Love is always in season and the Love You Always suite is always in style. It’s perfect for when you are sharing a Valentine with your sweetheart, creating treats for the kids, or sending wedding or anniversary well wishes.
This tutorial using the Love You Always Suite creates a beautifully detailed card perfect for Valentine’s Day or an anniversary. The subtle details of pattern, shimmer, and texture combine to make a special card that you need to create and see in person to truly appreciate!
Always In My Heart Card
This card could be used for other occasions besides an anniversary. If you swap out the sentiment, you could create a birthday card, wedding shower or congrats card…or more! Hearts and flowers are always in season.
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SUPPLIES:
BUNDLE
Always in My Heart Bundle (#156194) Always In My Heart Photopolymer Stamp Set (#154337) Floral Hearts Dies (#154306)
PAPER
Old Olive (#100702), Basic White (#159276), Pool Party (#122924), Granny Apple Green (#146990), Vellum Cardstock (#101856), Pearlescent Specialty Paper (#154291), Fine Art Floral Designer Series Paper (#154558)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (#104430 ), Stampin’ SEAL (#152813), Mini Glue Dots (#103683)
EMBELLISHMENTS
Gold Glitter Enamel Dots (#152155), Pool Party 3/8″ (1 Cm) Sheer Ribbon (#152462)
TIP:
When adding Vellum Cardstock to projects, place adhesive where it will be covered by other layers of cardstock, ribbon, or embellishments, so that you don’t see the adhesive through the translucent vellum paper.
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…
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!
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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
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!
I used the second to the largest rectangle die for my cards.
Just Add Color, 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.
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.
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!).
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.
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.
Who could pick a favorite?
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!
Beginner to expert card makers, this fall card making kit is for you! Sign up to receive your card making kit in the mail and you will soon be assembling 8 beautiful autumn themed cards. In the comfort of your own home. At the time of your convenience.
Unable to make it to a Fall Stamp Camp? Don’t have tons of dies, punches, or embossing equipment? Missing copious amounts of fancy paper and embellishments? Or maybe you just want to save time but still create complex looking cards, homemade from the heart. I have you covered!
Features of the Card Making Kit
You will receive card bases and envelopes, plus numerous components to assemble 8 individual and unique cards. I designed each card layers deep, adding rich interest and value. Whisper White or Very Vanilla card inserts are provided for dark card bases. This is not a kit that contains repeats of the same designs!
There is no need to purchase or own specific stamping products to go with the making of the cards in this kit. Everything is included to make 8 A2-size (5-1/2 x 4-1/4″) complete cards. You supply the adhesive.
All of the hard work is done for you. You just need to assemble the cards! The Fall Card Kit contains die cuts (intricate die cuts come with adhesive sheet backing for adhering ease), punched pieces, designer series paper, heat and dry embossed designs, embellishments and non-Stampin’ Up! stamped images.
Included with the Fall Card Kit is a PDF download that contains directions and step by step color picture assembly for each card. Alternate ideas are provided to encourage your creativity.
Fall Card Themes
The cards in the Fall Card Kit are wonderful to celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. But they would also be fantastic birthday cards, thinking of you cards and thank you cards.
As you assemble your card kit, you have the option to change features, swap parts and pieces, and create just what you need for your card giving occasion.
Order Your Fall Card Kit Today!
Submit your request for a Fall Card Kit here. The cost of the card making kit, PDF instructions and priority mail shipping via USPS is $39.
Fall Card Kits will begin to ship on September 18, to arrive in time for your fall card needs. You will receive the directional PDF attachment separately, by email.
Early Bird Special: the first 8 customers who order the Fall Card Kit will receive a FREE Bonus Gift in their card kit package.
The Fall Card Making Kits are limited, so please don’t miss out. Due to shipping fees, this offer is only valid in the United States.
Monday’s are hard, but in this card making 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!
