Spring - Right as Rain

Where’s Spring?

Hello! Today, I am sharing a spring-themed card featuring the Festive Birds die set from Creative Expressions (I bought my set of dies from 123Stitch). I say spring, but since the birds are wearing winter scarves, it’s also winter-themed! Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring, and yet it’s been anything but spring here in the PNW. (I do realize that Phil is statistically often wrong in these matters!) Despite colder temperatures, the birds have returned and are chirping away in the morning. I don’t know how they stay warm!

I die-cut the pieces from a variety of cardstock colors, listed below. I created the sentiment on my computer and printed it on Stampin’ Up Pool Party. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have recently reorganized my cardstock by color and it is so much easier to choose colors!

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies: SU Pool Party, SU Lost Lagoon, SU Calypso Coral, SU Crisp Cantaloupe, SU So Saffron

Friendship Butterflies

Hello! I am sharing another card featuring the Fun Stampers Journey Small Things stamps and dies. You can see my a similar card with this set here. I recently reorganized my cardstock by color (previously organized by manufacturer). It makes it so much easier to choose colors this way! This card uses lavenders and purples from a variety of manufacturers (listed below).

I used digital elements from Designer Digitals for the background. I recolored the elements in Photoshop to match the cardstock colors I chose for the butterflies – Bazzill Gummy Bear (large butterfly), Lavender Fusion (small butterfly in the bottom right), and SU Highland Heather (small butterfly in the upper left).
The butterflies were stamped with Versafine ink and cut with their coordinating dies. I brushed the butterflies with Wink of Stella to give them subtle shimmer.
I stamped the Chosen Family sentiment and cut it with its coordinating die.
The background was cut with the largest die in a set of Lil’ Inker square dies and attached to a card base created with Bazzill Sour Grape. The butterflies and sentiment were attached to the card with dot roller adhesive and foam adhesive.

Supplies: SU Highland Heather, Designer Digitals elements designed by Katie Pertiet

Paper Smooches Leprechaun

Hello! It’s hard to believe that March is just around the corner. I don’t have many occasions to make St. Patrick’s Day cards, but I couldn’t resist making one with a much-loved Paper Smooches stamp set A Magical Spring.

I paper pieced the leprechaun image with solid and patterned paper. It took some time, but I especially like the technique for the Paper Smooches images. I used a now-retired MFT Stamps die to create the frame on which I stamped the sentiment. I added clovers cut with a Taylored Expressions die set.

Supplies: Doodlebug Paper Pad 6″X 6″ Pot O’Gold

Paper Smooches – Spring is in the Air

Hello! Today, I am sharing a spring-themed card featuring Paper Smooches stamps and dies (one of the first companies whose products I bought when I started cardmaking). It’s not yet spring here in the PNW but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking ahead with hope.

The items I used on my card I have had for several years.

Supplies: Paper Smooches Flap Happy (butterflies), Butterflies 1, 2, 3 Dies, Lovely Thoughts (sentiment), Bazzill Sour Lemon cardstock, Lawn Large Stitched Rectangles

Spellbinders – Great, Big, Wonderful World by Sharyn Sowell

Hello! Ready for some happy cardmaking inspiration? Spellbinders has recently introduced the Great, Big, Wonderful World Collection by Sharyn Sowell. This collection is all about friendship and connection. The products could be used to create cards and project for a variety of occasions including (but not limited to) Valentine’s Day.

I created four cards of similar design with the collection. My cards use the Peaceful Garden and Love & Flowers die sets, as well as sentiments from the Fun Stampers Journey Chosen Family stamp set, cut with the corresponding die set.

I die cut the silhouette images from both white and black cardstock. In all cases, I cut two silhouettes and adhered them together to add depth.
I combined patterned papers in spring colors for the card backgrounds. (Without thinking about it, I ended up pairing pink with blue and yellow with blue.) I stitched the patterned paper to the card bases. On the Love & Flower card, I added ribbon since more of the transition between the two patterned papers was visible, given the narrower silhouette.
I white heat-embossed the Chosen Family stamp set sentiments on black cardstock and stamped the sentiments in black ink on white cardstock. I cut the sentiments with their corresponding dies.
I adhered the silhouette images to the card bases and popped up the sentiments with foam adhesive.

Supplies: