Heirlooms and Blooms
During this Covid-19 crisis and the challenge of social distancing (aka physical distancing), we need our creativity more than ever! I am a better person because of it. I am a calmer person doing it. I can bring smiles to others through it.
Schedule some creative time for yourself, put on some music if you want, and use the time to get busy with your hands and de-stress. Creating is therapeutic for the mind and the soul.
If you need something to get you started, try today’s As You See It Challenge. You can create a card, a scrapbook page, a 3D item, a decor item or anything else you can imagine. The challenge is to use all of the elements listed.
I was inspired to use the Flowering Foils Designer Series Paper that’s available for FREE from Stampin’ Up! with any $60 order. Actually, my card design also uses two other Sale-a-bration items: the Small Bloom Punch (free with a $120 order) and the coordinating Thoughtful Blooms photopolymer stamp set (also available in french).
I stamped three flower images each on Blushing Bride, Rococo Rose, and Merry Merlot cardstock in their coordinating colours of ink. The center of each flower was stamped with one shade darker of those same colours (center of the Merry Merlot flower was stamped in Tuxedo Black Momento Ink). I used the Small Bloom Punch to punch out each flower and adhere them over the Flowering Foils Designer Series Paper and Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series paper. A couple of the flowers are raised up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.
You can see the shiny copper foiling on the patterned paper in the above photo. It’s so pretty!
The Leaf Punch and the Sprig Punch from Stampin’ Up! create the Mossy Meadow and Basic Black leaf elements on the card. I didn’t use the entire Sprig Punch shape, but actually separated the two parts of the sprig to attach them to the card.
The strip of Gray Granite cardstock was stamped with the large textured image from the Woven Heirlooms Stamp set. I used Gray Granite ink, but stamped off first for a softer colour. I think it ended up looking a bit like woodgrain, which suits me quite nicely! I rubbed my Embossing Buddy over this stamped strip of cardstock to make sure my next steps would give me a nice clean look.
I stamped the sentiment from the Woven Heirlooms Stamp Set (also available in french) with Versamark Ink, covered it with White Embossing Powder, and tapped off the excess. This is when I realised that I overestimated the power of the Embossing Buddy and underestimated the drying time of my ink, because my embossing powder decided to stick where it didn’t belong. I was in a “that’s good enough” mood, though, so I simply brushed off some to the excess with a dry paint brush and heated the rest with my Heat Tool. I attached the completed strip of Gray Granite to my card with Stampin’ Dimensionals and tied a Linen Thread bow around the leaf stems.
I used to be satisfied with just a Whisper White or Very Vanilla insert as a writing surface in my cards, but lately I’ve been more into some simple additions to the inside of my cards. I chose to use some more Rococo Rose flowers and some leaves for the inside of the card. I also added a matte of Soft Suede cardstock behind the Whisper White writing surface. That same matte of Soft Suede cardstock is also on the front of the card, framing the patterned paper, and adhered to the Grey Granite card base.
As always, if you like any of the Stampin’ Up! products used on my blog, you can purchase them from me on my ONLINE STORE. During Sale-a-bration is a great time to stock up on supplies because you can choose a free item with every $60 or $120 of purchased product. Sale-a-bration ends March 31st, so act fast to avoid disappointment. Some of the items have already sold out!
Stampin’ Up! just added a third release of Sale-a-bration products for you to choose from. You can see all the Sale-a-bration items by clicking HERE.
Thanks for taking some time out of your busy day.
Wash your hands and stay healthy!
