Posted in beginner stamper, flowers, Gratitude/ Thanks

Ornate Garden Suite/ Fun with Sponge Daubers

I just love learning new techniques. Today’s card will show how to use the sponge dauber for coloring. There are many ways to use sponge daubers. This is just one way. Experiment with the sponge daubers yourself to learn different coloring techniques.

I used the Stampin’ UP! products in the new Ornate Garden Suite for this card.

Measurements: Calypso Coral Card stock (CS): 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches scored at 4 1/4 inches; Old Olive CS: 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 inches; Whisper White CS: 5 1/4 x 4 inches and 5 x 1 1/8 inches; Gold Foil Sheet: 5 1/8 x 3 7/8 inches; Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP); 5 x 3 3/4 inches.

Stamp the ‘Thank You” sentiment from the Ornate Thanks stamp set in Calypso Coral ink onto the 5 x 1 1/8 inch piece of Whisper White CS. Stamp in the upper left hand corner.

Now we are going to use the “you made my day!” sentiment which is very skinny. Tip: In order to get the sentiment on straight, lay it on the paper and put the block over it to stick it to the block.

Use Soft Suede ink to stamp the sentiment “you made my day!” just under the “Thank You”. Trim the paper to 3 3/4 inches.

Now for the fun part! Lay the Ornate Garden Specialty DSP on a scrap sheet of paper. Apply Calypso Coral ink to the sponge dauber by gently tapping it onto the ink pad.

Rub in a small circle onto the scrap paper first. With light pressure, rub in small circles onto the Ornate Garden Specialty DSP. Tip: Start light and then add more to make the ink dark.

Continue to color the flowers. Make some darker than others. I know it doesn’t really look that great right now. Kind of just a smudgy mess!

Daub on the Old Olive ink where there are leaves. The card front looks a little better now.

Fold the 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch Calypso Coral CS in half at the 4 1/4 inch score mark. Use the Bone Folder to make the fold crisp. This is the card base.

Use the filigree to stamp the corners of the inside of the card in Soft Suede ink. Adhere the card piece to the inside of the Calypso Coral CS card base. The filigree makes the inside a little more fancy.

I must admit that I kind of cheat with the Gold Foil Sheets. I have a Big Shot and some rectangular dies and I cut out the center of the card piece to save the Gold Foil sheet. If you don’t have a Big Shot or other cutting machine, just use the Paper Snips to cut out the center. Adhere the Gold Foil card piece to the Old Olive card piece.

Adhere the Ornate Garden Specialty DSP to the Gold Foil layer, then adhere the whole piece to the card front. Tip: Using multiple layers makes the card more interesting.

Adhere the sentiment piece to the card front on the lower third of the front.

Now for some Bling! There are Gilded Gems in the Garden Suite! Tip: The best way to transfer the gems to the card front is with the Take Your Pick Tool. Slide the pick under the adhesive on the gem.

Place the gem on the card and use light pressure to push the gem onto the card. Continue to apply the gems until you like how the card front looks. Use as many as you like. Keep in mind that an odd number is more pleasing to the eye.

Viola! You now have a beautiful thank you card to send to someone. Remember that an attitude of gratitude helps you be more healthy both psychologically and physically along with spreading some positivity to someone else.

Thank you so much for joining me today. The Garden Suite will go on sale on April 1, 2020. Enjoy your day!

Stampin’ UP! supplies used include: Stamp set: Ornate Thanks #149471; Paper: Calypso Coral CS #122925, Old Olive CS #100702, Whisper White CS #100730, Gold Foil Sheets #132622 and the Ornate Garden Specialty DSP #152488; Ink: Calypso Coral #147101 and Soft Suede #147115; Clear Blocks: C #118486, D #118485 and H #118490; Bone Folder #102300; Take Your Pick tool #144107; Adhesives: Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue #110755; and Embellishments: Gilded Gems #152478.

Posted in beginner stamper, bow, Gratitude/ Thanks, Mini Catalog 2020, Photopolymer, Sale-A-Bration 2020, Stampin" Blends Alcohol Markers

Ornate Garden Suite for the Beginner with 10 Tips

This is a very simple and beautiful card. I like to practice an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude has been shown to have positive effects on your overall health, increasing happiness and decreasing depression. This card is fun and straight-forward to make. I did go into more detail to help anyone just starting out stamping. There are 10 tips!

Measurements: Whisper White card stock (CS): 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches scored at 4 1/4 inches, 3 x 1 3/4 inches and 2 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches; Terracotta Tile: 5 7/8 x 4 1/8 inches; Gold Glimmer Paper: 5 1/4 x 3/4 inches; Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP): 5 1/4 x 2 inches; Old Olive: 3 x 1 1/2 inches. You also need the Ornate Garden Ribbon: 6 1/2 inches for the ribbon around the card and approximately 10 inches to make the bow. Tip #1: Learn how to tie the bow here.

