January Mini Catalog · sketches

Timeless Thanks

We’re going to close out our week of working with the new Stampin’ Up! Hugs for Love bundle with today’s bonus card. I’m pairing it up once again with the Timeless Plaid paper, which is also a new release, and using Sketch #6 from the new January Mini catalog.

We get started with a base of Boho Blue cardstock. The background panel is a sheet of the Timeless Plaid in blue. I used the reverse side of the Pool Party plaid sheet from the same pack as the center background elements and punched the shapes using the To the Point Label punch. Although it’s difficult to see in the photo, there are very faint lines of Pool Party in the blue plaid sheet, making the Pool Party plaid sheet the perfect compliment to really draw out those subtle stripes. The sentiment panel is stamped on white using the Hugs for Life outline stamp and the sentiment from the Heart Shaped stamp set. The panel is punched with the To the Point Label punch. I tied some Night of Navy linen thread around the background panel and passed it underneath the sentiment panel. I added some rhinestone basic jewels and industrial trinkets to finish things off.

Next week is all about birthdays. I hope you’ll pop in!

Products used in this featured design:
Boho Blue, Basic White cardstock
Timeless Plaid DSP
Hugs for Love bundle
Heart Shaped stamps
Natural Tones linen thread
Industrial trinkets, rhinestone basic jewels
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
January Mini Catalog

Fairy Hugs

When I was growing up in the country, I used to love to hunt for mushrooms and toadstools. I loved the *poof* of dust that would come from the toadstools. And I always found the different mushroom shapes fascinating and would think about what kind of Smurf might live in it based on the size and shape. I always loved a rainy spring because it meant that there would soon be oodles of fungi to find, and I was always excited when we had “fairy rings” — those are the mushrooms that grow in a circle. Anyone else call them that? My grandpa used to say that the circles of mushrooms were where the fairies played. To this day, I still smile every time I see a circle of mushrooms in a yard here in the ‘burbs.

And that’s the inspiration behind today’s card design using the Toadstool Gardens patterned paper. This week, we’re using the new Hugs for Love stamps & punch bundle to create our designs. And I thought the “you make me smile” sentiment was just perfect for today’s card with our cute mushrooms.

We get started on our card today with a base of Berry Burst cardstock. A sheet of the pink Beautiful Bokeh paper serves as the base for our focal panel with two patterns of the Toadstool Gardens designer paper. The sentiment from Hugs for Love is stamped in Blackberry Bliss on the woodgrain pattern from the Toadstool Gardens paper with a lovely heart from the same stamp set stamped in Flirty Flamingo. The sentiment panel is then punched with the coordinating Hugs for Love punch. I also punched two partial panels from Blackberry Bliss to create a full mat for the sentiment panel. The sentiment panel is adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals. The white diagonal trim breaks up the patterns and adds the perfect eye-catching backdrop for our sentiment panel. A scattering of purple sequins gives us the sparkle that makes this design feel magical.

Tomorrow we’re going to use our Hugs for Love bundle to play with patterns. I hope you’ll stop by.

Products used in today’s card:
Berry Burst, Blackberry Bliss cardstock
Toadstool Garden, Beautiful Bokeh DSP
Hugs for Love bundle
White diagonal trim
Purple sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
January Mini Catalog

Lots of Hugs

This week we’re having some fun with the new bundle by Stampin’ Up! called Hugs for Love. This bundle includes a stamp set and coordinating label punch. And while you can certainly get a great start on Valetines with this bundle, it’s versatile enough to create designs for all sorts of occasions.

Today, we’re taking a more traditional approach with the design elements and color palette by making a card that feels very Valentine-y. For this card, we’re pairing our featured bundle with the Marbled Elegance pattern paper.

We get started today with a card base of Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Our Marbled Elegance paper is matted with gold mercury vellum, which really accentuates the lovely gold foiling in our patterned paper. The sentiment from Hugs for Love is stamped in Real Red, while the heart accents are stamped in Pretty in Pink and the decorative border is stamped in Cherry Cobbler. The sentiment panel is then cut with the coordinating punch and adhered over a bow of gold trim using dimensionals. We finish things off by scattering varying sizes of gold foil hearts on and around the sentiment panel.

