Lacy Bloom Thank You Card - FMS336

I wanted to make a thank you card for a friend and I knew I wanted to use the SU! 'Petal Potpourri' stamp set which I've recently acquired from ebay.  Pinterest has got a lot to answer for - I didn't buy the set when it was current but recently I came across some lovely cards made with the set on Pinterest and decided I just had to add 'Petal Potpourri' to my collection!

SU! have had a colour revamp and while it's sad to say goodbye to some colours a revamp also means that new colours will be introduced, plus some previous In Colours may come back to take their place in the core colour collections.  I'm so happy that Coastal Cabana and Blackberry Bliss are returning so that's what decided me on my colour combo.

So, card type decided, colours decided, stamp set decided but what about a layout?  I haven't followed a sketch challenge for ages and I liked what I saw at this weeks Freshly Made Sketches challenge so I was all set to get creating!

I've turned the sketch to a landscape orientation for my card.  I embossed the white layer with the SU! 'Petal Burst' embossing folder.  I stamped the 'Thank You from the 'Petal Palette' set onto Blackberry Bliss CS in VersaMark ink, heat embossed with white embossing powder and cut it out with a label die.  I stamped the lacy bloom in Blackberry Bliss ink, punched it out and offset it over a punched Blackberry Bliss CS shape.  I stamped a flower centre from the SU! 'Mixed Bunch' set in Coastal Cabana ink, punched it out, inked the edges of the circle and added a Blackberry Bliss dot centre.  I popped up the flower and tucked some die cut leaves behind.  To complete the card front I added some stamped speckles and scattered on a few silver sequins.

The SU! Stamparatus came out to assist with stamping the envelope front and the inside of my card - it makes it so easy!  I used a lacy border and a lacy frame to echo the lacy look of the bloom on the card front.   I deliberately chose the 'a little kindness goes a long way' sentiment as the friend I'm giving this to reached out in kindness to someone and I know it made a big impact.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Petal Potpourri', 'Mixed Bunch', 'Petal Palette', 'Gorgeous Grunge', 'Delicate Details' and 'Kinda Eclectic' sets, My Mind's Eye Remember 'Hattie' clear set
CS: SU! Blackberry Bliss, Coastal Cabana & Whisper White thick
Ink: SU! Blackberry Bliss & Coastal Cabana, VersaMark
Tools: SU! Stamparatus, SU! 'Petal Burst' embossing folder, SU! 'Flower Medallion' punch, Poppystamps 'Small Marianna Vine Background' die, Spellbinders 'Labels Trio' die, heat tool
Embellishments & accessories: SU! white embossing powder, silver sequins, Dimensionals
Ruth

May 2018 Card Group Projects

It was our May card group meeting today - postponed for a week due to me being ill with a nasty flu virus.  My card group ladies had told me last time that they wanted to make another card using a Tim Holtz Mixed Media die plus a double dutch fold card.  Also, another card was suggested - a dangly tent fold card - but I decided to save that one for our next meeting.

For this card I've used a beautiful, elegant die from the Sizzix 'Mixed Media' Thinlits die set.  I applied Mustard Seed and Broken China Distress Inks to a piece of Whisper White Thick CS using ink duster brushes, adhered the inked piece behind the die cut panel, stamped the sentiment and attached the panel to a black A6 sized card base.  The black flower and leaves were cut out using dies from the Sweet Dixie 'Daisy' set.  I added a small punched circle to the daisy centre that had been inked with the Distress Inks and glued the stamen shape over the top.  The flower is popped up.  This card is very similar to the card I designed for card group last month.

After I'd made the card I wanted to do a similar version but this time I applied inks to the die cut panel itself rather than to a separate panel to go behind.

Here's a comparison shot of both cards together. I love the serene feel of the background of the first card but I also love the more dramatic look with the black background.  It's easy enough to do either version so I let the ladies choose which version they wanted to make.  I was so interested to find out if a clear favourite would emerge - and it was a unanimous victory for the first card - all the ladies chose to make the version with the inked background behind the white die cut panel.

