick 
Patterned paper: SU! 'Painted Seasons' DSP
Ink: SU! Early Espresso & Poppy Parade
Tools: SU! 1" circle punch
Ruth