ThePowerOfACard: Forever Fern

Showing posts with label Forever Fern. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Five at Once SIP (Stamps, Ink, Paper) Cards

Sometimes we forget that we can create beautiful cards with only Stamps, Ink and Paper (SIP). My upline, Dena Rekow, showed me a way to make five cards at once and I thought I'd share this technique with you! It is a great way to make a set of cards to give as a gift, or to make lots of cards, perhaps for Christmas, quickly.

There are two ways you can prepare the full sheet of Very Vanilla for stamping - one is by using a ruler and making light pencil lines as shown in my diagram. You'll want a good eraser to remove them when you're done stamping. The other way is to cut the paper right from the beginning and use a little bit of tape to hold them together for stamping. I use this second method in my video, but feel free to do whichever method is easier or better for you. In either method, you'll end up with five card fronts that are 4-7/8" x 3-5/8" and just two small leftover scraps.

When choosing the images to stamp, it is usually recommended to have stamps in a variety of sizes. Bold images, like the leaves I use in the video, work very well. I also recommend large sized sentiments as they will fill in the blank space on each card nicely. You can use line art stamps (as you'll see in my examples) - try to find ones that aren't directional in their design.

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"; Very Vanilla 8-1/2" x 11"; (5) Shaded Spruce 3-3/4" x 5"
Stamps: Forever Fern, Biggest Wish, Good Feelings
Ink: Granny Apple Green, Parakeet Party, Garden Green, Shaded Spruce
Adhesive and Tools, including Scotch Tape and/or Pencil

Prepare the full sized sheet of Very Vanilla - either by cutting and taping back together like I did, or by drawing light pencil lines. I recommend starting with the largest stamp image and Granny Apple Green - stamp this along the cut/pencil lines in a variety of positions. Next, switch to Parakeet Party and another leaf, adding more foliage along the cut/pencil lines. Fill up the space with more leaves in Garden Green and Shaded Spruce. Your leaves will overlap - that's why it is important of use colors that look good next to or on top of each other. For one card front, I also stamped on the left outside edge. I preferred to have all four sides stamped rather than just three. The remaining pieces all have two stamped edges.

When you have all the leaves stamped, cut the cardstock into the five pieces, or remove the tape holding them together. Add your sentiments in Shaded Spruce. This is where I loved using my sets that had big and bold sayings. If desired, you can spritz with a Stampin' Write Marker. I didn't do that when I made my first samples, but did for the ones in the video - I think it adds a nice touch. The last step is to mat these pieces with Shaded Spruce and adhere to your card base of Thick Very Vanilla. If you truly want these cards to be SIP, just add them with your favorite adhesive. I like to use Dimensionals, so I added them to some of the cards. Which version do you like better - spritzed like above, or plain as shown on the right?

When Dena demonstrated this technique, she used the Christmas Season stamp set - here is my version of what she did and my first set of five SIP cards. I used the Brightest Glow set for the sentiment. It was beneficial to make something nearly identical to hers to help me get the feel for this technique and I encourage you to use any of my samples to get you started too.

The next version I made features Watercolor Shapes. I used Fresh Freesia, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Polished Pink and Melon Mambo to make these dynamic geometric cards. I love how fun they turned out and think this could be done in so many color combinations!

Next, I used True Beauty and bright, happy colors (Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape and Sweet Sorbet. I borrowed the tiny dots from the Forever Fern stamp set to add a filler in Tahitian Tide. I did change up the mat colors to mix it up a bit.

My last set of cards has a whole different vibe because I used line art stamps and stamped them in black rather than colors. I didn't know if I would like this, but I loved it! You have to have images that are not directional and sometimes that is harder with line art sets. I love that it was so fast! No changing colors and actually, I only had to use three stamps from the Happiness Abounds stamp set to make these. To get my colors, I stamped the sentiment in bright colors and put them on the same colored card base. All of them were matted in Basic Black with really makes them pop.

Which is your favorite? I think it is either the shapes or line art flowers in black for me. It might seem difficult to get your stamps just right - but it really isn't! Remember that you can add more stamping after you've cut them apart and each one is unique! You'll end up with five beautiful cards at once using just stamp, ink and paper!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

Etsy Shop: The Power of a Card

https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

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For orders over $150, you qualify for host rewards from Stampin’ Up! (plus a treat from me!).

Product List

Forever Fern Cling Stamp Set (English)

[152559]

$24.00

Biggest Wish Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[155052]

$17.00

Good Feelings Cling Stamp Set (English)

[158737]

$24.00

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[144237]

$8.75

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[101650]

$10.25

Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146981]

$9.25

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad

[147095]

$8.00

Parakeet Party Classic Stampin' Pad

[159208]

$8.00

Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad

[147089]

$8.00

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

[147088]

$8.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$4.00

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Dots & Spots, Oh My!