I decorated the inside of the cards and the envelopes using the Spellbinders 'Floral Corner One' D-Lites die set.  The die cut can be tricky to get out but it's such a beautiful image it's worth putting in a bit of effort and patience is rewarded!  I always rub a tumble dryer sheet over the die before I cut it and then rub over the die with a die brush on a foam mat to release the shape from the die.

So, onto the double dutch fold card which is a fab card design for using patterned papers.  I've used Tranquil Tide papers from the SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP pack and paired Tranquil Tide with Pool Party - a great colour combo!  Here's the card closed flat ready to go in an envelope.  

Here's the card open on display.  It's easy to make a double dutch fold card - I love a fancy fold card that's simple to put together!  I made an A6 sized card with the fold at the top, cut 2" off the bottom front of the card, cut an 8 1/4" x 2" strip, scored the strip at 2 1/16" on both ends and glued the strip in place.  The strip of 'ribbon' was cut out in Pool Party CS using a die from the wonderful Memory Box 'Grosgrain Ribbons' die set. I've used stamps from the SU! 'Flower Shop' and 'Petite Petals' sets for the trio of blooms and the leaves were cut using the SU! 'Leaf' punch.  I snipped between each petal, shaped each flower, glued the smaller flowers on top of the larger ones and popped each flower up on the die cut oval layer.

Here's the inside decorated with a stamped and punched birthday sentiment.

Here's the decorated envelope flap.

One morning I was idly browsing on Pinterest whilst leisurely drinking a cup of coffee and I came across two striking cards made by Julie DiMatteo.  I visited Julie's blog post and found out that the cards contained a secret - a gift card holder pocket.  Julie has kindly provided a wonderful video tutorial.  I was so taken by this simple but fab design and decided I just had to include it as a project this month - it was a big hit with my card group ladies!

This is also one of those designs that lend themselves to using patterned paper.  As the 'Fresh Florals' pack was still out on my desk I chose the zingy Lemon Lime Twist floral paper from the pack and added Night of Navy and Whisper White to form my colour combo.  Like Julie, I used the bold 'Stylized Birthday' sentiment stamp and I embellished the panel with gem centred, punched and shaped flowers.

Here's the card open on display.

Here's the inside showing the sentiment panel and the gift card pocket.

Here's a close up of the gift card holder pocket.  You could easily place banknotes inside instead of a gift card.

I used the lovely floral image from the SU! 'Floral Phrases' set to decorate the inside of the card and the envelope flap.

Next time we'll be making a dangly tent fold card, a bridge fold/U fold card and we'll be revisiting the water stamping technique.  I'm looking forward to it already!

Supplies for Best Wishes card:
Stamps: SU! 'Petal Palette' set
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Black Soot, Broken China & Mustard Seed Distress Inks
Tools: Sizzix 'Mixed Media' Thinlits die set, Sweet Dixie 'Daisy' die set, Spellbinders 'Floral Corner One' D-Lites set, Inkylicious ink duster brushes
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Supplies for double dutch fold card:
Stamps: SU! 'Flower Shop', 'Petite Petals' & 'Label Me Pretty' sets
CS: SU! Pool Party, Tranquil Tide & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP pack
Ink: SU! Pool Party & Tranquil Tide
Tools: SU! 'Pansy', 'Petite Petals', 'Leaf' & 'Pretty Label' punches, Petite Oval Nestabilities die set
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Supplies for Happy Birthday gift card holder card:
Stamps: SU! 'Floral Phrases' set, SU! 'Stylized Happy Birthday' stamp, Stampendous 'Sending Wishes'
CS: SU! Lemon Lime Twist & Night of Navy 
Patterned paper: SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP pack
Ink: SU! Lemon Lime Twist & Night of Navy
Tools: SU! 'Layering Squares' Framelits die set, SU! 'Boho Blossoms' punch, SU! 1" circle punch, SU! paper trimmer
Embellishments & accessories: self adhesive gems, navy Sharpie marker
Ruth

Butterflies Box Frame

I bought a 6" x 6" box photo frame as part of Lesley's birthday present and I decorated a panel to go inside the frame.  If Lesley wants to change what's inside it'll be so easy for her to whip out the floral foiled paper panel and decorate the frame as she desires or just use it as a photo frame!

