Easy Cards - The Maine Stamper

Forever Fern Stamp Set In Just Jade

August 25, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Card made with the Forever Ferm Stamp Set

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.

You can purchase the Forever Fern Stamp Set as a bundle with the Forever Flourishing Dies and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

Forever Fern Stamp Set and Forever Flourishing Dies — Forever Fern Bundle, item #154094

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.

Stmping the largest fern from the Forever Fern Stamp Set

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.

Stamping the smallest ferns from the Forever Fern Stamp Set

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.

Stamping the berry sprig stamp from the Forever Fern Stamp Set

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.

Stamping the sentiment from the Forever Fern Stamp Set

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.

Inside card stamping using Forever Fern Stamp Set

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.

Christmas Card made with the Forever Fern Stamp Set

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:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!

In The Pines In Shaded Spruce

July 20, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

To see my wonderful Monday card from last week, click here.

In The Pines Stamp Set

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set In The Pines. This is a brand new upcoming release from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog from Stampin’ Up!. I have a feeling it will be a carry-over item into the next annual catalog, it is so versatile!

Starting on August 4, 2020, you can purchase In the Pines as a bundle with the Pine Wood Dies and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

That’s right, one stamp set, In The Pines, two ink pads, Shaded Spruce and Memento Tuxedo Black, and two colors of cardstock, Shaded Spruce and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Shaded Spruce CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Shaded Spruce CS: 2-1/2 x 3-1/2″ and 1-1/2x 4″

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ x 2 (one for inside, optional)

Whisper White CS: 2-1/4 x 3-1/4″, 1-1/4 x 4″

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 A Crease

Usually this is where we begin stamping to create our background paper. This easy to make card has different features, including a corner crease that gets a little stamped action.

To start, I simply folded a small section of the top right corner of my 4 x 5-1/4″ Whisper White CS toward the middle. I used my bone folder to burnish the crease and help the fold to stay bent over.

I then un-bent my cardstock and flipped it over so the back was facing up. Next, I used the snowflake (or dots) stamp from the In The Pines Stamp Set and inked it in Shaded Spruce. I stamped this image over the bent corner portion of my paper.

Stamping snow dots with the In The Pines Stamp Set

By stamping the corner from the back side of the paper, the front of the corner has great images when flipped around into position. I also avoided getting ink on the front where I didn’t want ink to be.

Front of bent crease stamped with snow dot stamp from In The Pines Stamp Set

Sentiment Of Anytime Of The Year

The In The Pines Stamp Set has exactly two sentiment choices: Thinking of You or Season’s Greeetings. They are both the same petite size, and the same fantastic font. This makes the In The Pines Stamp Set perfect for pine tree themed cards year round.

I chose the Holiday version for my card here, but in my video tutorial, I swapped out the seasonal greeting for the Thinking of You sentiment. In both cases, I used Memento Black Ink for the saying, and placed it in the bottom right corner of my Whisper White CS.

Stamping the sentiment from In The Pines Stamp Set

Oh Christmas (Or Pine) Tree

To finish the stamping for the outside of my easy Monday card, I next turned to the theme of the In The Pines Stamp Set, the pines!

I began with the largest pine tree outline from the In The Pines Stamp Set, and inked it in Memento Black Ink onto the 2-1/4 x 3-1/4″ Whisper White CS. Next, I inked the tree trunk in the same black ink and used it to fill in the open space left by the outline stamp.

To make my tree green with envy…or beauty…I inked the like size shading stamp and filled in my tree outline quickly. The In The Pines Stamp Set provides perfect two-step stamping in this way.

Large pine tree stamp from In The Pines Stamp Set — The Shaded Spruce Ink looks really dark when it is first stamped, but the color will lighten slightly as it dries.

After that, I stamped a row of trees on my 1-1/4 x 4″ piece of Whisper White CS, using only the filler tree grouping stamp from the In The Pines Stamp Set. I stamped in Shaded Spruce, then immediately stamped off to create lighter trees. This process was done twice along the length of the paper.

For additional color, I cleaned the Shaded Spruce Ink off my stamp and repeated the same process with the filler tree grouping stamp, this time around I used Memento Black Ink. This Dist-Ink-Tive style stamp set creates instant depth with highs and lows in color saturation.