This die was one of the first things I ordered when the new annual catalog came out. I used it a few times, but I didn't venture out much further than using it as a subtle background on a card. So that is why I decided to make a video that featured it so I could discover more ways to use the die and show them to you. As an added bonus, it is now available as a Sale-A-Bration item for FREE with a $100 purchase! How cool is that?

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"; Very Vanilla 4" x 5-1/4, 7/8" x 2-3/4" and 3" x 4-1/2"
Stamp Sets: Forever Fern and Nature's Prints
Dies: Dots & Spots, Forever Flourishing
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Other: Gold Shimmer Ribbon 10"
Adhesive and Tools, including Foam Adhesive Strips

As usual, start by folding the card base in half and creasing it with a bone folder. Next, use the Dots & Spots die to cut the large layer of Very Vanilla. I find it helpful to use small pieces of low tack tape to hold the paper in place as I run it though the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine. Place long pieces of Foam Adhesive Strips on the back of the cut piece as I show on the video and position this on the card front. These strips are a little thicker than dimensionals, so they really add depth to your card.

On the medium piece of Very Vanilla, stamp the leafy branch at one end using Cherry Cobbler ink. Then cut that and another leafy branch with the dies. Stamp the sentiment on the small piece of Very Vanilla and add this to the front of the card with Multipurpose Glue. Play around with the placement of the two branches before adhering them. I cut off the bottom of the plain branch to help the esthetics and popped up the Cherry Cobbler branch with Mini Dimensionals. Lastly, tie a bow and add it to the stems with a mini glue dot.

The card I showed at the beginning of the video was done with a Basic White base and the leafy branch was stamped in Granny Apple Green. I used a double layer of the Soft Sea Foam Seam Binding Ribbon to make the bow. This card definitely has a spring/summer feel to it whereas the card I made in the video feels more like autumn.

My next sample is classic black and white. I used the Sweet Cherries stamp bundle to make Rainier Cherries (my favorite!). I matted the white piece cut with the die in Basic Black, leaving the tiniest of borders before popping it up on another black layer. The Black & White Gingham Ribbon is the perfect touch to finish off this card.

For this card, I colored a piece of Basic White cardstock with Stampin' Blends to make a diagonal rainbow of bright colors. I then used the die on a smaller sized piece of black and layered it directly on top of the rainbow. A white floral die from the Meadows dies and an embossed sentiment from the Charming Sentiments Bundle completes this striking card. I really love seeing the rainbow of colors as a border!

It is not always necessary to cut a large piece with this die. As you can see on this card, I only cut a small strip and layered it on top of the same color cardstock to give a subtle texture as a back drop to my planter (Plentiful Plants Bundle). A small sentiment and tiny linen bow are all that I added to finish this clean and simple card.

My next card is shows a different use for the die cut piece. Instead of having the holes of the white piece show the Basic Gray card base, I used them to position the dots made using the new Pearlized Enamel Effects! This basics set comes in three colors - Black (although I think it looks like a shiny Basic Gray), Real Red and White. These dots take a long time to dry, so when you are done adding them to your project, set it aside to dry overnight. Party Puffins is the stamp set and the decorative border was done with the Basic Border dies.

Here is another way to use the Dots & Spots die - cut out a panel of vellum. Then you can use this as a stencil to add polka dots to your card with Blending Brushes! I used the A Little Cheesy set (which has some adorable puns) to make this sample. I colored the wine glass with Stampin' Blends and added Wink of Stella before fussy cutting it out. After making this card, I was able to wash off the vellum to remove the Rich Razzleberry ink so that I can use it again!

My last sample is so stinking cute! As you can imagine, after making a few cards for this video, I had plenty of little circles. I thought, "Why not use them in a shaker card?". The Penguin Place Bundle was the perfect choice to make a snowy scene for my little dots! I cut five frames with the Stylish Shapes dies (using consecutive square dies) and glued them on top of each other. I then added a square of acetate (Window Sheets) before adding one final frame. I created my penguin scene to add to the back of the shaker, capturing a bunch of circles inside to be the snow. Believe me when I say, I could have made quite a few of these with all the circles I had!

I hope this has inspired you to try this die. Tone on tone, it makes a subtle textured background, but as you can see, you can make it dramatic too! Have fun and get one for free through the end of August!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

Etsy Shop: The Power of a Card

https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

Images Copyright Stampin’ Up!®

Join my Facebook Group (The Power of a Cardmaker): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1042676296088278/?ref=share

My current host code for August is: CX7V49RW

Please use this for orders less than $150 and you’ll get a special treat from me.

For orders over $150, you qualify for host rewards from Stampin’ Up! (plus a treat from me!).

Product List

Forever Fern Cling Stamp Set (English)