Oh my word, the SU! 'Springtime Foils' Specialty DSP (which was a 2018 Sale-A-Bration offering) is so beautiful!  I cut a square of the copper floral paper, added a length of Copper Trim which I'd teased out a bit.  I die cut three solid Copper Foil Sheet butterflies, covered those with Whisper White detail die cut butterflies and popped them up.  So simple and quick to do!

Here's a side view.  Love the shine of the copper!

Supplies:
Stamps: none
CS: SU! Whisper White thick, Copper Foil Sheet
Patterned paper: SU! 'Springtime Foils' Specialty DSP
Ink: none
Tools: SU! 'Bold Butterfly' & 'Butterflies' die sets
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Copper Trim, Dimensionals
Ruth

Petal Palette Bridge Fold/U Fold Birthday Card

It was my lovely friend Lesley's birthday on Thursday and this is the bridge fold (also known as a U fold) card I made for her using the SU! Petal Passion suite of products.  Inspiration came from Pinterest so huge thanks to Lyssa Zwolanek Griffin who made this lovely card and provided a fab tutorial.  I tweaked the size a bit and made a card with a finished size of 5 3/4" square.

Here's the card and envelope together.

Here's a view from the top so you can see the dimension the bridge/U fold card has when it's on display.

Here's the card. The patterned paper in the suite is all black and white and you can leave it as it is or add some colour which is what I chose to do.  I used Berry Burst and Lemon Lime Twist inks and a blender pen to colour the flowers and leaves paper and I added Lemon Lime Twist ink to the paper on the inside panels using a brayer.  I stamped the roses image onto watercolour paper in black ink, heat embossed with clear powder and used inks and an Aquapainter to colour the image.  I coloured the birdie with inks and a blender pen.  The sentiment oval, roses and birdie are all popped up.

I put a panel on the back as a place to write my message as that's easier than writing on the front after the bridge fold card is assembled!

The great thing about these bridge fold cards is that they fold flat to go inside an envelope.  

I made an envelope using the Envelope Punch Board and chose to leave this patterned paper plain - a tad time consuming to colour the entire envelope I thought!  I added Berry Burst ribbon and a strip of Lemon Lime Twist CS to a piece of Basic Black CS, glued that to the front of the envelope and popped up the name label.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Petal Palette', 'Birthday Blooms' & 'Cake Soiree' sets
CS: SU! Basic Black, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist & Whisper White, watercolour paper
Patterned paper: SU! 'Petal Passion' DSP
Ink: SU! Basic Black, Berry Burst & Lemon Lime Twist, VersaFine Onyx Black
Tools: SU! 'Petals & More' & 'Stitched Shape' die sets, SU! 'Modern Label' punch, Envelope Punch Board, heat tool, Aquapainter, blender pen
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Berry Burst ribbon,  clear embossing powder, Dimensionals, black nailheads
Ruth

Another Inked Background Lace & Butterfly Birthday Card

At our last card group meeting we made this card using a cut out panel placed over the top of an inked background.

During the afternoon I wondered how a black shadow piece would look so I die cut the lace panel in black CS and placed it behind the white lace panel, slightly offset, and I really liked the effect.  A few days ago I got round to getting inky and completing the card.  I stepped this card up a wee bit by adding some pastel gems.  I've had the Doodlebug gems in my stash for donkey's years and I thought they were the perfect accent to complement the inked background!

Here's the inside and the envelope of the new card.

Here's the two cards side by side for a comparison.  Hmmm, I'm not sure I can pick a definite favourite, I like both!

