This Butterfly Art card was featured in this post. And was sent with other goodies to the lucky winner this week. Today I linked it to Addicted 2 Decorating in her linking party. I love Kristi’s blog. I follow it regularly for design inspiration!
For all the details on dimensions and how-tos for the butterfly art visit here.
This birthday tag card using the Reason to Smile stamp set (that can be purchased this month only for $5 with a $50 product purchase) was inspired by the very simple note card bundle shown at the top of page 141 in the Stampin’ Up! catalog. Don’t have a catalog? Ask for one today! I used the colors and the layout of the note card to create the tag and attached the tag to a full card.
Technique: Multi-color stamping – I used the paint brush end of the Tangerine Tango and the Certainly Celery markers to ink the flower and stem outline. When you use this technique, don’t forget to huff or breath on the inked rubber before you stamp. This remoistens the ink for good stamp coverage. Also, I always ink the rubber with the lightest color first, that way I don’t contaminate my lighter markers with darker inks.
When you use an outline stamp and a solid stamp of the same image for layering, it’s called two-step stamping. Using both creates depth in your stamped art.
After I stamped the two-tone flower outline, I then inked only the top of the matching solid flower and stem with Daffodil Delight. If I had wanted to ink the solid flower AND the complete stem, I would have definitely used the stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the stem. Not having the flower and flower outline lined up exactly is OK and, in fact, adds to the charm. Not having the stems lined up – not OK.
I just really love the look of the solo flower and the pop of the Marina Mist greeting. So sweet and simple.
Color inspiration for your paper crafting can come from many different places. Some of my favorites are the Stampin’ Up! catalogs, designer series paper, and the color coach. These are obvious places to be inspired by Stampin’ Up! colors, but have you looked around you?
Do you have a favorite dress you love to wear or a favorite picture hanging in your home? Have you noticed the colors used in a magazine article or ad? How can you use these inspirations to create your next favorite birthday card, party favor or wall decor?
Design Seeds takes color inspiration to a whole new level. Check out this picture below and notice the colors the designer has pulled from this picture. Can you convert this great color combination into Stampin’ Up! colors?
(Picture source: http://design-seeds.com/index.php/home/entry/ladybug-hues)
Here’s the SU! colors I picked from this: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black and Tangerine Tango. Are these the colors you would have chosen?
Here’s a VERY simple birthday gift card made with this color inspiration. It took me just a few minutes to make this card because I already had a color palette. Actually, it took me soooo little time to make this, I wish I had timed myself. Probably 10-15 from beginning to end. It took longer to take and edit the picture than to make it! LOL
This card measures 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ I chose to stamp this card on Glossy White. This glossy paper creates such a great effect. I wish you could see it in person. This paper has a similar surface as you would find on a store-bought card but a much nicer, richer-feeling paper weight. The first time I saw a card stamped on Glossy White I didn’t believe it was hand stamped. It was a floral card also and it was just beautiful. The colors are so rich and vibrant stamped on this paper.
Technique: You’re probably noticing that it looks like I used two different blues. Not so – all the flowers are stamped in Baha Breeze! The lighter color is a second-generation stamped image, meaning I stamped off on a scrap piece of paper first before stamping on my card front. The darker Baha Breeze is full-strength color. Stamping-off or second-generation stamping is an easy way to get even more variety out of your ink pads.
Card Recipe: Stamps: Summer Silhouettes w-#126445 c-#126447, Itty Bitty Banners w-#126255 c-#126257 Ink: Certainly Celery #126958, Wild Wasabi #126959, Baja Breeze #126960, Tangerine Tango #126946, Basic Black #126980 Paper: Glossy White #102599, Basic Black #121045 Extras: Bitty Banner Framelits #129267, Big Shot Die-cutting Machine #113439I hope you enjoyed this color inspiration post and the easy birthday gift card! Order a pack of designer series paper today to inspire your color choices or request your FREE copy of the Stampin’ Up! Catalog today!
