Bough Punch - The Maine Stamper

Two-Tone Flora Card Class

January 30, 2023

Cards made with the Two-Tone Flora Bundle.

Welcome to your weekly Card Class From ME! This week, I am using the Two-Tone Flora Bundle, which is found on page 16 of the January-April 2023 Mini Catalog by Stampin’ Up!. This fabulous bundle is part of the Fancy Flora Suite, and there are lots of fancy things about it!

Looking for similar fancy card classes with me? Click here for the Something Fancy Card Class.

The Two-Tone Flora Bundle

There are a lot of great things about the Two-Tone Flora Bundle. Let’s break down the stamp set and the dies…

Two-Tone Flora Stamp Set

The Two-Tone Flora Stamp Set is all about the flowers! Now, there are a couple of leafy options, but other than that, just flowers. No sentiments. No other imagery.

And these aren’t just any flowers. They are two-step photopolymer stamps. That means you use 2 different stamps to create one rich looking image, by overlaying the ink cohesively. During my weekly Card Class From ME, I talked about how these stamps work together. Watch my Two-Tone Flora Card Class here.

Floral stamped images from the Two-Tone Flora stamp set.

Two-Tone Flora Dies

The Two-Tone Flora Dies are just as fantastic as the stamp set they coordinate with. With these dies, you will be able to die cut every flower and leafy image in the Two-Tone Flora Stamp Set.

But there is more to this die set than just the outline shape dies. Did you see the large background intricate die? There are many uses to explore, from using it as a background, to trimming out flowers to use individually, to creating a stencil with the die cut.

Live Card Making Class On Monday

Every Monday at 8pm EST, I am live with your weekly card making class on my FaceBook page, The Maine Stamper. I create 3 beautiful cards and share tips and techniques along the way. This class serves as your tutorial when you receive your card kits in the mail and need to put them together.

Get Your Card Kits For Free

Card kits from the weekly online class using the Two-Tone Flora Bundle.

Yes, FREE. You will receive 2 each of 3 card designs (for a total of 6 card kits!) when you place an order of $35+ (before tax and shipping) in my online stamping store using Host Code DYA7BFBR thru February 3, 2023. The card kits will be mailed on the Monday following the live class.

Want more details about what is in these kits? Check my blog post here for more info.

Get Your Embellishments For FREE Too

When you bump your order to $50 (before tax and shipping), I will send you the card kits AND a FREE pack of the embellishments ($8 value) I used on my cards. For the Two-Tone Flora Card Class, I used the 2022-2024 In Color Matte Decorative Dots. These fun adhesive-backed embellishments come in 5 colors: Sweet Sorbet, Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide, Starry Sky and Orchid Oasis.

Your Card Class From ME Awaits

The Two-Tone Flora Card Class will be featured during my FaceBook Live on Monday, January 30 at 8pm EST. I hope you join me to see how easy it is to put your card kits together. If you miss the live, catch the replay on FaceBook or my YouTube Channel, The Maine Stamper.

I look forward to getting your weekly card kits from Maine in the mail to you. And I know you will be looking forward to receiving them and creating gorgeous works of paper crafted art!

Alternate Friendly Gnomes Cards

January 26, 2023

Gnome Or Not?

Are you looking for alternate Friendly Gnomes Cards? Or are you already missing the Friendly Gnomes?

The Friendly Gnomes Stamp Set and coordinating Gnomes Dies were the focus of my weekly Card Class From ME. But, not everyone loves gnomes…gasp! That’s why I came up with alternate Friendly Gnomes cards.

Now, if you are a gnome fan, you have probably watched my card class (or click here to check it out!). You may have seen all my cards this week featuring the Friendly Gnomes (check out my latest blog post here!). You are probably ready to buy the Friendly Gnome Stamp Set and Gnomes Dies to get my Gnome Card Class for FREE (Need all the details? Click here!).

Gnome-less Cards

Sometimes it is hard to imagine my designed cards to be anything other than what they look like when I demo them. You may see me make a card showcasing a gnome, and think that the card has to have a gnome on it.

I am here to prove that wrong, with my alternate Friendly Gnome Cards. Let’s take a look at the exact same “gnome card kits” and other options when it comes to card making, just in case you don’t want to make gnome cards.

Alternate Card #1

Purple is always a great choice in cardmaking, whether you are using gnomes or not! My first card from my Friendly Gnomes Card Class also featured the Floating Eclipse Technique. Check out the post here.

