A Mother's Day Set of Cards - Same Layout Two Different Ways

I had made this card for my bestie's birthday.  I just love the card, the colors the layout, the look of the Altenew Painted Flowers stamped with soft Distress Ink colors.  I loved it so much that I took one of the fails from that card making adventure and used it as a template for mass producing card fronts.  I guess all the tumult in the world has caused me to have extended stamping sessions and so multiple seem very easy.  These first few cards are my attempt to turn that stamping session into cards.

You'll notice the cluster of flowers is exactly the same - I used my MISTI to replicate Brandy's card.  However, when I put the cards together I challenged myself to frame and/or layout the cards in a slightly different manner.  The first card is A2 and the second is an A7 like Brandy's card.  Each have their own and different look.  These will go in the stash.  I don't know whether things will be different in the flower shop where my cards usually are.  Mother's Day was a big event there last year.  I'm wondering how everything will be different this year.  I'm going to save these for the shop either way.

Funny Story #2

I was in Hobby Lobby a while back with a 40%off coupon and  came across this Sizzix die, that appears to be a version of a stair step card fold. I made a rookie mistake not looking at it closer, because unlike  most stairstep cards, this one does not fold down to fit any any standard sized envelope, A2 or otherwise. When it is flat it is 6.25 x 4.5 inches and when it is folded inside shown in the photos it is 3.75 x 4.5 inches. I do not have envelopes that fit those, so it is time to pull out the WeR Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board and make my own.  Those aren't shown here because I am not sure when I will get to that.

I had planned to put these in the card sets my son requested, but now I am not sure if that is where they will end up.

Aside from the odd size the die set is packed with dies cuts that can be used in many ways.  I pretty much followed the way they demonstrated on the package, but there are a lot of possibilities for the images and the base as well.

I used a very old K&Company paper packed Confetti to cut the back ground paper and the rest were cut from cardstock entirely from my stash of scrap cardstock.

As these were intended for general purposes  I am not disappointed with the results even though the size is challenging and there is minimal space for a personal message on the back.

Moral of the story is to not assume something is going to work the way you expect it to.

More Windows on the World

I had mentioned that I had a few more Windows on the World inspired cards.  I'm back to share the last of the set.  It is picture heavy, but here goes.

As I mentioned in the last post, I found all the wood grain and/or inside wall looking patterned paper for the mating on the front.  The curtains were also from patterned paper packs that I stamped and die cut the curtains, applying the top panel with foam tape to give a little dimension.  The table and vase are stamped on scraps of white cardstock and colored using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  Each one had to be fussy cut because I don't own the matching dies to the MFT Make Yourself At Home stamp set. The sentiment is from the SSS Tiny Word sentiment stamp set.

On the inside, the Windows on the World stamped onto Bristol paper and colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  I tried to color in a palette that match the curtains on the outside of the card.  The inside flap was dry embossed with an embossing folder and some WPlus9 Warm Wool ink used to make it look a little like siding on a house.

I remember why I purchased all those Windows on the World stamps - I really like them.  I like using them, I like coloring them, and I like how they turn out in the end.  So delightful!

Funny Story

This morning I was feeling like I needed to do something artsy, but I wanted to try something different than traditional watercolor. So, I decided to use some of that glossy cardstock from X-pedit from years ago.  I also thought, why not use Distress Oxide. Well, here is why, it makes a nice misty background, but details get that chalky look and they just don't come through.  To which I thought, let's try Distress Stain, still not enough detail. I finally got to Daniel Smith watercolors and started getting some color to stay when I realized I had sat the paper right in the Distress Stain. I had to scramble to remotely try and salvage this to be anything.  This is where I am leaving it and moving on.

I will put it in my practice/attempt file and call it good.


So much happier with this:

This where the voice in my head said "Stop!". I did not listen. So I kept going and this is the final result:

Not bad for a good day's worth of painting.

Spending Time at Home - An Inspired Card Set

I have been thinking through the stash and some stamps that haven't gotten some inky love and realized that I've amassed quite a stash of Art Impressions Windows on the World stamps and dies.  I have the window dies and the curtains stamp and dies.  So, I pulled those out and began a massive stamping expedition.  This is the first set.  The second set of cards is yet to be finished, photographed, edited and posted.  Whew!

On the inside, the Windows on the World stamps onto Bristol paper and colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  I tried to color in a palette that match the curtains on the outside of the card.

On the outside of the card, I searched my stash of patterned paper for wood grain and/or inside wall looking patterned paper for the mating on the front.  The curtains were also from patterned paper packs - those that had a curtain-y feel to them.  I stamped and die cut the curtains, applying the top panel with foam tape to give a little dimension.  The table and vase are stamped on scraps of white cardstock and also colored using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  Each one had to be fussy cut because I don't own the matching dies to the MFT Make Yourself At Home stamp set. The sentiment is from the SSS Tiny Word sentiment stamp set.

The inside flap was dry embossed with an embossing folder and some WPlus9 Warm Wool ink used to make it look a little like siding on a house.  I made quite a few of these so it was more production line than anything else.

I'll either use these for gifts or give the set away to a card drive.  I believe they are delightful and so will likely use a few for my own purposes as well.  Off to finish the set...