Special Request - Congratulations Card

 Good morning, friends!  I am crazy excited to share this card with you.  I had a request to make a Congrats on Your New Home card.  I had to wrack my brain to come up with something just right, and finally decided to use some new stamps and dies from The Greetery's newest release!  I can't believe how beautiful this turned out. 

I have to admit that I struggled a little bit to figure out how to use the main floral image in the Floral Delicacy Stamp Set, but honestly, I made it WAY too complicated.  Once I looked at the instruction diagram, and paid attention, it was really easy to whip up a whole bunch of florals. 

For my card, I began by stamping one of the large floral sprays, three of the individual large flowers, four of the seed-like sprays, three of the triple "tulip" sprays, and four of the double "tulip" sprays.  Once I was finished, I die-cut all of the images and set them aside. 

I heat embossed the Congratulations label from the Everyday Labels Stamp Set and also die-cut it with the coordinating die.  

I already had a dry embossed panel ready to go, from a previous project (100 invitations for a 50th Wedding Anniversary that happened to be for the same lovely individual that requested this card).   I had used my absolute favorite embossing folder - Stampin' Up' Pinewood Planks - which is sadly now retired.  I had debated whether or not to ink-blend the panel, but decided to leave it white. 

I adhered the panel to my card base and then set about arranging my images.  This took me a bit to find something I was happy with.  (Arranging flowers is NOT my super power!!!).  Once I had them in place, I snapped a photo so that I could replicate it and began adhering everything in place. 

I am so in love with this card and I know she will love it also!  

Products Used:

• Recollections 110# Card Stock:  White
• Neenah Crest 80# Card Stock:  Solar White
• The Greetery Floral Delicacy Stamps and Dies
• The Greetery Everyday Labels Stamps and Dies
• Stampin' Up Pinewood Planks Embossing Folder (Retired)
• Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Altenew Embossing Powder: Rose Gold 
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Chamomile, Coral Berry, Heart Beat, Grapevine, Forest Glade, Evergreen

Thanks so much for popping in!  I hope you found something that inspires you to get crafty today!  

Xoxo

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #492 - Beautiful Friendship Card

Good morning, crafty friends!  Happy Friday.  Here in the US, we are getting ready to celebrate our Independence Day.  It is usually a weekend of picnics, barbecues, block parties and fireworks. In our area, fireworks are banned due to the risk of wildfires.  I am relieved, honestly, as the fireworks always upset the farm animals, and the dogs too.  

Today, I am sharing a card that I made to enter into the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #492.  I love square cards, but rarely make them, and I am not sure why.  I was really excited to see the sketch was a square!  

When I saw the sketch, I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use.   I started by embossing the poppy outline images in black.  I then stamped solid layers.  This was tricky, as it took some work to fill in the entire image, because the embossed edges interfered.  TIP:  Start with the colored layers and embossed the outline last.  This will ensure complete coverage of the stamped layers. 

Once I was happy with my floral images, I die-cut them using the coordinating dies and set them aside to work on my background panel.   I placed my largest white panel in my stamping platform and lined up a few of the small flower images, taking care to ensure that they were partly off the edge to give a more random background.  I then rotated my panel 90 degrees to make sure that the images would line up where I wanted them on all sides.   Once I was satisfied with how they would stamp, I inked them up with embossing ink and black embossing powder and heat set them.  Doing it this way made this a quick process.  I then lined up my images again to fill in the rest of the space and repeated the process.  Note:  Because I knew I would be placing a panel over the center of my card, I did not bother with embossing the center space, saving time and materials!  

I heat embossed my sentiment in white on a left over strip of black card stock and then trimmed it down just a bit.  When that was complete, I set about arranging my elements.  

I adhered my embossed panel to a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" black card base.  I also adhered a 3" x 3" white panel to a slightly larger black panel and then attached them to my card front.  I struggled a bit with arranging my floral images (this always seems to be a challenge for me), so I looked at some card samples for inspiration and decided to focus them in the lower left corner.  I then attached my sentiment strip with foam tape.  Lastly, I added a few black rhinestones to draw the eye in.  

I really love how this card is simple (but not), yet makes a HUGE statement!  The coral flowers really stand out against the black and white backdrop! 

Products Used: 

• Recollections 110# Card Stock:  Black
• Neenah Crest 80# Card Stock:  Solar White 
• Altenew Build A Flower:  Poppy Stamps and Dies
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Forest Glade, Pink Pearl, Heart Beat, Industrial Diamond, Pure Graphite
• Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Stampin' Up Embossing Powder:  Black
• WOW! Embossing Powder:  Opaque Bright White
• Foam Tape

I hope that you have found something to inspire you and get the opportunity to spend some time getting crafty today.  Thanks so much for popping by.  Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!  

If you are celebrating this weekend, please be sure to have fun and stay safe! 🇺🇸

Father's Day Card Featuring the Man Made Collection

 Happy Saturday, lovelies! I made this Father's Day Card for my dad a few weeks ago and just haven't gotten around to posting it, so I figured today is as good a day as any. 

The Greetery recently released the Man Made Collection and because masculine cards are such a struggle for me, I splurged and bought it all!  Worth every penny, too, as most of the collection is extremely versatile, and it won't go out of style. 

For this card, I used the Reflections stamps and dies, along with the Dad Squared stamps and dies.  Once I figured out what I was doing, it was really quite easy. 

I ink-blended a background and added shimmery white paint splatters to it and set it aside.  I die-cut the Reflections image and then began stamping the different layers.  I die-cut the Dad Squared piece and held them all in place with some low-tack tape and then stamped the images on the die-cut pieces.  I colored a strip of paper to get the color I wanted and stamped Happy Father's Day and snipped off the end at an angle.  

Once that was finished, I assembled my card and I am so happy with how it came together.  I was able to see my dad today, so I gave him his card early.  He loved it!  😊

Products Used:

• Recollections 110# Card Stock: White
• Recollections 65# Card Stock: Kraft
• The Greetery Reflections Stamps and Dies
• The Greetery Dad Squared Stamps and Dies
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Dew Drops, Aqualicious, Nimbus, Dark Night, Misty Morning, Cloudy Sky, Sand Dunes, Rocky Shore, Parrot, Olive, Moss
• Stampin' Up White Shimmer Paint

Thanks so much for popping by!