Crafternoons Stampers,
Time to blog my latest...my correspondence continues this week with a card to a friend who is in recovery from surgery. I really wanted to pay special attention to this one - since I'd like to think that "Get Well" cards fall into that "special" category!!
This is one of the first chances I've had to begin with some of my fabulous NEW ITEMS from the brand spanking NEW CATALOGUE from STAMPIN' UP! So you can imagine!
So settle down for an afternoon or evening and re-create this beauty for someone special in your life! Or even make this a border for a frame - wouldn't that be lovely! Hmmm, now I am thinking more here!
CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO SEE A LARGE PHOTO
CREATING THE CARD
THE CARD BASE
It's a standard card size, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 in STAMPIN' UP! Pretty in Pink cardstock.
The Stamp
A CLASSIC NEW STAMP SET!!!!
This is the greeting from MY FRIEND #122587. This set has versatility plus! Lots of images and two terrific greeting stamps so it will become a favourite among us. :)
Of course the WEDDING SWEET Stamp Set is another good choice - and its also terrific for many purposes besides the iconic wedding sentiments it includes because of the flourishes it provides! There is a smaller flourish included in the set as well as a lovely 'Thank You' stamp!
Step 1) Stamping
So using some ROSE RED CLASSIC INK - I stamped the HELLO greeting in the upper right-side corner.
Also using the same colour ink, I stamped the flourish design with the Wedding Sweet's largest stamp, going off the edges, and stamping twice before inking to get a lighter image.
Step 2) Add Spritzing/Smooching Effects
Want some fun? Do some SPRITZING - and in part, some flinging, lol! I made my OWN CUSTOM MADE SPRITZ by mixing a 50% solution of pharmaceutical alcohol and water into an empty misting bottle. Then to create my CUSTOM COLOUR - I dropped some refill ink into the solution!!!! I used a retired colour - Purely Pomegrante and swished to mix well. Pumped and directed the nozzle in the direction of the card from one side - and sprayed. I did it a couple of times, careful to stay mostly on one side of the card. I immediately dried the card with my dryer to avoid the water pluming up the cardstock. No unsightly bumps if we can avoid it! GREAT WAY TO USE UP THOSE OLDER INKS!!!
Next - I flung some of the SMOOCH using a nylon artist brush - flinging with style, lol! You do need to try to do it without over-doing it!
cardstock to the left is untouched; card to the right is spritzed, smooched
don't forget the back of the card :)
Step 1) Add a Decorative Border - bonus: Stamp to Match the Background! Using my NEW IN COLOR CARDSTOCK - POOL PARTY - a light greenish-blue reminiscent of the Carribean or a California sky! Very pretty colour!
With SU!'s Decorative Border Punch - SCALLOP TRIM BORDER #118402 - I punched both sides of a 1 inch wide strip of cardstock.
TECHNIQUE TRICK - Match your Stamped Images: before attaching the border strip to the card - I challenged myself, could I "re-create" the stamped flourish on the card on to the decorative border and match them up?
Inked up the same Wedding Sweet stamp in POOL PARTY CLASSIC INK, and using my 'eagle eye' - I mimicked the direction of the rose red background image , so I could ' continue ' the stamped ' f l o u r i s h e s 'onto the pool party border strip. First time: NOPE!, but lucky us - we can TURN OVER THE CARDSTOCK AND DO IT AGAIN - and this time, I was able to make a pretty good match. Not yet trimmed, I could shift the stamped part to match the background of the card before trimming and attaching it permanently. Voila. If you have an eagle eye yourself, you can see I also added a slight match to the paper flower - see the flourish from the greeting shows up on the flower too! OK! Doing great.
Lastly I added some bling to help bring glamour to the border. Bling, bling, love the bling!
notice how the background stamp ties into the same image on the blue border? Bird in glittery powder blue!
Step 2) The Bird and Leaf Punch Accents
Really not much to say here - its a punched Bird from a retired set from Stampin' Up!'s BIG SHOT dies - the Sizzlit Birds and Bloom. Which is kinda wrong, because there is one bird, and several flowers in this 4pc die set, lol! But the bird is in GLITTER CARDSTOCK - oh yes! With a jewel for an eye too!
And of course, to balance the whole, a touch of a deeper blue in the same colour family - I found a punched leaf stem made of retired Bermuda Bay cardstock - uhm-hmm! Pretty! I keep a stash of accents - don't you? Grabbed two.
The Custom Paper Flower Accent
Step 1 - Punch Out Flower Shapes and Supporting Circles With XL FANCY FLOWER XL PUNCH #118073, punch out 3 flower shapes - #1,2,and 3.
With 1" CIRCLE MEDIUM PUNCH # 119868, in the same colour, punch out 3 circles.