Enjoy! Julie
This “For The Birds” thinking of you card was inspired by the sample on pg. 35 of the current Stampin’ Up! catalog. If you don’t have your copy, send me a note today with your address and I’ll make sure you get your copy.
I changed the stamp and the colors and made some other minor design changes, but the basic layout is the same. The colors in my card are inspired by the colors in the Birds of a Feather designer series paper.
The scallop that surrounds the focal image is from the Perfect Pennants die. I die cut the scallop circle with the Big Shot Die-cutting Machine then used the 1-3/4″ circle punch to punch out the center. To do this, attach a strip of light weight card stock such as Whisper White card stock to the scallop circle to create a handle and center it in the circle punch.
The same circle punch was used to punch the card stock strip and then the scallop was adhered around the opening.
This adorable little bird in the nest was painted using an aqua painter and the ink from the stamp pads. The image was stamped with StazOn Ink on Natural White card stock. StazOn Ink is permanent ink that will allow you to paint without smearing.
To paint with ink from your classic stamp pad, close the lid, then squeeze the pad. When you squeeze the lid, it will pick up ink from the pad, so when you open up the pad you’ll notice a little pool of ink on the lid. The lid makes a great palette and you can paint directly from the lid.
I trimmed narrow strips of pattern paper and cut the edges on the top tag. The flag end was created with the corner of the 1″ square punch. The baker’s twine was threaded through the clear bitty button and adhered with a glue dot. The heart was punched and added to the tag.
Below is the card recipe for this card. By clicking on the hyperlinks you can look at the particulars on the products used. If you have questions about placing an online order you can view the video found on the “how to order” page.
Remember with a $50 product order this month you can purchase the Reason To Smile stamp set for only $5! Order your favorite products today.
Enjoy! Julie
Card Recipe: Stamps: For The Birds w-#126405 c-#126407 Ink: Black StazOn #101406 Paper: Natural White #102316, Birds Of A Feather Designer Series Paper #126899, Primrose Petals #126841 Extras: Bitty Buttons #118761, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch #119850, Perfect Pennants Die #123126, Big Shot Die-cutting Machine #113439, Aqua Painters #103954, Island Indigo Baker’s Twine #125575, Stampin’ Dimensionals #104430, Glue Dots #103683
I made this flower with dryer sheets and the Fun Flower Bigz Die. Who knew dryer sheets could be so pretty?! As you might imagine dryer sheets would be hard to cut but if you sandwich the die, then the dryer sheet, and finally card stock you’ll get a clean cut. I only had to clip a couple of hanger-ons.
Once the flower was cut, I spritzed it with color, then outlined it with Dazzling Details Glitter Glue. Of course, then it had to sit and dry. I let it dry completely over night. I set it out on some paper to dry, but I should have set it on wax paper instead since I did have a little trouble with a couple of spots where the glue stuck to the paper.
To assemble the flower, I punched a 1-1/4″ card stock circle from Primrose Petals then stacked the flowers on top, punched the center and adhered them all together with a brad. I punched a 3/4″ card stock circle, adhered the rhinestones and glued that to the top of the brad with a glue dot.
‘Thank you’, from the Just Believe Stamp Set, was stamped in Basic Black full strength and then again without re-inking to get the different varying shades of black and gray.
The Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine makes this all happen – the flower and the beautiful embossed background. The Big Shot has instruction on the multipurpose platform on how to use all the various types of dies, making it super easy to use. Order your Big Shot today and start creating!
Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Just Believe wood-#116948 clear-#120453
Ink: Basic Black #126980
Paper: Primrose Petals #126841, Basic Black #121045, Whisper White #100730
Extras: Rhinestones #119246, 1-1/4″ Circle Punch #119861, 3/4″ Circle Punch #119873, Stampin’ Spritzer #126185, Dazzling Detail Glitter Glue #124117, Fun Flower Bigz Die #121812, Embossing Folder #120175, Big Shot Die-Cut Machine #113439, Mini Glue Dots #103683
Enjoy! Julie