Let’s start stamping! You will stamp the “Thanks” sentiment from the Ornate Thanks Stamp set in Terracotta Tile ink onto the 2 3/4 x 1 1/4 inch piece of Whisper White CS. I stamped a little bit towards the left and above center to allow space for the daisy. Tip #2: This is a Photopolymer stamp (one you can see through). You will need a pad of some sort. I am using the Stampin’ Pierce mat. This is used for Photopolymer stamps to get a better image. You may also use your catalog as a pad if needed.

Stamp the daisy in Memento ink onto the 3 x 1 3/4 inch piece of Whisper White CS. Tip #3: This is a red rubber stamp. You get the best image by stamping on a smooth, firm surface. Note: You can easily see the foam the red rubber rests on. The pink line on top of the foam is the red rubber.

You will need several colors of Stampin’ Blends Alcohol Markers. I started with Light So Saffron alcohol marker (AM) to color the flower petals. Next I used the Dark Daffodil Delight AM to trace the lines in the petals, and make a little ring around the flower center. Tip #4: Practice using the alcohol markers before you do your card. It takes a very light touch to get the ink on the paper, and sometimes it bleeds too far. There is a fine tip and a brush tip. Use the fine tip for small or thin areas and the brush tip for larger areas. Some papers bleed more than others. The Stampin’ Up! Whisper White does not bleed much. It is the best that I have found.

Use the Bronze AM to color the flower center. The Light Old Olive AM is used first for the stem and the leaf.

The reason the markers are called Stampin’ Blends is because you can blend the light and dark shades to make shadows on the image. If you are really good, the image will look 3-D. Tip #5: First apply a thin layer of the Light Old Olive. Then use the fine tip of the Dark Old Olive to trace the line in the leaf and darken the base of the leaf. Finally, use the Light Old Olive to blend the light and dark shades together. Viola!

Fussy cut the daisy cutting as close to the black outline as possible. (“Fussy cut” is the term for cutting an image out with the Paper Snips.)

Tip #6: To get rid of the remaining white on the border, you can go over it with the Basic Black Stampin’ Write marker as shown.

Now it’s time to put everything together. Adhere the Ornate Garden DSP to the bottom of the Terracotta Tile piece, leaving an eighth of an inch border. Then adhere the strip of Gold Glimmer Paper. Tip #7: Try different adhesives to see what you like best. Read all about adhesives here.

Adhere the ribbon to the card front with glue dots. Apply one glue dot to each end of the ribbon. Tip #8: To get the glue dot on the ribbon it is easier to just put the ribbon on top of the glue dot as it is on the roll.

Hold the ribbon in place, flip the card and stick the glue dots down.

Fold the 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch Whisper White CS at the 4 1/4 inch score line. This is the card base. Now adhere the decorated card front piece to the front of the Whisper White card base.

Adhere the “Thanks” sentiment to the Old Olive CS piece. We are going to adhere the Thanks piece with Stampin’ Dimensionals. These are little foam pieces with adhesive on both sides. They lift the paper slightly to give dimension to the card.

Tip #9: I usually cut my Stampin’ Dimensionals in half so they last longer. I also cut the part that remains after using all the dimensionals as shown. Apply the Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back of the Thanks piece.

Adhere the Thanks piece to the card front. Now adhere the little daisy we colored and cut out next to the sentiment.

Lastly, add the bow with a glue dot. Tip #9: Apply the glue dot to the back of the bow by placing the bow on the glue dot while it is still on the roll. Gently peel it off of the roll and adhere the bow to the card.

Viola! You have a beautiful thank you card! Tip #10: Now that you have completed the card, send it to someone to let them know how much gratitude you have for them! Too often we make these beautiful cards and then we keep them in a box or something. I am guilty of doing just that, so I have challenged myself to send one card every day for 30 days. I am on day 18. It has been fun and I have gotten wonderful feedback from the folks I have sent cards to!

As always, thank you so much for joining me and reading my blog. I am very grateful to all of you for supporting me in this endeavor!

I am a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. If you see anything you would like to purchase, please visit my online store here. If you would like to contact me, follow me on Facebook here or shoot me an email at: Theresastreasures.az@gmail.com.

Stampin’ Up! products used include: Stamp Set: Ornate Thanks #149471 and Ornate Style #152572; Paper: Whisper White CS #100730, Terracotta Tile CS #150884, Gold Glimmer Paper #146958, Ornate Garden DSP #152488 and Old Olive CS #100702; Ink: Terracotta Tile #150884 and Memento #132708; Clear Blocks: D #118485 and H #118490; Adhesives: Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue #110755, Glue Dots #103683 and Stampin’ Dimensionals #104430; Embellishments: Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack #152479.