Green with Envy – Blogging Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to the July Blogging Friends Blog Hop!  We are super excited to be hopping today sharing projects that show our favorite Stampin’ Up! green.  I call myself a red girl.  But, there’s something about a good green that I love to work with.  Maybe, it is because green is red’s complementary color that has green sneaking in as a favorite.  Maybe it is my recent obsession with pool colors that has me swooning over the more green side of life.  Whatever the reason, I will say Stampin’ Up! has some beautiful greens to work with.  Everything from soft seafoam and mint macaron to shaded spruce and mossy meadow to just about anything in-between.

When thinking about what to create for you guys. I had a few Ideas.  I thought about making a green rainbows. Which I still might do one day. Then I considered doing something like K. Warner’s dip-dye watercolor technique.  But, when I went to make today’s card I was not really feeling being creative.  This seems to be a side effect of living through a pandemic.  So, I decided to look through the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper.

Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper

It was flipping through the paper that I decided to use the watercolor looking green stripe paper.  This strip is beautiful to me. All my favorite teal greens together in one place!!!  A little Old Olive and  So, that was decided. I will definitely be using this paper…. Now, what?????

My next thought was to use the stamp set that coordinates with this beautiful paper. Forever Fern.

Forever Fern Bundle

I got busy stamping and die cutting all the fern in the stamp set with Colors from the striped paper Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce, Soft Sea Foam.  I add in old olive

• Some are stamped on watercolor paper and then using just a little water and a paintbrush I moved the color around
• Some are simply stamped and die cut.
• Some are just the coordinating dies cut with colored card stock.
• Some are ink blended paper then die cut.

The plain was to use some from each way to create interest and texture on the card.  And here is a second look at all the pretty die cuts I decided not to use!  Just look at what I have ready to go for another crafty day!

All the beautiful greens just make me swoon!

This is where the card took a turn, I was looking around for sentiment and landed on the Happy Birthday from Seaside Notions.

Seaside Notions

I also stumbled across the Stitched So Sweetly dies… What I love about Designer Series Paper and a good sentiment combination is that it does all the work for you! And when you are not feeling particularly creative you can still make beautiful cards with just a few really nice products! So, perfect!!!

• Clean and simple to allow the beautiful stripes shine
• The stiched so sweetly dies to add a little interest to the sentiment
• Slimline size can vary. This one is 4×9. It will barely fit into a #10 envelope

Each of your comments makes me smile! Please, comment HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you will use the link below to continue along with the hop! I know there will be lots of beautiful projects along the way!

I hope you have a good day and have a few moments to create some joy today!

Peace my friends-

4th of July Celebration!

Welcome to the Inking Royalty’s July Blog Hop! During this year’s blog hops, we are enjoying a year of celebrations. This month’s projects celebrate the 4th of July – the projects are inspirational, patriotic, and filled with reds, whites, and blues. We are excited to share our creations with you today! After you read my post, I hope you’ll hop over to the next person on the list at the base of this post.

We are all Red, White, and Blue today!  I love this summertime color combination!  Not only does it represent our beautifully diverse country it also screams summer happy fun! Pools, sun, and hot dogs!  Anyway, I decided I just had to use the Celebrate Sunflowers Bundle!  Sunflowers are one of my favorites!  They are strange, quirky flowers that just makes me happy when I see them!  They are perfect for a summer gathering!  Well, in my opinion, any gathering is better if sunflowers are involved. That being said I knew the yellow flowers would look very pretty against a blue and red background.

  I also knew that I wanted to incorporate Smoky Slate into the color combination.  Smoky Slate works so well with the yellow of the sunflowers, the red and blue background, and it is one of my favorite colors!

Ink blending is my new favorite friend in card making. I have always liked ink blending. But, recently discovered the wonders of ink blending on watercolor paper. Such a dream!!!

• The underlying of the Sunflower and leaves are all ink blended on watercolor paper. Then spritz with water.  Let it set then blotted with a paper towel (microfiber cloth works as well)
• The top layer of the sunflower and leaves, as well as the solid leaves, are all colored cad stock with ink blending on to add some texture and dimension
• The background was created with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder on whisper white.  Then you guessed it, more ink blending on top.  This time in smoky slate

You could add let’s celebrate from the stamp set in the lower right corner. But honestly, I didn’t think of that until I had already added the clear drops and made the next card that uses that sentiment!  The Flowers for Every Season Gems are quickly becoming a favorite item!!

I have been exploring what in the card making world is called slimline card. These cards are 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. I find this size very fun to stretch my stamps and dies!  To make a slimline card you want to cut your paper 8 1/2  by 7 inches.  Then score at 3 1/3 on the side that is cut to 7 inches.

• So here again, watercolor paper ink blended with real red and poppy parade. Then Spritz with water and blotted up with a towel.  Finally, die-cut with the many medallions
• The smoky slate card stock also has very splotchy ink blending on it to add some texture.
• The Sunflowers and leaves are stamped in smoky slate.  Then die cut with the coordinating dies
• You could color the sunflowers in. That would look very nice as well.  But, I was going for a more graphic feel.  And the gray and white definitely gives you a graphic look.  It all depends on what you are going for

Each of your comments makes me smile! Please, comment HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you’ll hop along to the next stop on the blog hop, Brian King. There’s lots of inspiration to be found in this group – and you don’t want to miss it!

If you get stuck during the Blog Hop, please use this line-up as a guide:

1. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
2. Sue Jackson at Just Peachy Stamping
3. Shawn de Oliveira at Shawn Stamps
4. Ann Murray at Murray Stamps Ink
5. Joanne Brown at Stamping with JoJo
6. Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie
7. Lynn Kolcun at Avery’s Owlery
8. Linda Krueger at The Stamp Coach
9. Robin Myren at Songbird Designs by Robin
10. Candy Ford at Stamp Candy
11. Jennifer Spiller at Westside Paper Creations

Go and be creative!

