Autumn is in the air, and the Rustic Harvest Suite is perfect for celebrating fall! In fact, this elegant set transitions from September thru Thanksgiving with its timeless stamps, dies and more. Take a closer look at the cards from this online class., or watch the class here.
Clean and Simple Pumpkin
For my first card, I chose to work with the Rustic Pumpkin Dies to create my pumpkin. If you look closely, you can tell that the pumpkin body is made up of 2 different dies and adhered together. I used a Blending Brush and some Cajun Craze Ink to give my pumpkin a little color.
And speaking of color, most of this card is Very Vanilla. I also used the Stitched With Whimsy Dies to add background interest. I heat embossed the sentiment from the stamp set Hello Harvest in gold embossing powder. My accent trim and embellishments also shine with golden tones.
When you are heat embossing, rub the Emboss Buddy Anti-Static Pouch over your cardstock before stamping your image in VersaMark. And if you have any stray bits of unwanted powder, use a small, dry paintbrush to carefully remove the powder before heat setting.
Designer Series Paper Card
This lovely flower card on Merry Merlot was so easy to put together. The Rustic Harvest Designer Series Paper is my focal point, so the only thing I had to stamp was my sentiment. I chose white embossing powder on black cardstock because I wanted the “chalk like” effect of the paper to continue.
Do you love this banner die cut from the Rustic Pumpkin Dies? It adds a grand flourish without effort. Another effortless part of this card is the embossed texture from the Leaf Fall 3D embossing folder. By the time I put all these amazing elements together, the only thing I needed to add was the pearls!
For the Love of Leaves
During my live class, I always save the most detailed card for last. And this one is a spectacular way to end the Rustic Harvest Card Class. Again, I pulled paper from the Rustic Harvest collection and chose colors to match. The deep Mossy Meadow helps to tone down a traditional red, orange and yellow leaf card.
Speaking of leaves, I really gave this oak leaf stamp from the Hello Harvest Stamp Set a good workout. I stamped around my card base before adding on my layers. And I used the matching leaf die to cut out additional Mossy Meadow leaves for accents. Of course, I had to add some colorful fall leaves in too. And this sentiment is heat embossed in copper powder.
Get Your Card Kits From This Class!
With a qualifying order over $35 in my online store using the Host Code from October 10-16, 2022, I will send you a set of card kits (1 of each design, 3 total) that you can use to recreate these cards at home. Whether you are using the Hello Harvest Bundle or different stamps and dies, your cards will be easy to put together- I will do all the cutting, die cutting and embossing (but no stamping).
If you miss out on this online class, just look for another one coming soon! You can also see my previous online class here. Join me on Monday evenings at 8pm (EST) for a live class on my FaceBook page, The Maine Stamper. Or watch for my YouTube videos posted shortly after, the The Maine Stamper channel. Hope to see you there!
Who Wore It Better? Very Vanilla with Cajun Craze or White with Tahitian Tide? You decide!
In this final installment of Soft Succulent, I have another color pairing that will help you enjoy the moment you discover how nicely they coordinate. For this card, I am using So Saffron and Early Espresso along with Soft Succulent.
I have really enjoyed my moments with Soft Succulent. It is such a warm gray-green color; it sometimes lends itself toward blue. And mixing in Early Espresso is easy, this deep and rich neutral brown always shines. But, So Saffron has never been my favorite yellow. However, once I began to work this subtle color in, it started to grow on me.
Enjoy The Moment
With my color palette of green, brown and yellow, I wanted a nature themed card. My first thought was some lovely autumn leaves or trees. But as I thumbed through the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog, another stamp set caught my eye: Enjoy The Moment.
TIP: Keep a small generic paintbrush handy to swipe away loose particles of embossing powder from your paper before you heat emboss it. This will help minimize stray powder from being a permanent fixture.
Moments of Watercoloring
After my focal point image was heat embossed, I began to watercolor the image and surrounding paper. I started by placing a single drop of ink refill from Early Espresso, Soft Succulent and So Saffron onto a Clear Acrylic Block. By keeping the refill bottles near the corner of the clear block that coordinates with the ink drops, I know what color is where at a glance.
I started with the Early Espresso Ink Refill drop and my smallest Water Painter Brush. With a small squeeze of the barrel, I mixed some water with the ink. Then, I covered the middle of my embossed seed pod trio.
Next, I moved onto the medium Water Painter Brush and the Soft Succulent Ink Refill drop. Again, I added some water from my Water Painter barrel to the ink drop to lighten the color and make it easier to water wash with. I swept the color along the bottom and sides of the embossed stem.
