Blending Brushes & Decorative Mask for a Winning Background--#tgifc357

This week we had a product spotlight challenge from the TGIF Challenges team:  Blending Brushes (#153611, set of three).  I fell in love with these Blending Brushes the first time I used them.  I love the variegated background you can get with these brushes--whether you are using just one color or combining two or more together. They are another way to create texture on a card and especially on a background.

For the background on this card I used Basic White card stock, a Plenty of Patterns decorative mask (#155553, set of 4), a Blending Brush and Soft Succulent ink.

The stamped images are from the Quiet Meadow stamp set (#155082).  Both the floral image and the greeting were stamped in Soft Suede ink. The floral image was colored with the Pale Papaya Combo and the Soft Succulent Combo Stampin' Blends alcohol markers.   The greeting was die cut using the label die in the coordinating Meadows dies (#155852, also available bundled with the stamp set at 10% off, #155847).   The corners of the floral piece were rounded using the Detailed Trio Punch (#146320).

The card was completed with  two lengths of Linen Thread (#104199) for a double bow and three Pale Papaya Genial Gems (#155500).

Be inspired by the different ways Blending Brushes can be used on your projects over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a great day!

--Sara Nell

Love Note--#tgifc350

Welcome to my blog today!  I wasn't sure I was going to get this post up for the TGIF Challenges color challenge and I hope I can just get it posted in time!  The colors today are so pretty together, I decided to make a little love note for a wedding or shower gift card.  The colors:  Night of Navy, Blushing Bride and Gold.

My idea was to take a Blushing Bride wildflower die cut stem (from Meadows dies #155852) and kind of "shabby chic" cover it with a bit of Gilded Leafing (#154560).  I was afraid to put too much of the leafing on because it can be overpowering to me. I like how this one turned out, although the leafing didn't stick as well to the center of the stem--but less is more, right!

I used the Quiet Meadow stamp set (#155082, bundled with the Meadows dies, #155847) for my stamped images.  This is where it got hard.  I originally wanted just a dotted background in Night of Navy and a few little Blushing Bride flowers--but that was too busy for the one flower stem to stand out.  So I pivoted to a Tasteful Labels die (#152886), embossed with the Ornate Floral 3D embossing folder (#152725).  I stamped some Blushing Bride dots behind the label and a added a "Love" tag stamped in Night of Navy and die cut with the small tag in the Meadows die.  Instead of tying on a bow, I used a Brushed Brass Butterfly (#158136) to cover the tag hole and added a couple more around the stem (they look golden to me!!!).  

Finally, I tied on a bow of Gold Simply Elegant Trim (#155766).  TIP:  Knots and bows tied in this trim can loosen easily.  I just slip a glue dot under the bow knot to hold the bow together and to keep it in place on the card.

The card base is a Basic White note card (#159232).

All of the entries in this week's challenge are absolutely beautiful!  Go check them out at the TGIF Challenges blog here:

DID YOU LOVE MY CARD TODAY?  If so, I would love it if you would head over to the TGIF challenges blog using the link above and "Like" my card, #23--my name is under the photo.  Whoever gets the most likes, will be a Guest Designer for an upcoming TGIF challenge.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

--Sara Nell

       

July Creation Station Blog Hop--Texture

 

Welcome to the July Creation Station Blog Hop!  So glad you're here!

This month our theme is Texture.  There are so many ways to add texture to your stamping and paper crafting projects--so expect to see many takes on texture today. Enjoy the hop and all of the ideas we're sharing by clicking on the "Next" link at the end of each designer's post.

I absolutely love to create texture on my cards--especially with my backgrounds.  For you today, I did something I've never tried before--a bit of a scary process because I wasn't sure it would work.  My first attempt was with a spritz of Soft Sea Foam, which was too light to create a nice contrast.  Switched to Old Olive and loved the contrast and the mottled colors as the ink dried.

This is the first one with Soft Sea Foam.

The first step was to die cut several leaf branches out of Basic White card stock using a die from the Forever Flourishing dies (#152714).  These were arranged over a piece of watercolor paper (#149612) and adhered with a repositionable dot tape adhesive.  A Stampin' Spritzer (#126185) was filled with water and 5 drops of Old Olive ink refill. This solution was spritzed over the leaf branches on the water color paper.  When the watercolor paper was almost dried, the leaf branches were removed and then the piece was left to dry completely.  Residual dot adhesive and Basic White card stock were rubbed off once the watercolor paper was dry (used my fingers--easy).

Next, the typed words image from the Quiet Meadow stamp set (#155082) was stamped in VersaMark ink three times down the front of the card.  The images were heat embossed with a half and half mixture of White (Basics set, #155554) and Gold (Metallics set, #155555) Stampin' Emboss Powders.  I mixed the two powders to get a less shiny affect on the words for the background.  The background was finished with a splatter of Mossy Meadow ink over the watercolor paper.

The foreground consists of the following layered elements:  Gold Brushed Metallic card stock frame created with two nested Stitched Rectangles dies (#151820)--[happy to see this Brushed Metallic card stock returning in the upcoming new mini catalog on August 3]; large tree trunk and branches die cut out of Soft Suede card  stock using the Beautiful Trees dies (#155840) and embossed with the Bark 3D embossing folder (#155431); a Mossy Meadow leaf canopy die cut with a die from the  Beautiful Trees dies; and a greeting from the Beauty of Friendship stamp set (#154983) stamped in VersaMark on Mossy Meadow card stock, heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder, and die cut with a Stitched Rectangle die.

A card base of Soft Suede card stock, a layer of Gold Brushed Metallic card stock and some Gold Metallic Pearls (#146282) complete the card.

Now it's time to head over the the talented Vicki Boucher's blog.  Can't wait to see what she has created!

TO VICKI'S BLOG . . .

Wishing all of you a wonderful July and a Happy Independence Day to my friends in the U.S.A!

--Sara Nell

Meadow Flower Bouquet Thanks--#tgifc322

It's another Designer Take Over Challenge this week at TGIF Challenges.  The designer this time around is the very talented Andrea Tracy-Tucker, who you can find on her blog, One Stampin' Mother Tucker.  Her theme challenge is (of course!) Farmhouse Chic.  

Let me be honest here. The only thing I know about Farmhouse Chic is shiplap--and that only because I watched a lot of Fixer Upper episodes.   Andrea and other TGIF Challenges designers used shiplap backgrounds and gingham. So, I followed suit:

My shiplap background was created using strips of a wood grain pattern in the In Good Taste designer series paper pack (#152494).  I gave my shiplap a whitewash finish by dragging my Whisper White Craft ink pad (#147277) across the paper before I cut it into strips.  I layered the strips over an Early Espresso card base leaving a small piece of the card base showing between the strips.

I chose to place a bouquet of wildflowers on my shiplap.  The flower image from the Quiet Meadow stamp set (#155082) was stamped in Soft Suede on Basic White card stock, colored with So Saffron and Old Olive Stampin' Blends combos and fussy cut using Paper Snips and an Exacto knife. The leaf stalks were die cut out of Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz card stock using the coordinating Meadows dies (#155852, bundles with the stamp set at 10% off, #155847).  A bow of Bumblebee 1/4" gingham ribbon (#153658) ties the bouquet together.  

The greeting is from the Biggest Wish stamp set (#155052).  It was stamped in Mossy Meadow ink on Basic White card stock and fussy cut.

Be sure and check out the designer and challenger entries in this week's TGIF Challenge found here.

Have a happy Independence Day weekend!

--Sara Nell

 

 

Creation Station June Hop--In Colors Floral Frenzy

 

Welcome to the June Creation Station Blog Hop!  Whether you've just arrived from Australian designer Vicki Boucher's blog or you are starting here, I'm glad you are visiting today.  The theme this month is "In Colors Floral Frenzy Mash Up".  We are only using colors from the two current In Color collections plus white and we are creating floral projects for you to enjoy.  Be sure to click on the Next link at the end of each blog post, so you can see all of the talented designers' projects this month.  This is going to be a fun hop!

For the floral frenzy part of my projects, I chose to use the Meadow dies (#155852) and the coordinating Quite Meadow stamp set (#155082; bundled with the dies at 10% off, #155847).  I used the die images three ways: as silhouettes, watercolored, and paper-pieced.  For the In Colors Mash-Up part, I used at least one color from each of the two current In Color collections on each project. 