Sunshine and the Inking Royalty Blog Hop

Welcome to InKing Royalty’s May Blog Hop! During this year’s blog hops, we are enjoying a year of celebrations. This month’s projects celebrate Sunshine, so prepare yourself for projects that are filled with sunny images of joy in the great outdoors. We are excited to share our creations with you today! After you read my post, I hope you’ll hop over to the next person on the list at the base of this post.

A few years ago I decided I wanted to work on my scene building skills in card making.  Grace’s Garden and the coordinating dies are perfect for a Summer Scene and were the perfect opportunity for me to work on my skills!

That sweet little kitty just completely draws me in!  I also love the sweetness of the flowers and he they are drawn.  The garden gate in the dies is absolutely beautiful!! The dies even come with flowers and vines to decorate the garden gate. I made three different scenes for you today!  Recently I have been using my Stampin’ Write markers. I felt like that I had been neglecting them ever since the Stampin’ Blends came out.

• Little images like the ones in this set are perfect for coloring with the Stampin’ write markers
• The sky and grass are Balmy Blue and Garden Green.  I accidentally used a little green in the sky.  This made the sky have a slight turquoise tent
• The card has a Pineapple Punch layer to allude to a Sunny Summer Day.

The next card used a lot of the same elements as the above card.  Simple ink blending with a few elements put together to create the idea of a Summer Day

• When ink blending it is important to start lightly then slowly building the color up!
• You can see the difference between this card and the one above. This card has light very soft color.  The above card used the exact same colors but the color is built up more to add deeper color
• You can also see the difference in Balmy Blue with a little green and without

The next card shows all the same elements but on a watercolor background with a slimline card profile

• This card is 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.  To create this size card. You want to cut at 8 1/2 on one side and at 7 inches on the other side.  Then score at 3 1/3 in the 7 inches side.
• In creating these cards I stamped a bunch of images. Then I used my Stampin’ Write Markers to color the adorable images.  Finally die cutting them.
• The next step was to create a few backgrounds. Was to create a few cards. I knew I wanted at least one slimline card.   So, I started thereby laying out a scene.  I loved it on the site background.  And really thought about keeping it white. But in the end, decided to Watercolor a background.
• With the “leftovers” I created the two above cards.   After creating them I still had a few images left.

After creating the above cards I realized I had a few colored images left.  And, most importantly I had not used one of the most important elements a sun!  After all this blog hop is supposed to be all about Sunshine.  I decided to create a sunset with watercolor and use the very pretty garden gate!

I glued the card down on a Balmy Blue background. Trying to imitate a blue sky in the background behind the vibrant sunset.  I decided I really don’t like the Balmy Blue in this case.  So, I will cut the blue background off and try something else. I wanted you to see t so I could tell you how I colored the vines and garden gate.

• First I die cut the images
• Second,  I used Stampin’ Write Markers to color the gate and vines
• The third step was to spritz each with water. And dab some water up with a cloth/paper towel. Let this dry
• Then using a stamp block. I inked the block up with the same colors spritz the block with water and smushed it around on the vines.  I did not do this step on the gate.
• I did use a paintbrush and a little water and ink to clean up a few spots on the gate

Each of your comments makes me smile! Please, comment HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you’ll hop along to the next stop on the blog hop, Brian King. There’s lots of inspiration to be found in this group – and you don’t want to miss it!

If you get stuck during the Blog Hop, please use this line-up as a guide:

1. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
2. Linda Krueger at The Stamp Coach
3. Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
4. Lynn Kolcun at Avery’s Owlery
5. Robin Myren at Songbird Designs by Robin
6. Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie
7. Joanne Brown at Stamping with JoJo
8. Sheryl Sharp at Sharp Notes by Sheryl
9. Pam Morris at Tap Tap Stamp
10. Sue Jackson at Just Peachy Stamping
11. Ann Murray at Murray Stamps Ink
12. Candy Ford at Stamp Candy
13. Jennifer Spiller at Westside Paper Creations

Happy Creating my friends-

Blogging Friends Blog Hop

Today is the Blogging Friends Blog Hop all about items that will be retiring from the Stampin’ Up catalog. There are many things that I will miss including the Pigment Sprinkles, the In Colors that are retired, the designer series paper for the in colors and color families (I adore all the gingham…but new patterns coming soon yippee)

I decided to use a stamp set that I just had to have when it was first available!!! I knew exactly who I wanted to make a card for using it! My cousin Alex who is a huge animal lover and horse friend.  I don’t see a horse without thinking of Alex.  Anyway, I have actually never gotten around to making her a card with this set.  I know. Complete shame on my part.  So, today was the perfect excuse to make Alex not one but two cards.

Let it Ride is so beautifully sketched to me. It is perfect for coloring. Either with Stampin’ Blends or with Watercolor ink/pencils.  Today I decided to use Stampin’ Blends cause I have not used them in a bit

• I stamped everything in Soft Suede It is always a 50/50chance that the ink will smear when you start coloring with alcohol markers.  So test the color first. You might get lucky and it is just fine.
• I really don’t want completely brown trees so I used a green blend to trace over the trees and grass.  Witch sort of helped

• This time everything is stamped in alcohol inks friendly Black ink. Witch means that the ink will not bleed
• This house was a complete experiment. I wanted to try and make spots.  So, I used several different blends then went back with each color and tried to blend the color. I’m not sure I would do it this way again. But, it is what it is
• I’m so going to miss Blueberry Bushel! It is one of my favorites!

I hope you have enjoyed the blog hop so far! Please continue the hop through the links below. 

Each of your comments makes me smile! Please, comment HERE.

Happy stamping!