Stamping a row of pine trees using the In The Pines Stamp Set

Easy Assembly

The large piece of Whisper White CS with the creased corner and sentiment is the first layer onto my card base. Before adding on the pine stamped images, I gave each one a gorgeous mat in Shaded Spruce CS. I like to adhere these go-together pieces before putting them in their place on my card.

I began with the row of pine trees, adhering it slightly above my sentiment. This one must go down first, so the focal pine can be layered over top of it.

When I added the focal pine tree to the front of my card, the bottom overlaps the row of pines and the top right edge holds down the folded crease. This leaves a little gap in the upper left corner. I added 2 small scraps of Shaded Spruce CS on the back of my large pine tree assembly to give proper height and a cohesive seating.

Layering card front part 2 — When layering multi pieces that overlap, there can be gaps due to different thickness of papers. I like to add small scraps of cardstock to the back of pieces that need a little “lift”.

The Insider Job

Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the row of pine trees to add that inside interest. In this case I only used Shaded Spruce Ink and skipped the Memento Black Ink.

Stamping inside of card using the In The Pines Stamp Set

Step It Up!

Adding more can be fun! For my stepped-up version of my card, I used additional new products from the up-coming August-December 2020 Mini Catalog. The Pine Woods Dies (item #153563) provided me with Shaded Spruce die cut trees that peek out from the creased corner.

The Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing Folder (item #153576) gave great texture to my Whisper White CS front. And for embellishments, I chose the Wonder Of The Season Ribbon Combo Pack (item #153537) and some Gold Metallic Pearls (item #146282).

The little swoosh of snow under my large pine tree came from a die cut too. I ran the brush end tip of my Light Pool Party Stampin’ Blend along the edge for shading and contrast.

I hope you enjoyed making this easy card on a hard Monday with me, where I showcased some great new products coming your way soon! My video tutorial can be found on my FaceBook page, as well as my YouTube channel.

If you need any supplies to make fabulous cards like these, please feel free to visit my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!

Beautiful Moments In Balmy Blue

July 13, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Beautiful Moments Stamp Set

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set, Beautiful Moments. This is a fantastic stamp set if you enjoy coloring, with its large open images. If you are not a fan of coloring, I am going to show you a way to make colorful clothing without actually coloring.

Our fabulous Monday Card uses minimal supplies: one stamp set, Beautiful Moments, two ink pads, Early Espresso and Balmy Blue, and two colors of cardstock, Balmy Blue and Crumb Cake. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Balmy Blue CS: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, score at 4-1/4″ for card base.

Balmy Blue CS: 4 x 5-1/4″, 3-1/4 x 3-1/4″, scrap @ 2-1/2 x 2-1/2″

Crumb Cake CS: 3-1/2 x 3-1/2″, 3 x 3″, 1 x 4″, 3/4 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! I use this great background pattern effect with any stamp sets I own.

I suggest stamping on scrap paper, as this technique has you stamping off the edge of your cardstock. Starting at the bottom, stamp the line stamp from the Beautiful Moments Stamp Set in Balmy Blue Ink on the 4 x 5-1/4″ Balmy Blue CS.

Next, continue to fill in the wavy lines up each side of the paper and along the top. I varied the position of the stamp to get a random pattern. Also, I criss-crossed some of the lines, like choppy waves. I focused on the outer edges, knowing the middle would eventually be covered in layers.

Stamping the line stamp from Beautiful Moments Stamp Set

Simple Stamping

This Easy Monday Card couldn’t get any easier! I used Early Espresso Ink to stamp the grassy plants from the Beautiful Moments Stamp Set onto the 1 x 4″ piece of Crumb Cake CS. I varied the height of each stamping, filling my paper as I went across it.

Moving on to my sentiment, I chose the stamp “collect beautiful moments” from the Beautiful Moments Stamp Set. The remaining sentiments in this set would have worked just as well.

I inked the stamp in Early Espresso and applied it to the 3/4 x 2-1/2″ Crumb Cake CS. Purposefully, I made sure to stamp the sentiment as far left as I could. This enabled me to tear off a small section on the right, leaving a jagged edge.

Stamps from Beautiful Moments Stamo Set and Early Espresso Ink

Beach Combers

The two young ladies with their sand buckets make an adorable pair. I stamped this image from the Beautiful Moments Stamp Set twice in Early Espresso Ink, once on the 3 x 3 Crumb Cake CS, and once on the Balmy Blue scrap.

