Hibiscus - I Yearn for My Garden

Another Colorado low , is heading our way - the second one in as many weeks, bringing with it lots of snow.  Soon we will be running out of places to put the  shovelled  snow.  This has been a brutal winter so far and its not over yet.

At times like this I yearn for my garden.  The "Humming Along" stamp set does that for me, especially the Hibiscus.  So I made a birthday card featuring this flower.

The front of a top fold Thick Whisper White card base was embossed with the Swirls and Curls Embossing Folder.

On top of this was added a Melon Mambo frame, made by die cutting two sizes of the Stitched Rectangle framelits. 

The Hibiscus flower, as well as an extra leaf, was stamped and coloured on a separate piece of Whisper White card stock.  Both light and dark Melon Mambo blendabilites were used for the flower; Daffodil Delight on the large stamen; and Night of Navy in the center.  The stem and leaves were coloured with Granny Apple Green and light Daffodil Delight.

After die cutting the flower and extra leaf with the Humming Framelit dies (there is a die for the flower and leaf) it was added to the card front using dimensionals.  The extra leaf was attached to the stem adjacent to the other leaf.

No card is complete without bling, so Dazzling Diamonds was applied to the flower only.

The sentiment, die cut using this shaped framelit, had its edges sponged lightly with Melon Mambo ink before it was added to the card front above the flower also with dimensionals (see picture below)

Close up showing die cut sentiment and stitched Rectangle frame

Close up showing Dazzling Diamonds on flower as well as embossing

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  Humming Along

Inks: Black Memento, Melon Mambo, Stampin' Blends (Light & Dark Melon Mambo, Light & Dark Granny Apple Green, Light & Dark Daffodil Delight, Light Night of Navy)

Papers:  Thick Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Whisper White

Accessories:  Humming Along Framelit Dies, Dazzling Diamonds, Swirls & Curls Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Stitched Rectangle Framelit/dies.

So Hoppy Together - a SAB sneak peak

Do you want a sneak peak of one of the SAB stamps which will be offered free with  $60 purchase starting in January?

I couldn't wait to make some cards using the "So Hoppy Together" cling   stamp set.  The new cling stamps are so marvelous!! Once they are mounted on the stamping block they stay there i.e. they won't fall off or slide while stamping.  See the earlier post here where I posted a video made by Stampin' Up explaining all about the new cling stamps - putting the labels on, using, cleaning and storing them.

So, here's the first card:

These little frogs are so cute!  

This one finds himself in a pond full of hippos waiting to snap him up!  His friend the butterfly hovers over head. I love this little guy's attitude - it seems like he's saying that as long as he's on his "lily pad" the hippo's can't get him- thus the "hey"

After colouring the frog with Stampin' Blends (Granny Apple Green light and dark, with Pool Party eyes I used a 1 3/4" circle punch to punch him out, then matted him with a Starburst circle in Basic Gray.

The butterfly was coloured with Rich Razzelberry and Smokey Slate stampin blends, punched with a 1" circle punch and matted with 1 1/8" scallop circle of Basic Gray.

I also used punches to punch out that defiant "hey!"- a 3/4" matted with a 7/8" scallop.

These elements were arranged on some Animal Expedition DSP (annual catalogue) which was layered on a Whisper White layer.  After these layers were adhered together, some 3/8" Basic Gray ribbon was added near the bottom and a bow added to the right of the main image piece.

The layers were then adhered to a Pool Party card base.

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  So Hoppy Together

Inks:  Black Memento, Stampin' Blends (Granny Apple Green, Pool Party, Rich Razzelberry, Smokey Slate)

Papers:  Pool Party, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Animal Expedition DSP

Accessories:  Circle Punches:  Starburst, 1 3/4", 1", 1 1/8", 3/4", 7/8",  3/8" basic gray ribbon

The "Little Red Truck" Christmas - Hand Stamped Sentiment #304

If it's not Buffalo Plaid, it's Red Pick Up Trucks.  Everywhere you look (besides the SU catalogue of course) there are  red pick up trucks with a Christmas tree on the back.  Some even have Buffalo Plaid on them.

So, for the current sketch challenge with Hand Stamped Sentiments here I incorporated both the Red Pick Up Truck and the Buffalo Plaid to make this Christmas card.

The red pick up truck from "Farmhouse Christmas" was stamped on Whisper White, then coloured with Stampin' Blends :  Cherry Cobbler (light and dark), Smoky Slate (light and dark), Pool Party (Light and Dark), Granny Apple Green (Light and Dark).  Before die cutting the image using the Circles Framelits, I stamped some snow falling in the background, and a bit of ice on the road.  Some Dazzling Diamonds was added to the top of the truck and the road.  

The art piece was matted with a Cherry Cobbler scallop circle before adding it to the card front.

The sentiment was stamped on a rectangular piece of Whisper White that had the upper and lower corners of the left end notched with a small circle punch.  Some Garden Green card stock matted 3/4 of this piece, which extended behind the art piece circle.

The base card is Cherry Cobbler layered with a piece of Festive Farmhouse DSP the left side of which was stamped lightly with the bare tree stamp.  On the right side I added a strip of plaid  DSP .  The art piece was added near the bottom towards the right side of the card front.

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  Farmhouse Christmas

Inks:  Black Memento, Pool Party, Stampin' Blends (Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Granny Apple Green)

Papers:  

• Cherry Cobbler (card base) 4 1/4 by 5 1/2"
• Festive Farmhouse DSP (gray wood grain pattern): 4 by 5 1/4"
• Festive Farmhouse DSP (plaid pattern) 1 1/2 by 4"
• Whisper White circle 2 3/4"
• Whisper White sentiment piece 1 1/8 by 2 1/4"
• Garden Green 1 3/8 by 2 1/4"
• Cherry Cobbler scallop circle 3 1/8" 

Accessories:  3/4" circle punch, Layering circle framelits, Dazzling Diamonds