Forever Fern Stamp Set
Today’s Monday Card features the Forever Fern Stamp Set. This fantastic stamp set is the cornerstone of the Forever Greenery Suite from Stampin’ Up!. If you would like to see another project that features nature and the color green, click here.
That’s right, one stamp set, Forever Fern, two ink pads, Bermuda Bay and Mint Macaron, and two colors of cardstock, Just Jade and Whisper White. Please follow along!
A Monday Card
The Card Recipe
Just Jade CS: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, score at 4-1/4″ for card base.
Just Jade CS: 2-3/4 x 2-3/4″
Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ (for inside, optional)
Whisper White CS: 4 x 4″, 1 x 4″, 2-1/2 x 2-1/2″
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 bone folder 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 flowers or leaves.
To begin, I used the largest fern stamp from the Forever Fern Stamp Set and Bermuda Bay Ink on the 4 x 4″ piece of Whisper White CS. I stamped the image once, then immediately stamped off next to it, to create the second generation or shadow stamp. I continued this in a circular pattern, turning my cardstock as I stamped.
Once I completed stamping the large fern in a full circle, my cardstock looked like this:
But, don’t worry about the messy middle, we will be covering that part up as we continue.
Next, however, I continued with this piece and stamped the smallest leaves from the Forever Fern Stamp Set in Mint Macaron around the outside edges.
Berry Detailed
I continued the great use of color and background stamping on the 1 x 4″ piece of Whisper White CS. For this, I used the berry sprig stamp from the Forever Fern Stamp Set.
By focusing on the middle of the berry sprig, I was able to get 4-5 images across my cardstock. The stamps in the Forever Fern Stamp Set are Dist-Ink-tive, and have built in high and low imagery in the red rubber for great depth and interest.
Sentimental Friend
I used the sentiment “to a friend that makes me smile” from the Forever Fern Stamp Set, along with Mint Macaron Ink, on the 2-1/2 x 2-1/2″ square of Whisper White CS.
The saying is written in cursive, at a slight slant. Because we are also stamping it at a diagonal orientation, getting it lined up “evenly” can be tricky. I used the lines in my grid paper to help me out.
If this small fern stamp used to add a border around my sentiment in Bermuda Bay looks familiar, you are not seeing double. There are 2 stamps in the Forever Fern Stamp Set that are this same size. Each one curves in a different direction. It will not matter which one you use.
Some Assembly Required
The stamping is complete for the outside of our card, now we are on to assembling it. And, this one couldn’t get much easier!
I started by adhering the 4 x 4″ stamped piece of Whisper White CS to the front of my card base. I left a quarter inch of Just Jade showing behind the top and sides. Next, I adhered the 1 x 4″ stamped piece of Whisper White CS to the bottom of my card base.
After adhering my sentiment piece to the 2-3/4 x 2-3/4″ Just Jade CS, I placed it in the middle of my 4 x 4″ Whisper White CS on the diagonal. This will cover up the messy middle stamping, as mentioned earlier.
The Insider Job
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 partially stamped the large fern image in Bermuda Bay Ink in the bottom corner to add that inside interest. I surrounded the large fern with the tops of the smallest fern, done in Mint Macaron.
Color Changing Options
With a card recipe this easy and fun, it only made sense to me to create it in different color combinations.
The purple lovers card on the left is done in warm berry tones, with a Rich Razzleberry card base, and Blackberry Bliss and Soft Suede Ink.
For my fall inspired card on the right, I chose a Cajun Craze card base. The ink colors used in this alternate card are Cherry Cobbler and Cinnamon Cider.
And how about a Christmas Card using the Forever Fern Stamp Set? These stamps are versatile enough to do so, and this card recipe makes creating them in large quantities a breeze.
Here, I used a Cherry Cobbler card base along with Shaded Spruce and Cherry Cobbler Ink. The sentiment “a merry hello” comes from the Host Stamp Set titled A Merry Hello. The stamp “heartfelt Christmas” would have worked beautifully here as well. Ask me today how you can earn this stamp set for free!
Get Stamping!
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 at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:
