Hydrangea Haven Bundle in Double Color

I recently saw a card sketch from another independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Connie Stewart. It used a square piece of designer series paper (DSP) that was cut in half on an angle. A single square of DSP will make TWO cards!! I immediately wanted to try this with one of my favorite DSPs from the January-June mini catalog, Hydrangea Hill. I grabbed my pack of paper, decided on a design (a difficult decision with so many gorgeous patterns to choose from), and cut myself several 4.25" squares. Then I simply cut the square in half on the diagonal and used one piece on the top of a card and the other piece on the bottom of a card. The cards shown below feature Purple Posy as a card base with Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape for the hydrangeas. The leaves are Old Olive stamped on Basic White or Old Olive card stock. On the card with two hydrangeas I used Stampin' Blends to color basic pearls to match. The larger pearls are part of the Hydrangea Hill Suite. 

Once I had these cards made I decided to try the same design in another color! I grabbed Seaside Spray, Misty Moonlight, and Night of Navy. I really can't decided which set of cards I like better. Hydrangeas are beautiful in any color.

The sad part of these cards is the use of two 2019-2021 In-Colors: Purple Posy and Seaside Spray. These colors will be retired at the end of month. I will really miss Seaside Spray.

Thanks for reading my post. Which color card set is your favorite??? Let me know in the comments.

Garden Wishes Bundle

I love winter, but I am dreaming of spring and my garden. This is why my attention has turned to Stampin' Up!'s Dandy Garden Suite. The suite has not one, but TWO fabulous bundles as well as designer series paper (DSP), Memories & More card pack, Memories & More cards & envelopes, braided linen trim, and adorable ladybug trinkets. The two stamp sets featured are the Dragonfly Garden Bundle and the Garden Wishes Bundle. I have a Dragonfly Garden Bundle Class To Go based on cards designed by Nancy Thompson at Create with Nancy, who is a member of the same Gladheart Stampers Team that I am. The details for the class can be found by clicking here. Orders must be placed by February 28, 2021 which allows you take advantage of Sale-A-Bration as well. 

Today's card features the Garden Wishes bundle consisting of a stamp set and dies. The card I designed utilizes these dies which allow you to build dandelions without needing to stamp and color the images first. I had fun using the new blending brushes to create a background and to color my dandelions. This set also features a little bumblebee and a sweet swoosh showing his path. 

Card details:

• Mossy Meadow card base 8.5" x 5.5" scored at 4.25"
• Basic White Layer 4" x 5.25"
• Mossy Meadow for die cutting images
• Basic White for die cutting images
• Cut the dandelion pieces in Basic White, use the blending brushes to add Bumblebee ink to the white pieces and Mossy Meadow along the stem
• Layer the sections for the flowers on top of each other and adhere with liquid glue
• Use blending brushes to add Mossy Meadow and Balmy Blue to the background
• Stamp bumblebee image in Memento Black and color with Light Balmy Blue and Dark Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends. Add Wink of Stella to the wings and die cut image.
• Use Triple Banner Punch to dovetail the end of a 1" wide piece of Basic White. Stamp greeting in Mossy Meadow. Trim end even with card front.
• Assemble card front using liquid glue to adhere the dandelions and leaves to the background. Some stems and leaves will need to be trimmed to fit. Adhere greeting to front using Stampin' Dimensionals. Adhere card front to the base with liquid glue. 
• Stamp "swoosh" image in Memento Black. Adhere bumblebee to card front using Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.
• Use a 4" x 5.25" piece of Basic White to layer on inside of card. Stamp individual dandelion from set on the inside if desired.

Assembling this card was enjoyable because the Blending Brushes were very easy to use and beautifully layer ink to the paper. The die cut leaves and grass have embossed areas showing detailed veins giving lots of texture to the card front. I'm looking forward to trying a few other color combinations for the flowers. The set is designed to be dandelions, but I think these dies would make pretty flowers in any combination. Here is one more card I have made with this stamp set and it shows a little peek of the Dandy Garden DSP as well. The dandelion on this card has been stamped in Memento Black ink, colored with watercolor pencils, and die cut to add to the front of the card. 

I enjoyed bringing you this quick look at the Garden Wishes Bundle. If you would like to see the Stampin' Up! products I used in making the featured card you can click on supply list below to see my business web page with links to all the products. 

Supply List

Happy Stamping!

Michelle

'Tis a Sweet New Year!

 Christmas is over and the New Year has been ushered in. What is left to look forward to??? In just a few days the January-June Mini Catalog product is available for purchase and Sale-A-Bration begins!!! This "Sweet" deal means for every $50 in product you can choose a free item from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. 

As I perused the January-June Mini Catalog I was tempted by the luscious Sweet Strawberry Bundle. I love strawberries and always eagerly await fresh strawberry season. I was able to get a wonderful head start on the season this year by making a couple of cards with this new bundle. I designed this first card for a virtual card swap I participated in. I decided to go with a slimline card as this style card is becoming popular again. I have seen several different sizes for these cards and this one is 9" x 3.75" and fits in a business envelope or you could make a custom envelope.

Sweet Strawberry Bundle Slimline Card

The bundle comes with a stamp set and a punch which lets you create fun dimension on a card. The card above showcases all of the punched items: strawberry, stem, leaf, and small flower. All of these items are in the same punch. What a great value!!! Here is a closer look at those sweet, sweet strawberries. They look good enough to eat. The strawberry outline is stamped with Cherry Cobbler and has a solid image stamp in Poppy Parade. I did add Wink of Stella to give them an extra sparkle. Stems and leaves are stamped with Garden Green and filled in with Granny Apple Green. Flowers are stamped with Smokey Slate.

I loved making this card so much I decided to make it in our standard 5.5" x 4.25" size as well. I believe the card works well in either format. Both cards have Granny Apple Green card base, Basic Black, and Balmy Blue for background. I stamped the leaf and flower image in Balmy Blue for the background and layered my punched strawberries, leaves, and flowers over the top. Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added for a little extra sparkle. 

Standard Size Card

I am looking forward to creating more cards with this bundle and using the coordinating Sale-A-Bration Designer Series Paper and stamp set which features more yummy summer fruit. Here is one last look at the cards side by side. Which style is your preference?