SWEET SONGBIRDS

 

One of my favorite bundles from Stampin' Up!'s new catalog is "Sweet Songbirds".  When my preorder arrived, the stamp set and coordinating punch were the first products that I worked with, and I'm sharing today the card that I made.

The photos aren't the best (apologies for that), but isn't this just a sweet little card?  It's perfect for when no words are needed or maybe words are hard to find.  This pretty songbird will be just right!  Of course, there had to be a coordinating envelope:

"Sweet Songbirds" is a stamp set that you will not grow tired of using, and I recommend adding it to your wish list.  The products in Stampin' Up!'s new catalog will be available soon . . . days, really . . . and then you can be all set to send sweet mail like this!

COLORING AN EMBOSSED BACKGROUND WITH A WATER BRUSH

When Stampin' Up! retired the Country Floral embossing folder, I knew I would have to keep mine because it's just so pretty--and I knew I would continue to use it.  I've never used it the way I did for this card, though, and now I love it even more!  While this project may make you want Country Floral, keep in mind that this technique can be used with other embossing folders that you have.  The technique is quite simple but, before I tell you about it, take a look at the card . . . 

It's so pretty, right?  If you're thinking it's a tedious, time-consuming technique, you're in for a surprise.  After I embossed the cardstock, I used a water brush and ink to color the embossed (raised) areas.  The fun thing about using the water brush is that I was able to achieve dark and light coloring, as well as blend colors for more realistic roses.  I believe I used Calypso Coral, Flirty Flamingo, and Daffodil Delight on them. 

For the purple flowers, I first colored with Highland Heather and then "dotted" random areas with Gorgeous Grape ink.  Other ink colors featured on this card are:  Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, and Pool Party.  

The above photo does a good job of showing just how beautifully and deep the embossing is on this card.

I used the Bough punch for the leafy stem.  After the above photo was taken, I decided to "fluff" the leaves by gently bending the sides of them with my fingers.  The die-cut bird is from the "Birds & Branches" stamp set and "Birds & More" dies.  Finishing touches to this card were the addition of scattered sequins, a twine bow, and a brush of Wink of Stella on the roses.

Dig through your embossing folders and choose one that embosses deeply so you can try this technique.  I know you want to.  😉

APARROTLY, IT'S DADDY'S BIRTHDAY

 

When I pictured this card in my mind, it looked bright and cheery . . . and not at all juvenile.  As a matter of fact, I had all of the parrots colored and die-cut a week or so in advance, just waiting to use circle dies to cut the assorted sizes and colors to create the rainbow for this card.  When I was nearly finished with assembly, that's when I realized that the card looked more fitting for a birthday boy and not so much for my 84-year-old father.  But can you guess what I did?  I mailed it anyway because who among us would frown upon opening a bright and cheery birthday card???  I didn't take a picture of this card folded flat, but that's the beauty of this platform pop-up card . . . it folds nearly flat for mailing and then pops up to the shape of a fun and dimensional structure, which is quite sturdy.  Following are more photos:

After cutting the colorful circles (frames, actually) for the rainbow, I cut them in half to avoid bulk when the two platform pieces were adhered together.  An extra circle, the same size as the largest (red) rainbow frame, was cut from a piece of Window Sheet.  After adhering the red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple half-circle pieces to the top half of the Window Sheet, the lower half was adhered between the two platform bases.  This made the rainbow very sturdy!  

You can see from the top view of the card (above photo) that the rainbow was visible from both sides, so I adhered clouds on both sides as well.

Since the back of the card was looking pretty good, I figured it needed a couple of party parrots.

And, of course, the envelope needed to be decorated with a parade of colorful party parrots.  

Daddy enjoyed his card, and he even knew exactly how to make it pop up for display!  I guess he's learned a thing of two from the many different kinds of cards I've mailed through the years.  Ha!

THANK YOU CARD FEATURING MARCH 2022 PAPER PUMPKIN

This month's Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up! included an extra (FREE) stamp set that is featured on the card that I'm sharing today.  The inspiration for my card came 100% from the flyer that was in my kit.  I loved everything about the flyer sample which is shown below:

It's so crisp, right?

I was so pleased with the finished card, which features Rhinestone Waves Basic Jewels and Brushed Brass Butterflies.  Of course, that lovely die-cut tag is from Tailor Made Tags dies, which I think every paper crafter should own.  My ink colors are So Saffron, Crushed Curry, and Misty Moonlight.  The Bough punch was used to cut the greenery (Pear Pizzazz and Mossy Meadow).

This is definitely a card design that I will use again and again because it was quick to make and (IMHO) has a lot of dimension and visual appeal.

SIMPLE & CHEERY SAILBOAT CARD

Today I hope to play with some new stamps and dies but--first--I wanted to share this cheery sailboat card.  It features Stampin' Up!'s "Let's Set Sail" stamp set + Sailboat Builder punch.  Those pretty jewels???  They're "Rhinestone Waves Basic Jewels" from the Waves of the Ocean bundle, and they are sooooooooo pretty!

The cardstock colors that I used for this card are Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo, and the sentiment strip is Pool Party.  When it came time to decide the best way to use the punch, what seemed easiest for me was to punch the cardstock and then stamp the images.  Of course, there had to be a coordinating envelope:

I think it would make my day just pulling this envelope out of the mailbox!