Beautifully Braided In Melon Mambo -Page The Maine Stamper

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Monday’s are hard, but in this cardmaking series, I will show you that stamping shouldn’t be. In fact, it’s quite easy. And with minimal supplies and minimal efforts, you can get fabulous results!

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set, Beautifully Braided. This is one of my favorites from the January-June 2020 Mini Catalog from Stampin’ Up!. If you would like to see another project that features this stamp set, click here.

You can purchase Beautifully Braided as a bundle with the Braided Border Punch and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

Beautifully Braided Bundle item #153821 — Beautifully Braided Stamp Set, item #151637. Braided Border Punch, item #151924. Beautifully Braided Bundle, item #153821.

That’s right, one stamp set, Beautifully Braided, two ink pads, Melon Mambo and Memento Tuxedo Black, and two colors of cardstock, Melon Mambo and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Melon Mambo CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Melon Mambo CS: 3 1/2 x 4 1/2″ and 2 1/8 x 1 3/8

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ x 2 (one for inside, optional)

Whisper White CS: 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ and 2 x 1 1/4

Stamp And Assemble

This Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be Card starts out with the typical “fold in half” and score with your bonefolder to get a great crisp card base. Let’s not break tradition.

However, my TIP to you is to score once, invert the fold and score again. Your inner crease is now as crisp as the outer one. This makes for a professional looking card base!

Create Your Own Designer Series Paper

With the minimal supplies used in this card, we are not adding designer series paper to it. We are making our own! This great background pattern can be used with any stamp sets you own that contain words or sayings.

I suggest stamping on scrap paper, as this technique has you stamping off the edge of your cardstock. Starting at the top, stamp your saying in Memento Ink onto the Whisper White Cardstock. Then, continue to stamp across and downward, varying the stamp (or words) position to get a unique random pattern.

Background technique with wordy stamps and Memento Ink.

An overlap in the middle is fine, that portion will be covered with other layers on the finished card. I prefer to keep the top, bottom and sides as nice as possible, as they will be seen. This is great practice stamping! When done, you can add this layer to your card base.

Floral Details

Next, we stamp the decorative floral border stamp in Melon Mambo Ink onto the Melon Mambo CS. Again, the pattern can vary, and only some of it will be seen on the completed card.

I tried to keep the full floral image on the outer edges. This technique requires stamping beyond your cardstock as well. You can add it to the card when stamping is completed.

Here comes my favorite part: the large floral image. This is stamped on Whisper White CS with Memento Ink. Some of the image will stamp off the sides, and as the artist of your own card, you decide how that will look.

Let’s add some color to our flower! Using the filler stamp (TIP this could make great clouds too), and Melon Mambo Ink, fill in your flower petals. This is not meant to be an exact fit, so don’t stress over lining it up perfectly. I love this artsy appeal. You can add it to the card when completed.

Finishing Touches

It’s time to stamp some more words. I stamped the front saying on Whisper White in Memento Ink, then layered it with a piece of Melon Mambo CS. As a final step to the front of the card, I added it toward the bottom.

Your card is beautiful on the outside, now lets make it pretty inside too! I like to mimic some of the outer stamping into a corner of the inside card. This way the card has continuity and there is still lots of room to add your own sentiment or written thoughts.

Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the large floral image and filler petals to add that inside interest.

Now is a good time to add some stamping to your envelope too! You could choose from the large floral stamp, the flower border stamp or the sentiment stamps. And if you have some bling laying around, you could add that to your card front, too.

Noble Peacock Rhinestones, item #149494, includes Melon Mambo jewels. The Take Your Pick Tool, item #144107 makes it easier to apply the rhinestones to your project.

I hope you enjoyed making this easy card on a hard Monday with me. My video tutorial can be found on my FaceBook page, as well as my YouTube channel. If you need any supplies for this card, please feel free to visit my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!