florals · Florals in Bloom

Anything Florals

Well, yesterday saw a very exciting and emotionally-draining end to the day. Just as I was turning into our section of the neighborhood, I caught a strange sight out of the corner of my eye. And I realized that the gentleman I was seeing on the ground on the curb by his mailbox was not picking weeds but was, instead, in great distress as he sank down and face-planted into the grass as I made the corner and threw the car into park. I had hung up on the hubby to jump out and rush across the street, but it didn’t take hubby long to track my location and appear on scene. When all was said and done, several neighbors also came to aid and we managed to get the gentleman up into his garage and out of the sun as the ambulance arrived to check him out. We bid adieu and headed for home after his son-in-law arrived to serve as translator for the paramedics. So needless to say, I didn’t really have any emotional energy left to design once I got home and finally settled down after the rush of adrenaline.

But I’m back at it today. This week, we’ve been using the Florals in Bloom suite to create our designs. And today we’re pairing up the dies in this suite with the Plaster Painting embossing folder and More Messages stamps & dies to create this lovely encouragement card.

We start with a base of Secret Sea cardstock. The background panel is a quarter sheet of Secret Sea that has been machine embossed with the Plaster Painting embossing folder, and then I used some silver metallic ink to bring out the details in the embossed panel. The focal section consists of florals cut using the Pretty Florals dies and a combination of Strawberry Slush, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, and Pretty Peacock cardstocks. To add some extra shimmer to the flowers, I cover the Strawberry Slush blooms with Wink of Stella before adhering the detail Pretty in Pink pieces on top. The floral centers are a cluster of the Strawberry Slush gems. The sentiment from More Messages is stamped on Smoky Slate cardstock in Gray Granite ink and then diecut with the coordinating More Messages die. I adhered a twist of silver trim behind the sentiment before adhering it to the side of the blooms off-center on the card front. We finish things off with some silver drusy embellishments to tie everything together and draw the eye across the design.

I designed this particular card with our office intern in mind and I can’t wait for her to receive the card on the farewell day of her summer internship!

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florals · Florals in Bloom · Free Shipping

Lovely

Lovely certain seems a fair way to describe this Wednesday. Would you like to know why?

It’s that time of year…where Stampin’ Up! is offering FREE shipping on any order of $75 and above. I’ve had some items hanging out in my cart for a little while now, and I used this opportunity to save big on shipping since quite a bit of it was paper and other weighty items. Now is the perfect time to buy that paper or anything else in your shopping cart because you’ll save BIG on shipping. But better act fast because this deal won’t last long – July 23 through July 25! Check out my online store to learn more!

And that brings us to our card design for today. This week, we’ve been giving the Florals in Bloom suite a bit more attention and pairing it with other items in the crafty stash. Today’s combo includes the Country Woods patterned paper and brushed silver specialty paper. Let’s check it out.

We get started with a base the new In Color cardstock called Cloud Cover. The background panel is a piece of the lovely Florals in Bloom paper that is matted on brushed silver and adhered directly to the card front. I cut a piece of the blue woodgrain pattern from the Country Woods paper pack using the Everyday Arches dies and adhered this focal panel to background panel. Using the Pretty Florals dies, I cut stems and florets from a combination of Shaded Spruce, Pretty in Pink, and Strawberry Slush cardstock. The flowers are assembled with glue dots and each is adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals of varying heights. Using the Sweet Blooms dies, I cut the sentiment from a combination of brushed silver and a piece of pink shimmer paper from my retired stash bin. You could easily get the same shimmery effect by cutting from any shade of pink and then covering with Wink of Stella. I used my glue pen to adhere the two parts of the sentiment together. The sentiment is adhered over the flowers with extra dimensionals to be sure it stands above. We finish things off with the pink gems across the card front.

What do you think of this pretty simple design?

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florals · Florals in Bloom

Floral Thoughts

This week, we’re giving the elements in the Florals in Bloom suite a bit more love and combining them with other fun products in the stash. Today, we’re pairing up the Pretty Florals stamp set with the Thoughtful Designs specialty paper and Country Corners dies.

Our card begins with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock. A sheet of the blue Thoughtful Designs specialty paper serves as the dramatic backdrop for our focal panel. I love the intricate foiled detailing in this paper. I chose the darker end of the blue ombre sheet for the contrasting drama that it adds to this happy garden scene. Our focal panel begins with a base of Cloud Cover cardstock that is cut with the largest Country Corners die. A small stand of wildflowers stamped with the Pretty Florals stamps set adorn the panel in shades of pink, purple, and yellow. The sentiment from The Right Words stamp set is stamped in Secret Sea onto white cardstock and then cut with a combination of paper trimmer and paper snips to create a banner. I tied a length of white diagonal trim around the top of the panel and then adhered the sentiment panel over it with dimensionals. A bow of silver & white sheer ribbon over the center of the white trim adds the perfect touch of sparkle, along with a little Wink of Stella on the cone flowers, some gold foil gems over the purple flowers, and drusy embellishments scattered across the front.