Lastly, I used the largest Water Painter Brush and the So Saffron Ink Refill drop. I took care to not run the yellow into either the brown or green. This way, each color would stand out on its own.
TIP: Cleaning Your Water Painter Brushes
Squeeze some water from the barrel and let it wash over the brush end. At the same time, use either a baby wipe or a paper towel to wipe away the inky remains. It is okay if your brush ends are stained. As long as no ink transfers when you swipe the bristles, you are good to go!
Enjoying Background Stamping
There is not a lot of designer series paper in either Early Espresso or So Saffron that I could use on my card. So instead, I created my own.
When it came time to add texture to my card, I looked for just the right embossing folder. Of course, I didn’t want anything floral. Bricks and animal print were not even considered. I wanted something neutral, almost masculine.
So, I turned to the Checks & Dots Embossing Folders. They are sold as a pack of two, one is checks and the other is dots. These slim folders measure 3-3/8” wide, perfect for smaller embossing machines, like the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. They are also perfect for smaller pieces of cardstock, like my Soft Succulent. Did you know the black line along the bottom of the folder will help you to line up your paper straight when preparing it for embossing?
Great Grapevines
Usually, I am adding swirly leaves and flowers to my card designs. Since this card is more “natural” and masculine themed, I had to look for something a little different.
The Grapevine Dies are perfect for my need of ‘swirly’. The large die bends around in a lovely L shape, sending shoots of leaves and vines along the way. I die cut this in Watercolor Paper with my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. Because this paper is thicker (to hold watercolor washing), it may require some removal of small cut pieces. To make quick clean-up of my die cut. I use the Take Your Pick Die Brush Tip on my Take Your Pick Tool.
TIP: It is easy to switch up all the tool heads on the Take Your Pick Tool, but I prefer to have 2 of the Take Your Pick Tools so that my tool is ready to go without swapping back and forth. And the foam pad that comes with the Take Your Pick Die Brush Tip fits nicely in a clear Standard Stamp Case for storage.
My card layers are starting to develop nicely, so it’s time to look for the right sentiment for my card. I love generic sentiments when I am not sure who my card is going to, or what occasion it may eventually cover.
The “a little note…” stamp from the Enjoy The Moment Stamp Set is perfect in this instance. I chose to heat emboss it on a small slip of Early Espresso Cardstock. First, I applied VersaMark Ink, then covered my wet stamping in Copper Metallic Embossing Powder. Lastly, I heat set the powder using my Heat Tool. The copper shine of the sentiment mimics the embossed focal point.
Once I have everything stamped, die cut, punched, colored, embossed and prepared, it is time to put the card together. I started with an Early Espresso Cardstock base, then added my background stamped So Saffron piece, followed by my Checks embossed Soft Succulent.
Next, I adhered the large leaves of the grapevine die down on my card front. I found it easiest to place the image where I wanted it to go, then lift the large leaves and added a drop of glue behind each. This was much easier than adding Mulitpurpose Liquid Glue to all of it and trying to place it precisely in one motion.
Enjoy The Moment Focal Assembly
Before I went too far with my focal point, I decided to do a rough tear along one edge. I also added a little Early Espresso Ink with a sponge along the opposite side. Although Stampin’ Up! retired their round sponges, I keep mine handy for small jobs like this.
My focal point layers consist of the watercolor paper, the edge stamped Early Espresso Cardstock and another piece of plain So Saffron Cardstock.
As I prepare to attach the focal point to the front of my card, I realize I have a lot of odd layer depths. My quick fix for this is to add a piece of like color cardstock to the back. This helps to raise up the “lower” side and make it lay flat when I adhere it to my card. By using the same color, it blends in beautifully if viewed from a side angle.
Before I could adhere the sentiment, I needed to place my sprig punched pieces. After a dry fit, I stuck them down with some Tear & Tape. I always place my tape in a manner that will be covered by another layer. In this instance, the tape also artfully secures some sweeping Linen Thread.
The very last thing that I attached to my card was the sentiment. Because there were some bumps and lumps from the Linen Thread to cover up, I chose to place Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals on the back of my sentiment piece. This bit of “lift” helps give the sentiment prominence too.
Soft Succulent Moments
I have truly enjoyed my color exploration of the 2021-2023 In Color, Soft Succulent. To see my last card and color combo with this great green, click here. And don’t despair because we are done exploring Soft Succulent, there is still one more new In Color to delight us in November.
Do you need any of the products I used here for your next creation? Make sure you stop by my online store at any time and enjoy the moment of shopping for your stamping supplies! Until next time, stay inspired!
Papercrafters everywhere are thinking thoughts of Christmas as October deepens. While I turn to another 2021-2023 In Color, Soft Succulent, I am thinking Christmas too.
