Card Inspiration Archives - PageThe Maine Stamper

Quiet Meadow in Fresh Freesia

July 16, 2021

Card made with Quiet Meadow Bundle in Fresh Freesia color.

In Color: Fresh Freesia, Part I

The Quiet Meadow Bundle speaks of beautiful flowers, and I paired it effortlessly with Fresh Freesia.

Fresh Freesia is one of the new 2021-2023 In Colors. And a lovelier soft purple could not have come along! This month, my In Color Club is exploring Fresh Freesia. For this card, we are pairing it with Gorgeous Grape and Granny Apple Green.

Quiet Meadow Focal Flower and Sentiment

First, I stamped my focal flower from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in Memento Black Ink on White Cardstock. Then, I used Stampin’ Blends in both Light and Dark Fresh Freesia, as well as Light Daffodil Delight to color it in. I punched the stamped flower out with a 1 3/4″ circle punch. For a backing circle, I punched a 2″ circle out of Gorgeous Grape Cardstock. If you don’t have circle punches, you can substitute circle dies.

Stampin' Blends to color the focal flower from Quiet Meadow Stamp Set

I stamped the sentiment “You’re too kind” from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in Gorgeous Grape on White Cardstock. After that, I die cut it with the border die from the Meadow Dies. This die has the cutest outline of stitching on it, with open scallops on each end.

Circle punches make easy work on this Fresh Freesia card.

Backgrounds: Stamped and Embossed

I enjoy making cards with lots of layers. For this Quiet Meadow Card in Fresh Freesia, I embossed a piece of light purple cardstock using the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder. For the next step, I brushed on some Fresh Freesia Ink with a Blending Brush. Lastly, I stamped some “splotches” from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in Gorgeous Grape Ink as an accent.

Using a Blending Brush with Fresh Freesia Ink

My stamped background piece brought a balance of Granny Apple Green to my card. I used the text words from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set. For this stamping, I alternated a fully inked stamp with second and third generation stamping. This method uses all the ink up in three continuous “stampings” before inking the stamp again.

Background stamping in Granny Apple Green with the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set

Quiet Meadow Greenery

When you think about meadows, you may picture flowers and greenery! For this card, Granny Apple Green is our complimentary color. I die cut 2 of the fern-like dies from the Meadow Dies. To fill out my greenery, I did a little trimming of the die cut branches and fanned them out behind my focal flower circle assembly. I sponged just the tips in Granny Apple Green Ink using a Sponge Dauber.

Granny Apple Greenery from the Meadow Dies

Quiet Meadow Accent

To finish my card, I searched for some bling in Gorgeous Grape. The Pastel Pearls were perfect for this, both in size and soft sheen. I added 3 of them around the assembled card in a sweeping pattern. These pearls added just the right touch to complete this Quiet Meadow card in Fresh Freesia!

Pastel Pearls in Gorgeous Grape are perfect accents.

Quiet Meadow Additional Cards

I C.A.S.E.’d (copy and share everything) the Quiet Meadow card in Rich Razzleberry found on page 110 in the Stampin’ Up! 2021-2022 Annual Catalog. This card features Water Color Paper for the die cuts, and some Ink Refill coloring with Water Painters.

*My TIP is to place a drop of Ink Refill onto a Clear Acrylic Stamp Block. Add a squeeze of water from your Water Painter to dilute the ink and water-paint away! The clear blocks are super easy to clean up when you are done. I use a paper towel or baby wipe for this.

And for more fun with color, I decided to try my hand at one in Balmy Blue too!

As you can see, the Quiet Meadow Bundle is perfect for making beautiful floral cards. Make sure you add this to your collection today! And be sure to add some Fresh Freesia supplies to your cart as well. You can never have too much purple.

Game On Stamp Set Birthday Cards

January 20, 2021

New Year: Game On!

The stamp set, Game On, from Stampin’ Up! is perfect for anyone who enjoys game play…and making cards! I am starting out the New Year with the need for a couple of masculine birthday cards, and both of the men in my life love board games.