This is such a simple design that can be replicated quickly. And a simple swap of the sentiment makes this is a great layout for all occasions.

Tomorrow we’re smiling with the fairies. I hope you’ll drop in!

Products used in today’s card:
Cherry Cobbler, Basic White cardstock
Marbled Elegance, Mercury vellum DSP
Hugs for Love bundle
Gold trim
Gold hearts
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Product List
Coming Soon · January Mini Catalog

Sending Big Hugs

Today, we’re continuing through our stroll of some of my favorite products from the upcoming Stampin’ Up! January Mini and Sale-a-Bration catalogs. We’re using Sketch #2 from the Annual Catalog to create this bright and cheery card using the Floral Delight paper and Hugs for Love stamps & punch.

We get started with a base of Daffodil Delight cardstock. I chose a sheet of Floral Delight patterned paper with lots of white space for a nice contrast against our base. To help the focal panel stand out, I matted it in Crushed Curry to bring out the details in the flowers in the focal panel background. The sentiment from the Hugs for Love stamp set is stamped in Pool Party on white cardstock and then punched with the coordinating punch. I also punched a panel from the pastel ombré glimmer paper and cut it in half to make a sparkly mat. A twist of Daffodil Delight satin ribbon and Lost Lagoon soft cording behind the sentiment panel bring everything together. A few of the new low profile dots add a touch of glimmer to the sentiment and really draw the eye in.

This whole paper pack is bright & cheery and will make some wonderful pick-me-up cards, as well as designs for the floral-lovers in your life!

Products used in today’s design:
Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Basic White cardstock
Floral Delight (coming soon), pastel ombré glimmer (coming soon) DSP
Hugs for Love bundle (coming soon)
Daffodil Delight satin ribbon (coming soon), Lost Lagoon soft cording
Low profile dots (coming soon)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Botanicals · Clean and Simple

Pots of Joy

This week, we’re exploring card designs that use botanical images. I love stamp sets that include flowers and greenery but then sometimes find myself stuck for ideas on how to use them. We’re so fortunate to have so many different inspiration forums, and in cases where I’m fresh out of ideas, that’s precisely where I turn.

Today’s card design was inspired by a Stampin’ Up! Artisan design. The inspiration card used the lovely argyle detail die from Everyday Details — a die that I have had a really hard time finding a use for — and the lovely Planted Paradise stamp set.

This card design is a built on a base of white cardstock. The focal image panel sits atop a Blueberry Bushel panel where each long edge has been diecut using the argyle die from Everyday Details. A strip of white cardstock serves as the focal image base in the center. The pots and greenery are stamped on separate sheet of white cardstock and then cut with paper snips before being mounted with dimensionals. The sentiment panel consists of the Heartfelt Hellos sentiment that is punched with the coordinating Heartfelt Hexagon punch. I also added an additional layer of dimensionals to the sentiment panel to ensure that it stood above the supporting images. I added Blooming Pearls on the pots and near the sentiment for added detail and to draw the eye across the focal panel.

Yesterday, I mentioned the TIP for stamping crisp images when your photopolymer stamps tend to pool ink and stamp blotchy images. When you’re going for a more vintagey feel, I would definitely allow the ink to pool on the stamps. But if you’re going for a clean look, you’ll definitely want to use that layer of Versamark first before applying your selected colored ink. Today, I elected to use both types of stamped images on my card design so that you could see the difference. Can you spot which stamped elements look more vintage than crisp?

Products used in today’s design:
Blueberry Bushel, Basic White cardstock
Planted Paradise, Heartfelt Hellos stamps
Heartfelt Hexagon bundle
Blooming pearls
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team · Terrific Tuesdays

Heartfelt Hexagon Sympathy

While masculine card designs can be, in and of themselves, quite challenging, designing sympathy cards for the guys in your life can seem daunting. In this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays, we made a sympathy card together. A friend recently lost his wife, and since I needed a more masculine sympathy card myself, I felt it would be a good opportunity to share my process for designing cards for those hard times.