This is a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card folded at the top.  The Basic White Thick card base is covered completely by the 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of Pale Papaya dotted patterned paper from the Hand-Penned designer series paper collection (#155499).  Five meadow flowers and leaves were die cut out of Misty Moonlight card stock and adhered to the card front with Mono Liquid Glue.  The greeting was stamped in Misty Moonlight ink on Basic White card stock, then die cut with the label die in the Meadow die set.  Misty Moonlight/Silver baker's twine (Flowers for Every Season ribbon combo pack, #153620) was threaded through the label and tied in a bow.  A splattering of Rhinestone Basic Jewels (#144220) completes the card.

The background on this card was created by painting watered down Misty Moonlight and Soft Succulent ink on a Clear Block "E" (#118484), then pressing it down on a 5" x 3-3/4" piece of Fluid 100 watercolor paper (#149612).  Each of the Meadow flower and leave images were die cut out of the same watercolor paper and then watercolored using a Water Painter (#151298) and the following In Color inks:  Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Fresh Freesia, Pale Papaya and Cinnamon Cider.  The greeting was stamped in Evening Evergreen on Soft Succulent card stock.  Three strands of Linen thread (3104199) were threaded through the label and tied in a bow.  The background paper is a Soft Succulent pattern from the 2021-2023 In Color designer series paper assortment (#155641).  It was adhered over a Basic White Thick card base.

The flower on this bookmark was paper-pieced using two die cuts of the same flower--one in Soft Succulent and one in Polished Pink.  The flowers on the  Polished Pink die cut were trimmed off and adhered over the flower shapes on the Soft Succulent piece.  A Bumblebee card stock die cut was added to the center of the flower.  The leaves image also die cut from Bumblebee card stock, was trimmed before adhering it to the bookmark.  "Love" was stamped in Evening Evergreen on Soft Succulent card stock and die cut using the small tag die in the Meadow die set.  

The bookmark is a piece of 2" x 6" an Evening Evergreen pattern from the 2021-2023 designer series paper assortment, layered over a piece of Evening Evergreen card stock.  The top was punched out with the Fancy Tag Topper Punch (#152711).  Bumblebee gingham ribbon (#153658) and Linen Thread were added to the top of the bookmark and Linen Thread to the small "Love" tag.

I loved using these wonderful Meadow dies three different ways for you today.  Now it's time to head over the Dena Rekow's blog to see her In Color Mash-Up. 

To Dena's Blog . . .

Have a great June! 

--Sara Nell

    

  

 

Quiet Meadow Thinking of You--#tgifc318

It is Designer Take-Over Challenge this week at TGIF Challenges.  The fabulous Bree Renwick, also know as the Craftsomnia Momma, has given us the challenge of using Stampin' Blends.  I love my Stampin' Blends and use them a lot.  Sometimes, I use them just to add a touch of color to a stamped image to give it a bit of richness.  This is what I did on my card today:

The focal image was stamped in Evening Evergreen on Crumb Cake card stock, then lightly colored with Pale Papaya (#155519) and Soft Succulent (#155521) Stampin' Blends.  The corners of this piece were rounded using the Detailed Trio Punch (#146320).  The stamped image is from the Quiet Meadow stamp set (#155082), as are all of the stamped images on the card.

The background was stamped on Very Vanilla card stock which was "aged" a bit with Crumb Cake ink applied with a Blending Brush (#153611).  Three typed word images were stamped in Crumb Cake and the splatter image was stamped randomly across the front in Pale Papaya.  This piece was layered over a piece of Evening Evergreen card stock and then two lengths of Linen Twine (#104199) were tied around the layered piece and into a bow to the left of the focal piece which was added with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

The greeting was stamped in Evening Evergreen onto Very Vanilla card stock, then die cut using the label die from the coordinating Meadow dies (#155852; bundled with the stamp set at 10% off, #155847). This piece was also "aged" with Crumb Cake ink and a Blending Brush.  The card base is Crumb Cake.

You are going to find plenty of inspiration for using your Stampin' Blends over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a great week!

--Sara Nell