Ornate Style Bundle
In Part III of this series, I am continuing my review of the Ornate Garden Suite, turning my focus to the Ornate Style Bundle. This bundle is made up of the Ornate Style Stamp Set and Ornate Layers Dies.
Previously, in Part I, I covered the embellishments (Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper, Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack and Gilded Gems) and Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder. And in Part II, I covered the Ornate Thanks Bundle (Ornate Thanks Stamp Set and Ornate Border Dies).
All of these fabulous new products are part of Stampin’ Up!’s exclusive early release from the upcoming 2020-2021 annual catalog. To add to the excitement, you can purchase these now, whether individually, as bundles, or as the entire suite.
Ornate Layers Dies
I adore this very ornate collection of layers, totaling 8 dies. The largest die is 5 1/2 x 4″, which almost covers the entire front of an A4 card base.
As I use these dies, six out of eight have nesting capabilities with like size counterparts. The same six have solid inner surfaces. I find this is perfect for adding focal points to, or stamping directly on.
The remaining two dies in this collection provide stencil style cut-aways. I discovered that the paper used with these dies will continue to have a solid border after the die cutting process is completed.
After working so hard to die cut the Ornate Border Dies from the Ornate Thanks Bundle, I was pleased that die cutting the Ornate Layers Dies from the Ornate Style Bundle was a breeze! With one pass thru the die cutting machine, minimal effort was required on my part to remove excess cut-away paper.
TIP: When running dies thru your die cutting machine, I recommend placing the die at an angle whenever possible. This will prevent wear and damage to both the die and your machine. You will notice less effort is needed for cutting, and less noise is emitted from the process as well.
You’re Amazing Card
For this sweet card in soft pastel colors of Soft Seafoam, Whisper White and Highland Heather, I continue my use of the Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder. The focal point is a group of watercolored flowers, from a stamp in the Ornate Styles Stamp Set.
Here are some of the details of the making of this card:
Water Color Process
Adding water to your paper makes it wet and soggy…obviously! It is best to use watercolor paper or Stampin’ Up!’s Shimmery White Cardstock for this application.
However, I would like to disclose that I did not follow this sound advice. I used regular Whisper White Cardstock, and I am pleased with my results. My take-away is that you can and should always experiment. Have fun!
First, I “stamped off” the flower image using Sahara Sand ink. The term “stamp off” means that you ink your stamp, stamp “off” onto a scrap paper, using up some of the ink, then immediately stamp on to your desired paper. This results in a lighter stamped image.
Second, I began to color with the Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Pencils. These high quality, smooth pencils come in Stampin’ Up! colors, perfect to match the proper tone to Stampin’ Up! ink and paper.
I did not carefully apply the pencil color, as can be seen in my photo. In fact, I quickly scribbled the pencil colors over my stamped image. The third step in my process will correct what appears to be a mess. Plus, time saver!
Third and last step, I used the Aqua Painter to blend all the watercolor pencil scribbles into a consistent washed coverage. I started with the lightest colors and worked to darkest, applying water to each image separately. I wiped transferred color from the paintbrush end as needed.
The paper will need to dry well and be flattened before use. This process doesn’t take too long, fortunately.
Finishing Touches
The use of Ornate Layers Dies creates the perfect frame for my watercolor masterpiece. The Highland Heather Cardstock layered behind the white ornate frame adds a pleasing backdrop.
The sentiment “you’re amazing” comes from the stamp set, Ornate Thanks. I stamped this image in Gorgeous Grape, a darker complimentary purple. I love to put those tiny scraps of paper to good use.
The two side-tabs were created from single die cuts. After adhering the Soft Sea Foam to Whisper White, I cut the assembly in half and added both pieces to my card front.
From The Bottom Of My Heart Card
Have I mentioned that I love the Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder yet? In this card, I embossed the entire front of the base. This required me to fold the back of the card around the edge of the closed embossing folder in order to run it thru my embossing machine.
Additionally, here are some more details regarding this card:
Stampin’ Blend Daisy
The focal point of this cheerful card is the single, zesty daisy. I quickly created it by stamping the image in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink onto Whisper White Cardstock. It fits perfectly into a Ornate Layers Die.
From there, I used Stampin’ Blends in Light Cajun Craze, Light Mango Melody and Dark Old Olive for a quick dash of color. These choices compliment the Terracotta Tile card base, Calypso Coral accent layer and Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper selection.