Today’s card design began with a pattern idea and a color palette. As I was making a project to-do list for this week, I knew that I wanted to make patterned paper using the Heartfelt Hexagon stamps and was inspired by the Softly Sophisticated embossing folder in the newly-released Sale-a-Bration catalog. As I was thinking about a color palette for a sympathy card that would appropriately convey both comfort and hope, I was drawn to the combination of Basic Gray, Night of Navy, and Copper Clay. 

So today’s card is built on a base of Basic Gray cardstock, while Night of Navy and Copper Clay luster cardstock serve as the mats for the main image panel. The single-framed hexagon from Heartfelt Hexagon is stamped in Smoky Slate in a repeating pattern that mimics the pattern of the Softly Sophisticated embossing folder. I liked the look of the larger stamped pattern rather than the smaller pattern for this particular occasion. The sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagon is stamped in Night of Navy on Basic Gray and then punched with the coordinating hexagon punch. The Night of Navy and gold glittered ribbon — a carry-over from the Holiday Mini catalog — adds a soft touch and ties the blue elements together, while a few brushed metallic dots tie together the sheen of the luster paper and sparkle of the glitter ribbon and add an additional layer of warmth.

As we’re wrapping up our week of masculine card designs, I hope you’ve been inspired by all of the possibilities there are to make gorgeous masculine cards for any occasion. In case you missed this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays, you can still catch it over on YouTube to find even more inspiration.

Products used in today’s design:
Night of Navy, Basic Grey, Copper Clay luster cardstock
Heartfelt Sympathy stamps & punch
Night of Navy & gold glittered ribbon
Brushed metallic dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Terrific Tuesdays

Enjoy Your Day

While I don’t always find it easy to make masculine cards, sometimes you sketch a layout from an inspiration card and find that it’s absolutely perfect for all sorts of occasions. Such is the case with a card layout I sketched a long while back that calls for swapping out the corner of the background panel. As soon as I ran across the sketch, it immediately went in the to-do project list for this week’s masculine-themed card designs.

This card design begins with a base of one of my favorite colors right now — Pretty Peacock. The diamond patterned sheet is from the One Horse Open Sleigh paper pack and the corner piece is from Inked Botanicals. A thin border of Pretty Peacock is allowed to peek through in between the two patterned pieces. The sentiment is stamped in Pretty Peacock and is from the Heartfelt Hellos stamp set in the newly-released Sale-a-Bration catalog. The sentiment panel is punched using the coordinating Heartfelt Hexagon punch. A twist of iridescent ribbon helps draw the eye to the sentiment, along with the Pretty Peacock sequins.

There are a number of ways that you can use this sketch, but in this case I wanted to use two coordinating patterns of patterned paper for the two background panel elements. And one major take-away I have from designing cards for this week is to never count out an unlikely pack of paper for masculine designs because that’s where you’re likely to find a perfect fit for your project. Today’s card is a perfect example of that. Never in a million years did I think I would find a likely candidate in One Horse Open Sleigh or Inked Botanicals! So, in short, leave no stone unturned — and consider all of the options you have in your stash.

Interested in seeing what other masculine designs we were able to put together using the Heartfelt Hexagon bundle? Hop on over to YouTube and check out this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays!

Products used in today’s design:
Pretty Peacock, Basic White cardstock
One Horse Open Sleigh, Inked Botanicals DSP
Heartfelt Hexagon stamps & punch
Heartfelt Hellos stamps
Iridescent ribbon (retired)
Sequins trio
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Terrific Tuesdays

You’re the Best

This week’s focus is all about masculine cards. I sometimes find it challenging to design masculine cards. And that often has to do with my mindset — particularly this idea that the theme has to be clear through the images and/or patterns I choose. But that’s how we end up boxing ourselves in creatively. Sometimes it’s all about reminding ourselves to trust the creative process as much when designing masculine cards as we do with any other occasion.

For today’s design, I wanted to create something that was warm and inviting. I was carrying that comfy old Victorian library feeling forward from another design. And that helped shape the patterned paper options I pulled for this card. I kept the card base light but warm by choosing Very Vanilla. All of the patterned papers are from the All About Autumn paper pack. To add extra emphasis to the sentiment panel, I used a mat of the foiled paper diecut using the Nested Essentials set. The sentiment from Heartfelt Hellos is stamped in Pretty Peacock on Very Vanilla and then punched with the coordinating hexagon punch. The Pecan Pie bordered ribbon adds another layer of emphasis to the sentiment panel, and the touch of sparkle from the copper sequins adds that “you’re special” feeling to the design.

So the next time you really like a layout but find it difficult to adapt to feeling more masculine, try picturing the feeling you’d like to evoke with your design and see how that influences your decisions on design elements. I think you’ll be surprised!

Curious what other masculine card designs we made during this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays? You can check it out on my YouTube channel!

Products used in today’s design:
Very Vanilla cardstock
All About Autumn (retired) DSP
Heartfelt Hexagon stamps & punch
Heartfelt Hellos stamps
Pecan Pie bordered ribbon
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

Terrific Tuesdays

Tiled Winter Wishes

This week, we’re looking at all of the wonderful projects that we can make when we combine the Heartfelt Hexagon bundle and more masculine color palettes. Today’s card is a monochromatic design and I’m in love with how it turned out!

I’ve recently seen quite a few card designs that use this tiled layout with the Heartfelt Hexagon bundle, and I just knew I had to give it a try. I’ve seen it with designer paper, embossed cardstock, and all sorts of variations in between. I have a new pack of shimmer paper that I wanted to break open, and that’s where this design got started.

The base of this card is a sheet of Lost Lagoon cardstock. After cutting the card base, I halved the remaining portion to use in creating the hexagon pattern on the card front. I stamped the more decorative hexagon frame from the Heartfelt Hexagon set and the sentiment from the Magical Meadow set using Pretty Peacock ink to give a bit more contrast. The remainder of the panel was embossed with the Winter Snow embossing folder and then punched with the hexagon punch. I cut a strip of the Lost Lagoon shimmer paper and punched a few hexagons from that, as well. Because they’re just adding a little sparkle to the design, only a few will be needed.

To build the tiled background, I began by placing the sentiment panel first. To give it more prominence, I added dimensionals and then adhered into place on the card front. I filled in the sentiment row with embossed hexagons and then worked my way down and then up the card design from there. I laid out everything before adhering to get the placement just right. When cutting the portions that hang over the edges, be sure to retain those scraps as they’re used to fill in smaller gaps along the edges across the design.

While I’m not a huge fan of fussy cutting, this card came together quickly and easily with the scraps which meant no scraps leftover!

Would you like to see the projects featured in this week’s Terrific Tuesdays episode? Hop on over to my YouTube channel and check it out by clicking on the link below:

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Lagoon, soft shimmer cardstock
Heartfelt Hexagon stamps and punch
Winter Snow embossing folder (retired)
Magical Meadow stamps
Fine sparkle gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress.  Song Sparrow Papercrafts is not responsible for ad content.

World Card Making Day

Stack of Cake

Today we’re taking a look at another one of the card designs I made during Stampin’ Up!’s World Card Making Day craft-along event. Did you attend? You can still catch it on replay if you want to join in on the fun!

This segment of the event was a lot of fun because I was reminded how you can alter a punch shape by pulling the paper through in order to punch one end at a time. I can never seem to remember that trick when I need it! Does that ever happen to you? This design is simple and requires a few shades of cardstock and the Heartfelt Hexagon stamp and punch bundle.

The card base is Basic White cardstock, as is each of the hexagon bases. The top and bottom hexagons are half of one punched hexagon. The colored elements are half of a hexagon. The center hexagon base uses the pull-through technique to elongate the hexagon shape to allow for the larger sentiment and the colored cardstock element. The hexagons are layered in a straight line up the center of the card with the center sentiment being popped up on dimensionals to really draw the eye. I love this eye-catching, yet simple, design. What do you think?

Products used:
Basic White, Berry Burst, Granny Apple Green, Bubble Bath, Azure Afternoon, Lemon Lolly cardstock
Heartfelt Hexagon stamps and punch
Lemon Lime twist ribbon
Tinsel gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

All ads on this site are posted by WordPress and are based on your personal browsing history. I do not control ad content.