I kept the image on the Crumb Cake CS closer to the top, to allow room for the sentiment piece. The Balmy Blue scrap has an entirely different purpose.

Girls with buckets stamp from Beautiful Moments Stamp Set

To make colorful dresses for my girls, I brought in my Paper Snips and cutting skills. First, I cut the pair apart, so I could tackle each dress one at a time. Next, I fussy cut each dress, leaving the dark outline visible.

Lastly, I placed the beautiful blue dresses on my beachy friends. This is a great way to add color without coloring. But, you could also add pattern paper here and play paper dolls all day long. Just remember that you need to be able to see the stamped image on the pattern paper to cut it out.

Easy Monday Card Layering

The stamping on the outside of the card is complete. Now it is assembly time. The beach combers have two additional square layers to complete their matting.

The rest of the card also goes together just as easy. First, I layered the 4 x 5=1/4″ Balmy Blue CS onto the card base. I added my beach combers layer combo toward the top, centered in the middle. I placed the sentiment under the girls feet, toward the left of the square, with the jagged edge flowing to the right. The grassy fronds were placed closer to the bottom of the card.

The Insider Job

For this card, I stamped the girl on the left into the bottom corner, making sure my stamp flowed well off the paper where needed. I also stamped a grassy frond next to her. This was done using Early Espresso Ink.

To make her fancy, I stamped the dress on a Crumb Cake scrap and fussy cut it. I adhered it with my favorite adhesive, Tombow Liquid Glue. Now, this image is the opposite of what is shown on the front of the card, yet similar in nature.

Inside Stamping using the Beautiful Moments Stamp Set

Change It Up!

This is when I usually show a card made with this same layout that incorporates some ribbon or bling, something to step it up beyond simple. Today, I am sharing a card without additional embellishment, instead changing the colors and content.

It is my hope to inspire you to use the card recipes I include in my Monday Card Series, using whatever colors and stamps you have on hand. My Christmas In July card does just that! It is made with the same recipe as the Beautiful Moments Beach Card.

Christmas In July Card — This card is made using the stamp set Perfectly Plaid, item #149418

This nature lover’s card is not over-the-top red and green and jolly. I kept the tones quite neutral, with Pear Pizzazz and Crumb Cake. I sponged the Crumb CS with like colored ink to deepen the tone. The trees were punched from DSP using the Pine Tree Punch (item #149521), then added to the card front with dimensionals for lift.

Here is the side by side comparison so you can see how alike these two cards really are!

What will you create with this recipe? The possibilities are endless when you are crafty…or have a great recipe to work with!

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, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!

Lovely You In Rich Razzleberry

July 6, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Monday’s are hard, but in this cardmaking 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!

Lovely You Stamp Set

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set Lovely You. This is a new stamp set from the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog from Stampin’ Up!. If you would like to see another easy Monday card that features flowers, click here.

You can purchase Lovely You as a bundle with the Lovely Labels Pick A Punch and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set. But more on the punch later!

That’s right, one stamp set, Lovely You, two ink pads, Rich Razzleberry and Shaded Spruce, and two colors of cardstock, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Rich Razzleberry CS: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, score at 4-1/4″ for card base.

Rich Razzleberry CS: 4 x 5-1/4″, 1-3/4 x 3-1/2″, ″ and 1 x 4″, small scrap

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ (for inside, optional)

Whisper White CS: 1-1/2 x 3-1/4″, 3/4 x 3-3/4″, (4 of) 3/4 x 5″, small scrap

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!

Rich Razzleberry cardstock and bone folder

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 small stamps and sentiments. It is a great way to use up some of those white strips of left-over paper that are lying around too!

I started with the Shaded Spruce Ink and 2 of the 3/4 x 5″ Whisper White strips. I used the three-leaf stamp from the Lovely You Stamp Set four times on one strip. Next, I used the sentiment “always”, and varied which letters from the word showed on my narrow paper strip.

Shaded Spruce Ink and stamps from Lovely You Stamp Set

After completing the Shaded Spruce strips, I worked on the Rich Razzleberry ones. On the two remaining strips, I stamped flowers from the Lovely You Stamp Set. I was able to get four of the larger flower images on one, and five of the smaller images on the other.

Rich Razzleberry Ink and stamps from Lovely You Stamp Set

After I stamped all four strips, I adhered them to a piece of 4 x 5-1/4″ Rich Razzleberry CS. I like to “dry fit” my pieces before permanently attaching them. This gives me time to see if I like the layout, and the ability to change my mind.

I kept my strips closer to the left, with a portion of the Rich Razzleberry visible on the right. There is room to play here, and you could easily separate the strips farther apart and fill the space instead.

Focal Stamping

This card has a lot of small stamps doing all the work. To anchor the sentiment, I continued by using Shaded Spruce Ink and the leaf sprig stamp from the Lovely You Stamp Set. But this time, I doubled the size by stamping the image twice, once up and once down.

Sprig leaf stamp from Lovely You Stamp Set

If there is an overlap in the middle, that is fine. The middle stamping will be covered up by the sentiment layer later on. I adhered this 1-1/2 x 3-1/4″ Whisper White CS to a panel of Rich Razzleberry CS, 1-3/4 x 3-1/2″.

So Many Sentiments

The Lovely You Stamp Set has 8 sentiments, along with 3 individual words. This stamp set has so much variety! I chose the sentiment “miles apart, but still in my heart”.

Sentiment stamp from Lovely You Stamp Set

When I stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry Ink, I kept the image to the right of my 3/4 x 3-3/4″ Whisper White CS. Next, I adhered it to a layer of 1 x 4″ Rich Razzleberry CS.

Finishing Touches

The leaf sprig layer and sentiment layer need to be placed on the card. I placed the leaf sprig layer toward the left of the card, overlapping some of the smaller strips. The final position can be chosen to suit the background stamps in play.

When it came time to add the sentiment strip over the sprig assembly, the previous card layering left one end much lower. I solved this off-kilter situation by adding small pieces of Rich Razzleberry CS to the back of the sentiment layer where it needed a ‘bump’ up.

Adding cardstock bumps to create the proper height — The back of this sentiment piece needed to go up at least two levels,which I accomplished by adding small pieces of like-color cardstock in the appropriate area.

Fussy Details

Fussy cutting is not a favorite of most people. I try to keep mine to a minimum as well. But from time to time, it adds a needed detail to a card.

For this Monday card, I stamped the three-leaf stamp in Shaded Spruce, and the larger of the floral stamps in Rich Razzleberry onto a white scrap. Then, I did a little of the dreaded fussy cutting with my Paper Snips.

Fussy cut images from Lovely You Stamp Set

The middle of the fussy cut leaf will be covered by the flower, so it will not require the fussiest of cutting. The flower is easy to fussy cut, as just the head is needed. Lastly, I attached them to my card front, on the left of the sentiment piece.

The Insider Job

Here, I used the leaf sprig stamp and Shaded Spruce Ink first. I angled the image from the bottom corner toward the middle of the 4 x 5-1/4″ Whisper White CS. Next, I stamped the larger flower in Rich Razzleberry and added it on the side.

Inside stamping using Lovely You Stamp Set

Step It Up!

For my stepped up version of this same card, I pulled out the Lovely Labels Pick A Punch, which can be purchased at the same time as the stamp set for an instant 10% savings, using item #154070 when buying both.

Lovely Labels Pick A Punch, item #152883

Because this versatile punch removes a small amount of cardstock from the end, you will need to add 1/8″ to your cardstock measurement for each side that is punched. So, in my next card sample, I added 1/8″ to the four background strips, punching only one end. For the sentiment pieces, I added 1/4″, because I punched both ends.

Handy Tip: When cutting cardstock for the Lovely Labels Pick A Punch, you can choose 1/2″, 3/4″ or 1″ strips to fit in the channels. I find that the cardstock fits smoothly if I shave 1/16″ off the width from the stated sizes when cutting my paper.

In my stepped up Lovely You card, I also used the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder (item #152718) on the 4 x 5-1/4″ Rich Razzleberry CS to help define it. I used some retired Rich Razzleberry Ribbon and a gem from the Rhinestone Basic Jewels (item #144220) in the center of my flower.

Another Monday

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!

Painted Poppies in Poppy Parade

June 29, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Monday’s are hard, but in this cardmaking 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!