This soft, calm green shade may remind you more of spring, but don’t let it fool you. I find that Soft Succulent can hold its own along with Real Red and Cherry Cobbler for festive makings.
In fact, for this card, my challenge is to use Rich Razzleberry, a tone that lends towards purple. Along with Rich Razzleberry, I am tasked to use Mint Macaron. Mint Mac and Soft Succulent are very similar shades, but I was able to work all three of these colors cohesively for my Tidings & Trimmings Card.
*TIP: While prepping your paper for embossing, attach the cardstock to a clothespin or clip first. Hold on to the clothespin rather than the paper to prevent the Heat Tool from burning your fingers.
To top off my stockings, I chose to use the tied ribbon bow stamp from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. Again, I used Versamark Ink and white embossing powder, then heat set my bows. I chose a Rich Razzleberry bow for my Soft Succulent Stocking, and a Mint Macaron bow for my Rich Razzleberry Stocking. The white embossing brings the look together and adds elegance too.
Paper Delight
Even though I looked high and low for some Christmas designer paper in Rich Razzleberry, I could not find any. Instead, I chose a neutral design from what could be considered a fall pack of paper, Blackberry Beauty Specialty DSP.
Barely noticeable but significant just the same, is the tone on tone stamping on the Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper. I measured my paper to stamp the berry sprigs from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set in Rich Razzleberry Ink. By stamping in just the right location, my design elements would be accented.
As a fan of adding a lot of layers to my card fronts, I started with a Thick White Cardstock base. The thicker cardstock really holds up to the task at hand! Next, I added a layer of Rich Razzleberry CS, followed by Soft Succulent CS. Then, came the pretty designer series paper.
And to add even more texture to my card, along with the heat embossing, I chose to use the Snowy White Velvet Sheets. From the Christmas Trimmings Dies, I chose 3 different “sprig’ dies from the Christmas Trimmings Dies and die cut them from this fuzzy velvet paper using my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. These sprigs look adorable peeping out of the tops of my Christmas stockings. They also add a brightness to this card.
Next, I used the sentiment “May your days be merry & bright”. Again, I stamped in Versamark Ink, but this time only used the ink as a watermark image. Against my Mint Macaron CS, it shows very lightly and subtly in the background. By using Versarmark Ink instead of Mint Macaron Ink (tone on tone), I was able to keep my sentiment light and simplistic.
Tidings & Trimmings Together
I felt that my stockings needed a little holly. With the Christmas Tidings Dies, this was an easy fix. There are two holly dies, but you will end up with four individual holly leaves after die cutting. How awesome is that? I chose Evening Evergreen CS as a great complimentary green for this particular task.
After adding my sentiment pieces to my card front, it was time to add my stockings and the trimmings. I glued the holly leaves and bows to each stocking first, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue. This made it easy for me to later place the decorated stockings on my card front.
My next step was a dry fit for the Snowy White Velvet die cut sprigs and my stockings. A dry fit is when you put elements on your card front without adding any adhesive. You can move parts and pieces around as you decide where you want them to go.
When I was happy with the sprig placement, I removed the stockings and taped the base of my sprigs in place. I prefer to use Tear & Tape Adhesive for jobs like this.
Next, I simply glued down my stockings over the taped down sprigs. The stockings interlocked just slightly in a natural position. You can see that they are off-set in height nicely too.
To complete my card, I chose to add a few Pearl Basic Jewels. With all the white elements on this card, these pearls look very natural. I find it easiest to place adhesive backed embellishments on my projects using the Take Your Pick Tool.
Soft Succulent Success
If you enjoyed this Christmas card using Soft Succulent and the Tidings & Trimmings Bundle, please stop by my online store for the supplies you need to re-create it. Did you know that by purchasing the bundle instead of adding the stamp set and dies to your cart individually, you will automatically save 10%?
For another Christmas style card using the In Color, Evening Evergreen, click here. I have also explored Christmas cards in Polished Pink and Fresh Freesia.
My In Color exploration will continue with Soft Succulent, so be sure to come back and visit to see my next color combos and creations! It is with great joy that I experiment with color and delight you with my efforts.
First, let me say that green is my favorite color. And I love dark green tones even more. As I continue my 2021-2023 In Color exploration, we are moving on to a beautiful shade. In fact, Evening Evergreen is so dark, I think it could be considered a neutral color.
For this card, I am pairing Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry with Evening Evergreen. And what a challenge this color combo was for me! I didn’t know if I could pull off two strong green tones on the same card…but in the end it all worked out quite nicely.