Finishing Touches
Lots of ornate layers, Terracotta Tile ribbon from the Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack, a sentiment from the Ornate Thanks Stamp Set and Gilded Gems complete this card.
Card Corrections!
Did you notice the errors I made when stamping in, of all colors, black ink? Maybe not, since I covered them up to the best of my crafty ability. Here I disclose the mistakes made and corrective measures taken:
- Problem: The daisy image on my card had a smudge of black to the left of the stem near the bottom.
- Solution: Gilded Gems to the rescue! The center gem covers my inky smudge. Not just for decorative purpose only.
- Problem: More black ink smudging above the word “of” along the top of my sentiment strip.
- Solution: Careful placement of the lacey overlay from the Ornate Layers Die above. By lowering this piece slightly over my sentiment strip, the ink smudge is less noticeable.
Conclusion: There are no mistakes in papercrafting, just creativity in process.
Thanks For All You Do Card
This last card in my review of the Ornate Style Bundle is inspired by the daisies in the DSP I used. Therefore, the color palette Whisper White, So Saffron and Crumb Cake are obvious choices.
Following is the assembly process:
Ornate Suite Options
One of my background layers on this card is So Saffron, embossed with the Ornate Floral 3D folder. I love the look of antiquing or grunging with brown inks, and I did so on some of the embossed image with Crumb Cake Ink. While my sponge was out, I added some ink to the Ornate Layer Die piece, cut in Crumb Cake Cardstock as well.
The white daisy border die cut, form the Ornate Border Dies, was a left-over piece from another crafting session. All that was needed was a trim, top and bottom to better fit my card front.
Finishing Touches
Layered in action are three of the dies from the Ornate Layers Dies, using the above mentioned colors. Adding these three pieces to any card in any hue is a no-brainer! I chose this selection as a decorative fill element, drawing the eye across the card front as layers merge into each other.
Again, the sentiments are from the stamp set, Ornate Thanks, and I inked them up with Early Espresso onto thin Whisper White Cardstock scraps. I flagged each end by hand, using my Paper Snips. Gilded Gems over the center of each flower add a touch of golden sparkle.
Ornate Garden Suite Conclusion
The Ornate Garden Suite has a lot to offer! I love that the components work so well together, yet can stand alone. It is budget friendly, whether you bundle and save, or as you pick and choose which individual items are must have’s for your crafting experience.
I spent quite some time getting to know this suite and creating samples with these brand new products. In my three part blog series, I highlighted different items. Now, I will share the best of the best, as I see it!
Best Embellishment
The Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder. This item may not be considered an embellishment, but it creates embellishments and was highlighted in Part I with similar items from this suite. This folder created raised flowers in all but one of the cards I featured with this suite. I really like it!
The embossing folder is easy to use. It is smaller in size (not the 6×6) so less stress of lining it up just right in your die cutting machine. There is no orientation or straight lines to try to emboss. And the pattern is small, blending into the background without being overbearing. All sweet things!
Best Stamp Set
The Ornate Thanks Stamp Set. I am always a fan of stamp sets that have great sentiments or sayings. This one in nothing but! This huge offering of things to say has incredible value. I showcased sayings from this stamp set in each of the cards from my three part series.
This is a photopolymer stamp set, which makes it really easy to see thru to line up for precise stamping. And no stickers required for assembly, like the red rubber style. The scripty font is, perhaps, my favorite part of this set. As well, the sayings can be masked to create additional options, per Part II of my review. I only hope we see more of this great font in upcoming stamp sets…
Best Dies
The Ornate Layers Dies. I love layers. If you have been looking at any of my card creations, by now you must realize this. I love layers. If layers are like accessories, my cards are well dressed!
This die set has “layers” in its name. We were meant to be together. I appreciate the ease of die cutting with this set, no fussy-ness involved. And layering is super easy, as well as fancy and fun. In fact, if I had to pick only 1 item form this suite, it would definitely be the Ornate Layers Dies.
Be As Ornate As You Can
I hope you have enjoyed following my three part exploration of the Ornate Garden Suite. If you need any of the supplies that I used to create my Ornate Garden cards, please stop by my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net.
I would love to know your thoughts on the products I have featured, so be sure to drop your comments below! May your continued creativity be ornate!