Fancy Flower Punch, Smooch Frost White (jar), Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, and custom created paper flower (left side)
TIP:When I layer the flower shapes, I often use circles to act as support between layers - plus they provide a spot to glue one to the other.
TIP #2: I actually punched out dozens to make more flowers while watching TV - hey, its all about time management for me at times!
Step 2 - Decorating the Punched Flower Shapes - and Layering Together.# 1 flower shape: leave plain:
#2 flower shape: I stamped large polka dots using our BACKGROUND DOTTED XL STAMP - this will stack on top of the plain #1 flower shape ....
#3 flower shape: I stamped only the center of the flower #3 using a smaller POLKA DOT - this will be the top and final layer....
Now the fun part - SQUISH-SQUISH! That's right - crumple up the two decorated flower shapes, #2 and #3! Unfold Flower #2 so its slightly crumples but take #3 Flower, and crease it twice in two spots, and squish it flat to create permanent creases [ I glued the creases in place ]....
LAYER the Flower Shapes:
Glue the punched 1 inch CIRCLES to the back of all 3 Flower Shapes, then, layer accordingly:
a) begin with Plain Flower #1 as the bottom...
b) attach glue to the circle of Flower #2 backside, and glue to Flower #1 beneath... slightly twisted clockwise so that the petals of Flower #1 peek through....
c) attach glue to the circle of Flower #3 backside, and glue on top of Flower #2 beneath - thus creating the top layer!
Step 3 - SPRITZ and SMOOCH the Completed FlowerAs with the card base, I smooched some FROSTED WHITE SHIMMER PAINT # 116854 on to the completed FLOWER and misted it with some GOLD GLOW SMOOCH SPRITZ #118770 spray. [you may want to do this over a protected surface - or in the bathroom like I do for easy clean-up! Or try our cool COLOUR CATCHER for just this purpose!]
Optional - you could decorate the center of the completed Flower with other accents such as buttons, jewels, brads, bow, etc. I have chosen to decorate it with a gathered Ribbon Circle and a Fabric Flower plus Glitter. Read on!
THE RIBBON ACCENT
One of my new fantastic embellishments is the "ruffled, stitched ribbon" featuring our new IN COLORs - and I have it in POOL PARTY #122975 Its fab!
It has the heft and premier qualities of a beautiful ribbon that 'feels good to the touch' - ruffly with that unmistakable grosgrain crisp yet silky so it slips through your fingers - what more could you want from a ribbon?
I turned it into a gathered circle to accent the f l o w e r ! NOW THIS IS GETTING SPECIAL! To gather, I prepped a needle with some thread/knot and stiched up one side of the ribbon, taking little 'dips' down and back up all the length of the ribbon - about 12 inches. Then tugging till it schoooshed its way into a circle, and stitched closed. With the last of the thread, I stitched the ribbon accent right onto the paper flower!
Still...I looked and saw that the ribbon accent left room for more! It's open center left a bare spot - so I thought, hmmmm......I had originally thought a half-pearl would be in order. But seeing that made my card seem predictable....no good. So I began to press my mind a little, and I grabbed a small fabric flower in white, and using a dab of glue and a small tool's handle, I pushed it right down into the center of the ribbon circle. This distorted it, but that was in keeping with the whole flower - a little grungy! Finally, my glitter went floating down onto another dab of glue, and voila!
MY FLOWER IS DONE AND ITS PRETTY SPECIAL!!!
- OK, re-group and finish this card! -
You've stamped the greeting, and the flourishes onto the pink card base in a co-ordinating deep rose. Check!
You smooshed, spritzed some accent decoration to the background in a reddish and gold tone. Check!
You created a decorative border in a complimentary colour - and optional, stamped it to match the background flourishes! Check!
You punched out a bird in some pretty cardstock! Check!
You've created one special paper flower accent, ribbon and all! Check!
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!!!
Estimate the placement of the Paper Ribbon-Flower Accent - I chose under the greeting, slightly less than half way down the card; and then slide the border under the flower. When you have agreed that it looks good - make it permanent and attach with glue or sticky strip. Attach in the same fashion, the bird so it sits atop the border facing the flower! Tuck in the leaf accents, trimming as necessary. Finally, I like to add a bit of distressing to the bottom edge, so I sponged on some Rose Red ink to the bottom edge of the card.
Is it not special? I know it took time - and ....
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS REALLY LONG POST ....
... I am sorry, but sometimes you just have to write it all down. Succinct I am not!
Do what you will for the INSIDE GREETING! The MY FRIEND stamp set does have another greeting stamp in a smaller type: " my friend ", so I chose that for my inside greeting and then I also made a bit more by taking a strip of no particular length of paper, folding it haphazardly, and gluing it down, then topping it with a punched shape and stamped " GET WELL" sentiment. You, of course, do what you will!