Supplies:
Stamps: Clearly Besotted 'Happy Birthday' set, inside sentiment from a set included in the SU! 'Lots of Happy' card kit
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Black Soot, Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry & Salty Ocean Distress Inks
Tools: Sizzix Tim Holtz 'Mixed Media #2' die set, Memory Box 'Isabella' & 'Pippi' butterfly dies, SU! 'Stitched Shapes' Framelits die set, Inkylicious ink duster brushes
Embellishments & accessories: Doodlebug pastel gems, SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

Birthday Cake Card

I've been eyeing up the SU! 'Icing on the Cake' stamp set for some time, I thought it would be a fun set to use and I succumbed and ordered it.  I've recently received my SU! Stamparatus and I reckoned this set would be a great one to use to try out the Stamparatus.  My first impressions are very favourable indeed, it's so easy to use and I got fabulous results - I'm one happy stamper!

SU! are doing a colour refresh this year and Flirty Flamingo - which will retire as an In Colour - will be coming back as part of the core colour collection.  That prompted me to use Flirty Flamingo for my birthday cake card and I paired it with Lemon and Lime Twist.  Here's the card and the envelope front together.

Here's just the card front.  For the roses I stamped the solid background images in Powder Pink ink and the detail images in Flirty Flamingo ink.  For the leaves I used Lemon Lime Twist ink for the solid background images and Old Olive ink for the detail images.  After fussy cutting the leaves and roses, I curled up the leaves a bit, glued them to the white panel and popped up the roses.

Here's the inside of the card and the back flap of the envelope.  After I'd stamped a sentiment and a few lines of icing detail on a Whisper White panel I inked the edges with Flirty Flamingo ink using a sponge dauber.  I stamped the shell icing image twice and glued the sentiment panel over the top.  The rose on the envelope flap is popped up.  A happy and fun set to use for sure!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Icing on the Cake' set
CS: SU! Flirty Flamingo & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Old Olive & Powder Pink
Tools: SU! Stamparatus, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

April 2018 Card Group Projects

Last Thursday we got together for our April card group meeting and a wonderful afternoon it was too!  The ladies had made me and Lesley some fabulous birthday cards, it never ceases to amaze us that all the cards turn out so different, all unique - they are a talented bunch but then I always say they've had a great teacher!  😀

A little while ago I made this card and flower in a pot for Emma at my Slimming World group.  I had such fun making it and I thought the ladies would enjoy it too (which they did!) so I designed one for card group.  I usually make three projects and place the kits and the items they need to complete each project in a basket.  The ladies work in three groups, each group take a basket and pass the basket along to another group when they've completed a project.  Because of this I was aware that there might be an issue with a crossover of products when it came to the matching card and flower pot baskets. I know it can be quite frustrating if you're needing an ink pad, for example, which is in a basket for a different project.  To minimise any frustration I borrowed a couple of ink pads from a friend, stamped and punched some pieces in advance and made sure to use two different sized flower dies - a smaller die for the card and a larger die for the flower in a pot - which worked a treat!

Here's the card and flower pot together.

Here's the card.  After embossing the Crumb Cake panel with the Brick Wall folder I stamped the 'Watercolor Wash' stamp over the top using Cajun Craze ink, making sure to stamp on the side with the raised bricks.  For the flowers I stamped the 'Marbled' stamp in Calypso Coral ink onto a panel of Crisp Cantaloupe CS and cut out the flowers using a die from the Spellbinders Shapeabilities 'Flower Play' set.  I die cut the leafy spray from the 'Petals & More' die set in Old Olive CS, snipped it into two pieces, glued the pieces down and added a Whisper White baker's twine bow.  I stamped the flower centres from the 'Daisy Delight' set onto Soft Suede CS using Early Espresso ink, cut them out with the 1/2" circle punch and layered them on larger punched circles of Cajun Craze CS, glued them to the middle of the die cut flowers and popped the flowers up.  The stamped and die cut sentiment label is also popped up.  I used the row of dots die from the 'Mini Treat Bag' die set to cut out Cajun Craze dots to embellish the label.

Just some simple stamping on the inside of the card and on the envelope.