Painted Poppies Stamp Set

Today’s Monday Card features the Painted Poppies Stamp Set. This is a popular stamp set that was carried over from the January-June 2020 Mini Catalog from Stampin’ Up!. If you would like to see another floral Monday card, click here.

You can purchase the Painted Poppies Stamp Set as a bundle with the Painted Labels Dies and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

That’s right, one stamp set, Painted Poppies, two ink pads, Poppy Parade and Memento Tuxedo Black, and two colors of cardstock, Poppy Parade and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Poppy Parade CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Poppy Parade CS: 3-1/8 x 5-1/8″, 1-7/8 x 5″, (3 of) 3 x 1-1/2″

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ x 2 (one for inside, optional)

Whisper White CS: 3 x 5″, 1-3/4 x 5″, (3 of) 3 x 1-1/4″

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 bonefolder 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!

I began by stamping the image of mulitple poppies on their long stems, from the Painted Poppies Stamp Set. I used Memento Black Ink and the 3 x 5″ piece of Whisper White CS.

First, I turned the cardstock in the landscape position, and stamped the image twice, going across and keeping the taller poppies close to the paper’s edge. Next, I rotated the paper and did the same stamping on the opposite side. It is okay to overlap the ink coverage in the middle.

Floral Details

The next bit of stamping creates the tiny details. I used 3 pieces of Whisper White CS, 1-1/4″ square. Using the large open poppy stamp from the Painted Poppies Stamp Set and Memento Black Ink, I stamped 2 of the 3 squares. I tried to get different coverage on each, and since the stamp is so much bigger than the paper, there is a lot of overflow!

For the third square, I stamped in Memento Black Ink using the smaller of the open poppy stamps from the Painted Poppies Stamp Set. This image fits better into the small space of the square, overflowing slightly.

Stamping with the open poppy stamps from Painted Poppies Stamp Set

Colorful Poppy Stamping

Our poppies need some color, and I used the Poppy Parade ink to fill them in. Using the solid shading stamp from the Painted Poppies Stamp Set, I stamped off once before stamping on to each of the three squares. This gives the ink coverage a lighter tone.

Stamping Off with the Painted Poppies Stamp Set shading stamp

To add additional color to my poppies and really make them “pop” I used the smaller splotchy stamp from the Painted Poppies Stamp Set and full strength Poppy Parade Ink. I stamped this image 3 times around the black center of each poppy. If you need to stamp 4 times to get complete coverage, that works fine as well.

Stamping the small splotch stamp from Painted Poppies Stamp Set around the center of the flower.

Layering Layers

This great card has a lot of layers! And they go together very easily. First, I adhered one of the 4 x 5-1/4″ Whisper White CS panels to the front of the card base. I also layered the stamped poppies in black to the Poppy Parade CS mat, sized 3-1/8 x 5-1/8″.

The matted poppies are ready for the card front, and I began to layer my next pieces together. This time, the plain Poppy Parade, 1-7/8 x 5″, and the plain Whisper White, 1-3/4 x 5″, went together. Notice that the height of both of these pieces is the same, so the matting is actually only along the sides here.

Once the plain layers are added to the middle of the stamped poppies, the flower images look nice on either side and the messy middle is no longer visible. And the plain layer now looks like it has its own matted border along the top, due to paper sizing!

Each of the small white squares with a poppy gets its own Poppy Parade mat, size 1-1/2″ square as well. And this completes our layering process.

Squares Like Diamonds

The hardest part of making this easy card is lining up the poppy squares in a diamond pattern. I started with a dry fitting and moved the pieces around to get the right placement.

I chose to put the 2 similar poppy images on top and bottom, leaving the smaller stamped poppy in the middle. It is helpful to take advantage of the Poppy Parade CS mat edge when lining up the squares. I made sure the corner of each square did not go past the “red line”.

From there, it was just a matter of spacing in between each square. I adhered each one without moving the others off the card front, so I remembered where each one needed to be fit back on the card.

Finished card front using Painted Poppies Stamp Set

The Insider Job

Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the large poppy image and filler color from the Painted Poppy Stamp Set to add that inside interest.

Stamping inside the card with the Painted Poppies Stamp Set

Step It Up!

Sometimes more is more. If you have ribbon or adhesive gems in your craft room, they go so nicely with this card. Here, I used some retired Poppy Parade ribbon and the Frosted Epoxy Droplets (item #147801) to dress it up.

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!