I found the Game On Stamp Set perfect for these quick cards too. The 2 main images, a (really nice) hand of cards and some chess pieces, are simple focal points. That meant I didn’t need to work too hard to dress them up. More on that part in a bit…

Game On: Playing With Patterns DSP

I really love adding Designer Series Paper to my cards. The patterns make fantastic background pieces, and add so much richness. I think my cards look naked without that pretty paper!

For my Game On Stamp Set cards, I focused first on the hand of cards stamp image. I needed a paper pattern that resembled what would be a natural “back” for the deck of cards. When I looked at the colors and styles of the designs in the Playing With Patterns DSP, I knew I had a winner!

Paper designs from the Playing With Patterns DSP. — The Night of Navy Pattern most resembled the back image for a deck of cards to me.

Because the designer series paper is 6 x 6″, and I like to get a lot of use from each piece, I started by cutting the designs I wanted to use in half. This created two 3 x 6″ pieces, one to use up and the other for another day.

Next, I trimmed the length to 5-1/4″, to best fit on my card front. You know that little scrap left over (the 3/4 x 3″ piece)? I swapped each design for an add-on to the opposite card. That took care of my “left-overs”.

Cards made with the Game On Stamp Set — I made sure I kept the color palette compatible when working on both cards, so my designer scraps would blend beautifully on opposite card fronts. For the chess card, I used Soft Suede and added Crushed Curry, Night of Navy and Old Olive. For the card hand card, I used Night of Navy, stamped in Real Red, and tucked in Old Olive and Crushed Curry. I stamped the sentiments in Early Espresso.

Game On, Sponge On

You may know that I love to add sponging to my card pieces. And I am really loving Stampin’ Up’s new Blending Brushes. For these cards, I used a combo of old and new style sponges.

Blending Brush and Stampin' Sponge — New school, old school, blend it up!

I sponged Crumb Cake over my focal game pieces with the new Blending Brush. For the Old Olive square scraps on my card, I stamped the background chess board and club designs first. After that, I used the old-school style sponge with Old Olive ink to deepen the edges.

Game On, Spritz On

For a little extra color and accent on my focal pieces, I pulled out my Stampin’ Blends and my Bone Folder. By removing the cap on the larger brush end and holding it above my paper, I was able to tap on the barrel with the bone folder to make the ink splatter delicately. Just be sure that anything surrounding you is safe from splatter mayhem.

Stampin' Blends and Bone Folder create splatter technique — Depending on how much ink is in your Stampin’ Blend, you may need to tap the barrel harder or softer to create your “splatters”.

Game On, Inside-Out

The outside of my Game On Stamp Set birthday cards were mostly made with scraps I had lying around. The Old Olive squares were quite literally pulled from my scrap holder as is, no cutting or measuring required.

Old OLive Cardstcok scraps — I was fortunate to find the perfect squares (both the same size) in my scraps!

And the inside is completed with a Happy Birthday greeting (from the Here’s A Card Stamp Set), and the dice stamp image from the Game On Stamp Set in the bottom corner. Here, I used Old Olive Ink on the dice image, which wraps the same green from the outside to the inside.

It’s So Easy To Game On!

As I mentioned earlier, these Game On Stamp Set cards were very quick and easy to make. There was no fussy cutting, punching or die-cutting. I did not add ribbon, bling or dimension.

The thing I really enjoyed about creating these cards is that they are totally different, using the same basic card lay-out on each. This is a great way to make cards if you are not a fan of repeating the same design over and over. Just switch up your colors, designer paper and stamps. And throw in lots of your scrap papers for fun!

For more easy card designs, check out my Monday Style Cards, found here on my blog. These cards feature simple supplies and easy stamping too! Just what we all need for the busy “game” we call life!

Coloring Darling Donkeys With Stampin’ Blends

January 13, 2021

Sale-A-Bration Stamp Sets Are Here!

Are you ready to color some Darling Donkeys with Stampin’ Blends, like I did for these adorable cards? The Darling Donkeys Stamp Set is a Sale-A-Bration freebie, and one not to be missed!

Cards made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set and colored with Stampin' Blends.

I love that one of the best times of the Stampin’ Up! year is here! It is time to Sale-A-Brate, and between now and February 28, 2021, your purchase of Stampin’ Up! products earn you a FREE item(s).

Question: What’s the big deal, you may think, everyone has the ability to earn free product any time of the year. What makes Sale-A-Bration special?

Answer: During Sale-A-Bration (or SAB), a minimum order of $50 earns you a free product from the select offerings. During the rest of the year, you would need an order totaling $150 before you earn something for FREE.

Quick and Easy Cards

Card made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set in Seaside Spray, and colored with Stampin' Blends. — I colored each donkey’s inner ears and muzzle with the Light Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blend.

My time is extra short right now, and I need to make quick and easy cards. With the Darling Donkeys Stamp Set and Stampin’ Blends, I was able to do just that, and made 3 different cards in under an hour.

First, I stamped the 3 donkeys from the Darling Donkey Stamp Set using Memento Black Ink on White Cardstock. If there were more images, I would have kept stamping, these donkeys are so cute!

I could have easily left the stamped images as plain rectangle shapes, but decided to die-cut them with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies instead. This adds another sweetness to the Darling Donkeys!

Just Add Color, With Stampin’ Blends

Card made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set in Terra-Cotta Tile, and colored with Stampin' Blends. — On this card, I used Stampin’ Blends in Dark Calypso Coral and Light Old Olive for the flower and stem.

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of coloring. I like to keep it simple. The Stampin’ Blends really brought out the artist in me for these Darling Donkeys. And I didn’t need every color in the spectrum to create these colorful donkeys.

Memento Black Ink and Stampin' Blends used to color the Darling Donkeys. — Minimal supplies and minimal efforts is my motto when it comes to coloring.

I started coloring the outlines along the Darling Donkey stamped images with the Dark Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blend. Next, I blended in some Light Smoky Slate, leaving blank space in the middle of each donkey. I filled in that space with the Light Crumb Cake, and added more of this color to each donkey’s face. This creates lots of depth and highlights with little effort!

More Color Choices

As card-maker artists, color choice is important. But to be honest, I was in a hurry when I created these cards. So I based my color selection off of what was sitting on my desk at the time…the 2019-2021 In Color Designer Series Paper.

2019-2021 In Color Designer Series Paper — These colors are retiring in a few short months! Get yours before they are gone for good.

Sometimes laziness pays off, and these color choices worked great for my Darling Donkey Cards. From the 5 available colors in this collection, I chose Terra-Cotta Tile, Pretty Peacock and Seaside Spray. I thought the wood-grain style design worked best with my donkey cards.

These soon-to-be retired colors represented my card bases and the designer series paper. I also used like colored ink to add a little tone on tone stamping on my card base, as seen with the small asterisk or star or flower stamp (however you like to interoperate it!).

Card made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set in Pretty Peacock, and colored with Stampin' Blends.

Creating Drama With Paper Scraps

My stamped and colored Darling Donkeys would look pretty plain without a fun background to kick around on. Stripes are super popular right now, and using paper scraps is not only economical, but fun!

I used a 3 x 4″ piece of Gray Granite Cardstock, and adhered 3/4″ strips of Crumb Cake and White Cardstock to it. I made sure that no matter which direction (horizontal or vertical) this piece worked for my card, that the stripes were horizontal in direction. Just personal choice, really.

Crumb Cake and Gray Granite Cardstock — When making the stripes for my card, I relied on small paper scraps on hand, stored separately in my craft room.

So Darling!

I hope that I have inspired you to create some Darling Donkey cards! They were quick and easy, and turned out so stinking cute. The reality is, you could substitute any stamped image for the donkeys and have just as much fun, with great results.

Make sure you stop by my online store while Sale-A-Bration continues to scoop up this great Darling Donkeys Stamp Set. Whether you use it for birthday cards, get well cards or thinking of you cards, it will make a sweet addition to your crafting projects.

To see another blog post that showcases the use of Stampin’ Blends, click here. Looking for great Stampin’ Blends organization tips? Check out this blog post! Get ready to color your world!