In Color: Soft Succulent Part II

As I began another color journey with Soft Succulent, I noted the color pairing with Soft Suede and Old Olive. My thoughts turned to fall colors immediately. But it was not an autumn themed stamp set that caught my eye as I started to design!

Instead, I chose the flora and fauna of the Beauty of Tomorrow Stamp Set and Beautiful Leaves Dies. The blue-green of the Soft Succulent blends so nicely with the warm brown of Soft Suede. Old Olive, almost a spring-time green, seemed like the odd man out here. But, once I tucked some Old Olive in, I discovered that I not only like these colors together…I love them together!

Big and Beautiful Leaves Dies

The largest die in the Beautiful Leaves Dies measures a whopping 6-1/4 x 4″. I needed a good sized piece of Old Olive Cardstock to use this background fern with my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. One pass thru, and you will have a lot of foliage to work into your own project too!

You may be wondering how one would fit “all” of that green on one card front! I simply chose to chop mine up a bit. I wanted a little Old Olive peeping out from behind my focal point. With my Paper Snips, I trimmed this die cut apart. There was plenty left over for other card use, too.

Small Shimmery Leaves Dies

Not everything needs to be oversized! In fact, the Beautiful Leaves Dies feature four smaller dies for foliage too. Because I wanted my leaf color to vary, I chose to create the smaller leaves in Soft Succulent. For immediate and easy glimmer, I pulled out my 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Vellum. A small piece of this fantastic vellum was all that I needed to die cut these leaves.

Beauty of Tomorrow Bouquets

One of the beautiful things about the Beauty of Tomorrow Stamp Set is that the sprig-like flowers are stamp and go. You don’t need to two-step stamp, or color the leaves and flowers in. They are simply gorgeous stamped once. And that is just what I did.

I chose to stamp the larger sprig-like stamp from the Beauty of Tomorrow Stamp Set using Soft Suede Ink on Basic White Cardstock. For the smaller floral bouquet, I stamped the image using Soft Succulent Ink. After my stamping was complete, I used the coordinating dies from the Beautiful Leaves Dies and ran them thru my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.

Tastefully Stamped and Embossed

One of my favorite techniques to do is use a sentiment stamp as a background image. The large sentiment stamp from the Beauty of Tomorrow Stamp Set reads, “the changing of the leaves reminds us that new wonders are just around the corner”.

I chose to stamp this image using VersaMark Ink on a piece of Soft Succulent Cardstock. The effect of the watermark ink is subtle. I varied the placement of the stamped words, and although the image is not “readable”, one only has to look to see that there is a hidden message.

After my sentiment stamping was complete, I embossed my Soft Succulent Cardstock. The Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder leaves a barely discernible texture. The softness of this embossing adds to the richness of this card without being overpowering. Lastly, I used my Blending Brush and Soft Succulent Ink to deepen the outer edges of my cardstock.

The Beauty of Assembly

Now it’s time to take a look at the layers of this card. I began with a Soft Succulent card base. Next, I added a layer of Soft Suede Cardstock. My third layering piece is Soft Succulent in nature, but comes from the Tidings of Christmas 6 x 6″ Designer Series Paper. This pattern worked wonderfully with my card, and did not lend itself to Christmas tidings at all.

Once I had my layering pieces adhered, I began to place my leafy die cuts. I started with the Old Olive snippings, and dry-fit them beneath my Soft Succulent embossed piece. When I was happy with the placement, I used Tear & Tape Adhesive to attach my greens to my card base. I am always careful to place the tape in a position I know will be covered up as I continue to build my card.

After my Old Olive leaves were in place, it was time for me to add in the shimmery Soft Succulent leaves. Again, I took care to place them in a peeping manner. I used more Tear & Tape Adhesive to secure these small leaves as well.

Beautiful Embellishments

Every beautiful card needs some beautiful embellishments! For this card, I chose an elegant ribbon- the Very Vanilla Scalloped Laced Trim Ribbon. First, I placed my stamped and die-cut bouquets on the embossed Soft Succulent cardstock. Next, I wrapped a small piece of lace across the width, securing the lace in the back.

From there, I created a small lacey bow, and attached that over the front. For an adhesive that really holds ribbons well, I recommend the Tear & Tape Adhesive. Once completed, I placed my entire assembly over the tape that is securing my leaves!

I am loving the Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots! I chose 3 in the gold tone, and placed them in a row along the open space at the bottom of my card front. If you struggle to line up embellishments in a straight row, try doing this: use some Grid Paper (or graph paper) and a ruler as your guide. I also find the Take Your Pick Tool so helpful in lifting the adhesive embellishments off their backing paper and onto my project.

Nothing As Beautiful

This card featuring the Beauty of Tomorrow Bundle, along with Soft Succulent, Soft Suede and Old Olive, came together beautifully! As I worked with this color combination, I discovered that I really enjoy this mix. In fact, I could see myself creating some beach themed cards with these three colors.

If I have inspired you and you need some of the supplies I used to create this card, stop by my online store anytime. Need more Soft Succulent inspiration? Check out this card and an unusual color combination that may put you in the holiday spirit, by clicking here. And be sure to come back for the final installment of Soft Succulent and a new color combo that is sure to please!