Creating Something Perfectly Plaid
When I first thought about what type of card I would make with these colors, plaid instantly came to my mind. I could picture this color combo on a Scottish tartan! And, I also wanted to create something with Christmas trees to represent the great greens. I pulled out some supplies…and instead of a hit, I had a couple of misses.
Paper weaving wasn’t quite what I was looking for. But I did have fun playing with strips of Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry. Since I didn’t adhere my paper strips, I can save them for another day.
I love the Designer Series Assortments that Stampin’ Up! offers in their color families. This paper makes it so simple for me to coordinate to my ink and cardstock. However, after I punched a few trees with the Pine Tree Punch, I knew I wasn’t headed in this direction either.
Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set
The Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set features a variety of pine tree stamps that coordinate with the Pine Tree Punch. In fact, there are 3 different tree stamps. Since I wanted to create a tree for each color of my combo, this was perfect. I just needed to decide which tree and which color belonged together artistically.
Realistic Pine Tree
I wanted to use the stamp that looks most like a real pine with Shaded Spruce. This brighter dark green is even named for a type of pine! But when I went to stamp my image, the color was over-saturated and resulted in a blurry image. This comes from too much ink on the surface of the ink pad (also known as a juicy ink pad).
I have a quick fix for this exact situation! All it takes is a plastic spoon. I use the back of the spoon and “frost” the ink down into the foam pad, away from the surface. When I am done, I simply clean the spoon off with a baby wipe and set the spoon aside until I need it again for another juicy ink pad. After I re-stamped my image, the quality is so much better!
Fill In Fir Tree
I just knew a pine tree made up of only Crushed Curry would look odd. But the fill in fir tree was a perfect solution for my green and yellow combination. I stamped the tree image in Evening Evergreen Ink first. Next, I stamped the “fill in” with Crushed Curry Ink. This is also known as Two-Step Stamping. I find the photpolymer stamps so useful when lining up images!
Plaid Pine Tree
And, I saved the best for last. Of course, I thought that the plaid pine tree stamp worked best with our star color, Evening Evergreen. With some simple punching of each image, I was ready to work my trees into my card.
Stitched Triangles Dies
We all know Christmas trees are triangular shapes. So, I pulled out my Stitched Triangles Dies and Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine to capitalize on the trees for my card. I chose the dies I thought would size up nicely and paired them with Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry Cardstock. In the end, I did not use the Soft Suede die cut.
So Very Merry
While I was arranging my card parts and pieces to determine the final design, I realized I didn’t have a lot of room for a sentiment. The images in the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set were a little too big. Instead, I settled on a very simple word “merry” chosen from the Time Of Giving Stamp Set.
I stamped my sentiment in Versamark Ink on a strip of Evening Evergreen Cardstock. After adding White Embossing Powder, I heat set the word with my Heat Tool. I think you will agree that the white sentiment really pops, and coordinates with the white outlines of my tree images on this card.
Putting It All Together
Do you remember earlier when I tried my hand at weaving cardstock strips in Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry? And how I played with the family assortment of Designer Series Paper? When I combined those concepts with my Christmas tree theme, I had a winner.
I selected different designer styles of paper using my color combo, and adhered them to a piece of Soft Suede Cardstock. Next, I layered on my ink-sponged cardstock strips. By adding like color ink to the edges of my cardstock, I was able to sharpen the contrast of colors.
With my focus on Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry, I was able to keep my card true to the chosen colors. I kept the Crushed Curry designer paper and cardstock together, but swapped the same color placement on the Evening Evergreen and Shaded Spruce designer paper and cardstock.
Triangles, Trees And Trinkets
From here, it was easy to add on the last elements in a layering fashion. First, I added the stitched triangle die cuts, alternating the orientation. After that, I place the stamped and punched trees over the triangles. To finish off my card, I added three gold Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots, using my Take Your Pick Tool. These embellishments are comprised of bronze, copper and gold, and the gold best paired with the yellow tone of Crushed Curry.
Perfectly Plaid In Evening Evergreen
The color combo of Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry is not one I would have ever thought of pairing together! In the end, I am so happy with my final result. I must admit, I don’t know that I will ever put these thee colors together on another project…but knowing I accomplished what I set out to do is enough for me.
If you are enjoying my In Color journey, be sure to see previous posts on Fresh Freesia and Polished Pink. And check back soon, there is still more to come with Evening Evergreen as I cover three different color combinations with each of the five new In Colors.
Stop by my online store at any time to add any of the featured Stampin’ Up! supplies to your cart. There are so many great options available, so explore and remember… all colors are always in style!
