Nature Inspired

Inspired by Nature was one of the stamp sets that I received for free at convention. Yeah! I must admit that when I first saw the set I had a 'hmmm...' (ie neutral) reaction. But after the make and takes at convention and playing with the set on my own, now I totally love it! Initially I thought the large images would make them hard to incorporate into a card, but I was wrong! I also envision this set as being fun to use for home decor projects.

For this card I started by using Old Olive, Summer Sun, and Chocolate Chip markers to color directly on the flower stamp. Then I stamped the image onto Very Vanilla card stock and layered it onto Chocolate Chip. The grass layer behind the flower is actually Versamark Ink embossed with Clear Embossing Powder on Kraft card stock. This layer turned out harder to get just right than I expected. First I tried just Versamark (too light), then Creamy Caramel ink (wrong color), and then Close to Cocoa ink (too dark). (I feel like I am telling Goldilocks and the 3 bears to my son. . . . ) Finally I tried heat embossing with clear embossing powder, and I like the way that turned out. It kind of gives it a 'morning dew on the grass' type of feel. The grass layer is tied around with 1/4" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon and popped up on dimensionals. The flower layer is also up on dimensionals. Enjoy!

Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Ink: Versamark, Old Olive marker, Summer Sun marker, Chocolate Chip marker
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals
Techniques: Heat Embossing, Markers Directly to Stamp

Box in a Bag

Here it is, the ever popular "Box in a Bag"! Diana Gibbs posted an awesome tutorial on her wesite Stampin' With Di and as far as I can tell everyone is making these adorable bags now! Click HERE to see her detailed and easy-to-follow tutorial for making these bags.

When we made these for Technique Club, I made just a couple of slight alterations. For the base piece, I started with a 4 1/4" by 4 1/4" piece of cardstock so that I could get 4 bases (instead of just 2) per 8 1/2 by 11" paper. Another minor change I made was that I scored at 3/4" around the edges instead of at 1".


Then I just followed Diana's tutorial and folded along all the scored lines, folded them up, and glued them to form the base of the box. Another minor change I made was that I cut my designer paper to 6" by 12" (half a sheet of Designer Paper). The picture at the very top of the post shows the bag made with Bella Rose Designer Paper, and in the following pictures I am using Hawaii Papaya Designer Paper.

I took a couple quick pictures as I was making the bag, but again for a more detail explanation and more pictures head over to Diana's tutorial.

To decorate the bottom of my bag, I of course wanted to use my new scallop edge punch! I used a strip of 12" by 1 1/4" Chocolate Chip paper. For those who haven't used the scallop punch yet, it is really easy! Put the paper in and punch the first time. Then just slide the paper along, line it up with the scallops on the guide on the punch, and then punch again. The punch does all the work of lining the scallops up for you. Whoever came up with the idea for this punch with the guide is genius!


After I punched that, I used my white gel pen to add some detail and then wrapped the strip around the bottom of the bag. I used the Round Tab punch for the handles (again this idea was from Diana's tutorial) and ribbon to tie everything up. Here's the final product.


Bag #1:
Paper: Bella Rose Designer Paper, Kiwi Kiss, and Riding Hood Red
Accesories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, White Gel Pen, Round Tab Punch, 1/2" circle punch, Crop-A-Dile, Sticky Strip

Bag #2:
Paper: Hawaii Papaya Designer Paper, Chocolate Chip, and Tangerine Tango
Accesories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, White Gel Pen, Round Tab Punch, 1/2" circle punch, Crop-A-Dile, Sticky Strip

A Butterfly Kiss

One more card with the kissing technique! This is another card that we made at my Technique Club class. Here I took the solid butterfly from the new set Flight of the Butterfly and began by inking it with Pale Plum. I then ‘kissed’ with the Sanded background that was inked with Perfect Plum. Then I used Basic Gray to stamp the dotted butterfly over the top.

I used the sanded background again (inked with Perfect Plum) on the Pale Plum layer. The 3 brads are the Pewter brads from the Vintage brads set. Both this layer and the butterfly layer are up on dimensionals.

And for the finishing touch. . . Ever since I saw Shelli show how to gather ribbon on Main Stage at Convention, I knew I wanted to try! So I used her technique with the Basic Gray taffeta ribbon. I added a couple pictures to show how this is done.

Begin by pulling the ribbon apart just a little at one end. Keep separating until you can find one (or two) little threads. Very gently pull the individual thread while gently pushing down on the ribbon so that it starts to gather. Keep working until it is as gathered as you want it to be. I used Sticky Strip to attach the ribbon to the card.

Stamps:Flight of the Butterfly, Sanded BG
Ink: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Basic Gray
Paper:Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Accessories:Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, pewter brads, dimensional, Sticky Strip
Techniques:Kissing, ribbon gathering

A Tangerine Kiss

This is one of the cards that we made last week for my Technique Club class. The technique that we were learning is called ‘kissing’. This is a very simple technique that has a lot of possibilities. For this card, start by inking up the Paisley Background stamp. Here I used one of the gorgeous new In Colors, Tangerine Tango. Then take the solid petal from the Pick a Petal stamp set and ‘kiss’ the stamps together. Just pretend like you are using the Paisley background stamp as your stamp pad. Then stamp on your paper. Now wash the stamp and repeat to finish the other petals for the flower.

The edges of the Whisper White panels were sponged with Chocolate Chip ink and then distressed using the Cutter Kit. The sentiment came from the set Celebrate Everything. The clear button was attached with a mini glue dot.

The idea for this card came from a swap I received at convention from Jennifer Warner. I added the kissing technique, sponging and distressing, and changed from Pretty in pink to Tangerine Tango. Thanks for the inspiration Jennifer!

Stamps: Pick a Petal, Celebrate Everything, Paisley Background
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Accessories: Clear Button, 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Round Tab Punch, Cutter Kit
Techniques: Kissing