Here's the flower in the pot.  I die cut two 'Marbled' background flowers and layered each of them onto a Calypso Coral flower cut out using the SU! 'Blossom' punch.  I used mini glue dots to help keep the baker's twine in place while I wrapped it around the pot.  I tied a separate bow and attached that with another mini glue dot.  I cut a bamboo skewer so it was about 4 1/2" long and sandwiched the skewer between the flower layers using a large glue dot and placed Dimensionals between the six petals.  I die cut two Early Espresso CS circles, stamped one with a dotty texture stamp a few times, glued the circles together and pierced a hole in the centre.  I pushed the skewer through the circle pierced hole and slid the circle up the skewer so it rested right under the petals.  I punched a couple of 1 1/2" Early Espresso CS circles, pushed one into the base of the pot, glued the second circle on top and placed a big blob of Blue Tack on top of the circles.  I then pushed the skewer into the blob of Blue Tack and slid the Early Espresso circles down the skewer until they rested on top of the pot.  I was chuffed to bits to find that one of the dies in the 'Layering Circles' die set is THE perfect size for this!  I punched out a couple of Old Olive leaf sprays and glued them to the skewer to finish off.  One of the ladies had some tiny, self adhesive, wooden ladybird embellishments and added one of those which was just adorable!  Another lady suggested a bee which got me thinking.  I'm going to try that idea next time, maybe using a strip of acetate so it looks like the bee is hovering near the flower.

Here's a picture of the pot from another angle so you can see the 'soil'.

The next project uses some sadly neglected items from my stash - the gorgeous lacy die from the Tim Holtz Sizzix 'Mixed Media #2' die set, my Distress Inks and my Inkylicious ink duster brushes.  I chose three Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean and Picked Raspberry - and applied them quite lightly to pieces of Whisper White CS.  These ink colours are bright and vibrant but using only a gentle pressure on the brush and just swirling the inks lightly onto the piece of CS resulted in a soft, muted look.  Because the Distress Inks blend beautifully you end up with a range of shades even though you used just three ink colours.  I applied the inks to a larger piece of CS to act as a background for the lacy overlay and to a second, smaller piece for the butterfly. 

I stamped the sentiment at the bottom of a panel of Whisper White CS and then die cut the lace.  I adhered the inked piece of CS behind the lacy portion, glued the whole piece to a mat layer of Basic Black CS and glued that to a white A6 sized card base.  I die cut the solid butterfly from the smaller inked piece and added a Basic Black CS outline butterfly and an antenna.  I glued the butterfly body flat but popped up the wings on half Dimensionals with the backing paper left on.

Here's a closer look at the delicate inking.  The brilliant thing about this was that each card looked different, there were no identical panels or butterflies!

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope.  I used the Poppystamps 'Bellina Butterfly Ribbon' die to decorate.

Well, this was a complete and utter hit with the ladies - so much so that we're making another 'Mixed Media' die cut out card next month - I'll be using a different die though!  One of the ladies made both me and Lesley a double dutch fold birthday card which got a lot of attention so we'll be making one of those next month too!  

Supplies for flower card and flower pot:
Stamps: SU! 'Watercolor Wash' & 'Marbled' background stamps, SU! 'Petal Palette' & 'Daisy Delight' sets
CS: SU! Cajun Craze, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Soft Suede & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Cajun Craze, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Old Olive & Soft Suede
Tools: SU! 'Brick Wall' embossing folder, Spellbinders Shapeabilities 'Flower Play' die set, SU! 'Petals & More' die set, SU! 'Circle Layering' & 'Mini Treat Bag' die sets, SU! 'Blossom' punch, various circle punches, Woodware leaf punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Whisper White baker's twine, SU! glue dots, Dimensionals, mini flower pot, bamboo skewer

Supplies for lacy background butterfly card:
Stamps: Clearly Besotted 'Happy Birthday' set
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Black Soot, Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry & Salty Ocean Distress Inks
Tools: Sizzix Tim Holtz 'Mixed Media #2' die set, Memory Box 'Isabella' & 'Pippi' butterfly dies, Poppystamps 'Bellina Butterfly Ribbon' die, Inkylicious ink duster brushes
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals
Ruth