Even cards that take a more serious tone can have touches of sparkle here and there to help invoke feelings of genuine care and heartfelt wishes.

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Florals in Bloom

The Right Words

Our design spotlight for this week is the Florals in Bloom suite by Stampin’ Up! Aside from the fact that this suite is gorgeous in every conceivable way, it’s been the perfect spot of sunshine in a week that hasn’t been the happiest here in North Texas. Whether you are personally impacted by the flooding in the Texas Hill Country or not, there seems to be a universal feeling of sadness as we all come to grips with the innocent lives lost in the blink of an eye.

Today’s card design is inspired by those difficult moments where we simply don’t have any words to say. We simply hope that a hug will do. And for cardmakers, sometimes we have to send a hug in the mail. This card pairs the Pretty Florals bundle with The Right Words stamp set for the perfect hug in the mail.

We get started with a base of Coastal Cabana cardstock. The focal panel backdrop is a simple piece of white cardstock diecut with one of the larger Textured Notes dies. I wanted to create a window look and so I used the Everyday Arches dies to create a window frame of white cardstock and then cut a backdrop of Pretty Peacock that is machine embossed with the Distressed Tiles embossing folder to give the look of a paneled wall in the background. Our window is mounted over gold striped mesh ribbon for a subtle bit of twinkle that spans the card front. I loved the idea of a flowering fine climbing outside the window to add that touch of happy color. The flowers are stamped in various shades of pink, yellow, orange, and red-orange on white carsdtock using the Pretty Florals stamps and then diecut with the coordinating dies. The vine is cut from a sheet of the green ombre glimmer paper in the pastel ombre paper pack. The vine and flowers are adhered next to the window using a combination of glue dots and dimensionals to create a layered look. We add little pops of sparkle across the card front with a combination of foil gems in a variety of colors.

The dies in the Florals in Bloom suite offer a lot of opportunity for beautiful designs. We’ll explore more of what the dies can do in our next design. I hope you’ll drop by and check it out.

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Mother’s Day

The Best Mom

Welcome to a bright and shiny new week! I don’t know about you, but I can’t even believe that we’re starting the month of May. The end of school is going to be here in a flash!

This week, we get to welcome a whole host of brand new products to the store. Are you excited? I know I am! There’s so much good stuff coming. I hope last week’s sneak peeks have you interested in seeing more because there is SO much more to see, and I just know you’re going to love it.

We’re getting started with a new design theme for the week, and with Mother’s Day just a week away, I thought it would be the perfect theme for our designs. And speaking of sneak peeks, we’re getting a little better look at the Pretty Florals bundle, which will be part of the new release, in today’s card.

We get started with a base of Fresh Freesia cardstock. Using the Plaster Painting embossing folder, I embossed just the front panel of the card. I added a piece of the coordinating pastel ombre glimmer paper to the left side against the fold, and this particular piece has the perfect subtle shift from pink to purple. I used a strip of the Blackberry Bliss and gold trim to cover the edge of the glimmer paper and tie together with our focal elements. The sentiment from the She’s the Greatest stamp set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on white cardstock and then diecut with the largest banner die from the Mixed Labels set. It’s adhered in the bottom corner of the card front with dimensionals. Using the Pretty Florals dies, I cut the flowers from a combination of Petunia Pop and Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The leaves are cut from the Old Olive Season of Elegance paper. I added some Wink of Stella to the blooms for a touch of subtle twinkle. The florals are all adhered to the card front around the sentiment panel at varying heights with a combination of glue dots and dimensionals. We finish things off with a scatter of Blackberry Bliss shimmer gems for the perfect touch of sparkle.

I hope you’ll pop back by tomorrow for another bit of Mother’s Day inspiration.

Products used in today’s card:
Fresh Freesia, Petunia Pop, Blackberry Bliss, Basic White cardstock
Pastel Ombre glimmer, Season of Elegance DSP
Plaster Painting embossing folder
Pretty Florals bundle (coming soon)
She’s the Greatest stamps
Mixed Labels dies
Blackberry Bliss & gold metallic ribbon (retired)
Purple fine shimmer gems
Wink of Stella
Dimensionals