Do you love Words of Cheer? I know I do. And when you combine them with a beautiful color like Fresh Freesia, you can’t go wrong.
Fresh Freesia is one of the new 2021-2023 In Colors. And a lovelier soft purple could not have come along! During July, my In Color Club explored Fresh Freesia. For this card, we are pairing it with Soft SeaFoam and Gray Granite.
Words of Cheer in a Slimline Card
For this cheery card, I mimicked the Words of Cheer Stamp Set sample on page 20 of the August-December 2021 Mini Catalog by Stampin’ Up!. If you see the catalog image, you will note that their card is done in blue. My focus was to use purple…more notably, Fresh Freesia.
The standard recipe for a slimline card is 7 x 8 1/2″, with the 7″ side scored in half at 3 1/2″. The great thing about a slimline card is that it fits into a standard size business envelope.
Before I die cut the individual cheer letters, I sponged Gray Granite Ink over my Gray Granite Cardstock using a Blending Brush. By doing this before I die cut them, I didn’t have to worry about getting each letter inked up individually to deepen its color. I love that the die is one large image, but cuts out each letter separately. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to attach the cheer letters to the cheer background die cut. My Silicone Craft Sheet is perfect for this type of sticky situation!
Another die that was fun to use from the Christmas Cheer Dies was the holly sprigs! Just a small scrap of Soft Seafoam Cardstock yielded me 3 individual sprigs with one pass thru the machine. Each sprig has two connecting leaves, which I chose to keep together. But, I could have easily used them individually by snipping them apart.
Specialty Papers
Did you notice the white flowers that were die-cut above? One die creates 3 large flowers and the other makes 3 small flowers. They all come out of the die cutting machine individually and can be layered, small over large. I used the Snowy White Velvet Sheets for my flowers, and Multipurpose Liquid Glue to attach the small flower to the large. The texture is velvety soft!
Another specialty paper that went into the making of my Words of Cheer card is the 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Vellum. Of course, I used the Fresh Freesia color. The shimmer is soft, without the harsh glare of glitter, and it made the perfect backdrop for my words of cheer.
I used some Tear & Tape Adhesive on the backside of the shimmer vellum, with a piece approximately the size of my cheer diecut. It is easy to tell the front of the shimmer vellum from the back, only one side is shimmery. My die cut word of cheer will help to hide the “see-thru tape” once my card is assembled.
Words of Cheer Background Stamping
From the remaining Fresh Freesia Cardstock leftover from creating my slimline card base, I cut an additional front layer. This measures 3 1/4 x 8 1/4″. You will only have 2 small strips of paper leftover from your 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet of cardstock if you try this method.
Just like the sample card I am copying, there is some background stamping to do. I used the sentiment stamp ‘Sending you Christmas Cheer’ and Fresh Freesia Ink. Starting at the top of the cut layer, I began to stamp a lazy “S” design, winding the words down my cardstock from top to bottom.
When I was done with my sentiment stamping, I added Fresh Freesia Ink to the sides of my front layer using a Blending Brush. I try to start off my cardstock and move in circular motions onto the outer edges. This method deepens the color of the cardstock and helps it stand out as a tone on tone color on my card.
More Than One Way to Silver It Up
The card sample in the catalog appears to use Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots on each of the holly berries. In fact, a whopping 24 in total! That is a lot of bling, and I like to be a bit more frugal. So I came up with my own work-around.
With a little VersaMark Ink and some Silver Embossing Powder, I created my own silver toned berries. I have a VersaMark Marker, but an ink pad and Blender Pen would work just the same. I split the embossing work into two sections, to make it easier to heat emboss accurate berries with my Heat Tool.
Words of Cheer Card Assembly
First, I adhered my sentiment background stamped layer to the front of my card base. Next, I added the shimmer vellum. Following this, I put some Multipurpose Liquid Glue on the back of my cheer die cut, and placed this on the vellum.
The next step is to add the Soft Seafoam holly sprigs. I started by placing a mini glue dot in the location I wanted each sprig to go. For the flowers, I added a mini glue dot to the back of each and placed them over the holly sprigs. Last, I made a simple bow out of Linen Thread and placed it on my card front.
Simple Slimline Cards
If you love this card and would like to watch my live assembly on FaceBook, click here. Looking for another slimline card idea? Check out my slimline card post on Zany Zebras here. And of course, if you need more Fresh Freesia inspiration, click here.
As always, I hope to inspire you in your creativity. When you purchase the Words of Cheer Bundle (both the stamp set and dies together), you will save 10% automatically. If you need new, refills, or clearance deals on Stampin’ Up! supplies, please visit my online store at any time. I look forward to helping you become a better paper crafter!