Once I took the gnome out of the picture, I replaced him with an awesome sentiment. This one comes from the Covered In Sunshine Stamp Set. I used the same piece of White Cardstock from the kit to stamp my words in Blackberry Bliss Ink.

FUN FACT: The day I made this card was not a Covered In Sunshine kind of Maine day. We had 17″ of snow while I was stamping away in my craft room.

I did pull additional cardstock in White, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Blackberry Bliss to create the flower and leaves for my alternate card (not part of the original card kit). Some of my favorite punches are the Medium Daisy and Bough Punches!

Alternate Card #2

I was really excited to share this alternate card! This one really is all about the designer series paper. In fact, I flipped the original design with the Calypso Coral and Fresh Freesia flowers over from my gnome card, to show off the yellow print on the opposite side for my gnome-less card.

Another wonderful feature about this card is that the Favored Flowers DSP is a FREEBIE during Sale-A-Bration, and I pulled my large flower elements from this pack. During my live demo, I shared that the coordinating Fragrant Flowers Dies help you make quick work of creating instant art, when you die cut the bold and beautiful images from the paper.

Favored Flowers DSP and Fragrant Flowers Bundle.

Alternate Card #3

I didn’t have to work too hard to switch up this card from one with gnomes to one without. Because I wanted to keep this one “birthday themed”, I chose the Framed Florets Stamp Set to use for a sentiment pull-piece. I added a flower and leaf stamp too, but this is hidden inside the Mini Envelope Pocket in this picture.

To see more on my original magical gnome birthday card, click here.

Get Your Friendly Gnomes Card Class From ME

While my Friendly Gnome Card Class is coming to an end, there is still a little time left for you to earn your card kits for FREE. Once you get them home, you decide if they will have gnomes on them…or not!

To see the video from my online class, click this link . For more details on what is in this week’s class from Maine and how to get yours, click here.

I will be sharing just a few more cards featuring the Friendly Gnomes. Be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook for more card making inspiration. And look forward to another great card class coming in the week ahead!

Something Fancy Birthday Card

January 18, 2023

Something Fancy Card Class, Card 2

As my Something Fancy Card Class continues, I am turning to vibrant, bold and more masculine colors. Each of the cards in this series uses the Something Fancy Stamp Set and Something Fancy Dies.

This card really is the opposite of my first card in this class. To see something in floral purples and pinks using the Something Fancy Bundle, click here.

Some Pretty Fancy Colors

Just like my first card in this weekly card class, I am continuing to use the Flowers & More Host Designer Series Paper pack. This card is clearly the “more” in this huge collection of lovely 12 x12″ papers.

When I chose the designer paper to use for this masculine themed card, I also picked the color palette to match. That is one of the best things about Stampin’ Up!: color coordination is so easy!

I started with a Starry Sky card base, and layered in Parakeet Party, Basic Black and Tahitian Tide.

Layering Diorama Dies

I have to admit, it took me a long time to even want to purchase the Layering Diorama Dies. At first, I was not a fan of the unusual blob-like shape. But, after seeing some amazing samples being made with these dies, I decided I had to have them, too!

I die cut my Basic Black layer first. Next, I ran my die cut piece thru my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine using the brand new Cane Weave 3D Embossing Folder.

PRO TIP: die cut first and emboss second.

Some Fancy Black Pearls

The Pearl Basic Jewels come in white. But sometimes, you want something other than white to use as an embellishment. This is where a little creativity comes into play!

Did you know the pearls can be colored? One way to do so is to use any color Sharpie marker you have. This ink will transfer permanently and dry true to new color. Another option is to use the Stampin’ Blends.

PRO TIPS: color the pearls on their original sheet; circle around the bottom for complete coverage; let the ink dry for a few moments before using the newly colored pearl on your project.

A Fancy Belated Birthday Greeting

Sentiment options for the Something Fancy Birthday Card.

It is easy to find a sentiment in the Something Fancy Stamp Set! Likewise, it is easy to find dies in the Something Fancy Dies to use with your sentiment. What is difficult is actually deciding what color inks, cardstock and layering dies you want for your card.

I actually made up 4 different combinations of my sentiment before I made up my mind for the finished card. The picture above shows all the directions I was creatively going in!

Get Your Something Fancy Card Class From ME

This is just one more card in my featured class this week. If you would like to see the video from my online class, click this link . For more details on what is in this week’s class from Maine and how to get yours, click here.

I will be sharing more cards from the Something Fancy Bundle as this week goes on, so be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook.