We are on to the next card from my Weekly Card Class From ME. And this week features the Nested Friends Bundle by Stampin’ Up!. When you are showcasing friends, you need plural…so we have not one but two birds on this card!
This second card in the series is my “Summer” card. Want to see our first card in Spring fashion using the Nested Friends Bundle? Click here.
Best Friends Are True Blue
While my card is White and Balmy Blue, the designer series paper packs that I used are full of color! The Country Floral Lane DSP and Country Gingham DSP have the coordinating colors in them, making it simple to mix and match.
That is why card making with Stampin’ Up! products is so easy…great color coordination! I picked out the truest blue tones (all in Balmy Blue!) and cut different designs into small strips to place on my card front for the background. Try this on your cards using any colors and any designer papers for a fun look.
Colorful Blue Birds
For my adorable little best friend blue birds, I stamped the bird image twice from the Nested Friends Stamp Set using Memento Black Ink on White Cardstock. Next, I colored each bird using an assortment of Stampin’ Blends. The tones I chose were Balmy Blue, Crumb Cake and Pumpkin Pie (for the bird beaks).
While I am no real artist, I did my best to try to create both a male and female bird for contrast. My male bird has a bit more Balmy Blue color to show off for his lady friend. After my birds were colored, I die cut them with the coordinating die from the Nested Friends Die Set.
Lastly, I layered my colored and die cut branches and birds on a circle mat, courtesy of the Layering Circles Dies. I chose Balmy Blue Cardstock for the largest scallop die. And my White circle die cut has a bonus feature: I embossed it using the Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder. Just imagine the sweet notes these friendly birds are singing together!
Get Your Nested Friends Card Class From ME
This Nested Friends Card is just one 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 this class, as well as my bonus cards, as this week goes on. Be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook, for more cardmaking inspiration and ideas.
For the last Friendly Gnomes card in my weekly Card Class From ME, I pulled out all the stops to make this one magical gnome card. Besides being an adorable card to look at, this one is fun to play with too! Want to see the previous card from my weekly class? Click here.
The magic in this card is the addition of the Mini Pocket Envelope to the design. While it could be used to hold a gift card or even cash, it also houses a sweet little gnome and a fancy heart. And the best part…the gnome and heart are removable!
Mini Pocket Envelope
Besides the Friendly Gnomes Stamp Set and Gnomes Dies, the cute paper envelope is not to be missed. While most may think this item belongs on the inside of a card, I say when it looks this good, decorate the front instead.
DESIGNER TIP: If you don’t plan on placing a gift card in this pocket, shorten the opening with some adhesive before closing the pocket envelope up. That way your gnome and heart won’t slide to the bottom and will stay closer to the top to peek out.
I chose the Dandy Designs Sale-A-Bration paper pack for the sweet designs for this card. (Also sweet, the paper is FREE with an order over $100). With fun colors like Pool Party, Granny Apple Green and Fresh Freesia, this color combo is easy to pull off.
Gnome Sweet Gnome Card
Punch A Bunch
For this final card in my weekly card class, I also relied heavily on my punches. Although Stampin’ Up! no longer sells Circle Punches, I still have and use mine. I find it much quicker than getting out the Layering Circles Dies and sending cardstock thru my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.
But, Stampin’ Up! does have a current fabulous Heart Punch Pack. These large heart punches work together to form a scallop layer heart that may be used behind a regular shaped heart. In fact, this is seen in the pull-out heart feature shown in the photo above.
Colorful Gnome
Just like the other Friendly Gnomes in this card series, I used my Stampin’ Blends for quick and easy coloring. First, I stamped my images from the Friendly Gnomes Stamp Set using Memento Black Ink. Then I made sure to have some scrap paper behind my images, because the blends really saturate the paper.
While this is the last card in my featured class this week, I hope you agree it is a magical gnome card. 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 Friendly Gnomes Card Class (in the form of alternate cards and bonus cards) as this week goes on. Be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook for more card making inspiration.
Usually I save the best for last, or at least the most difficult card. But, for this class, I rolled out the most awesome card first, with the cherry on top! Check out the Stack Shuffle Repeat process…
Stack Shuffle Repeat Technique
Something else that was over the top…or maybe the cherry on top, for this card was the designer series paper technique that I showcased. It is called the Stack Shuffle Repeat Technique. Watch my video for all the details.
Normally, you might choose designer series paper from the same paper pack for this technique. However, I do like to mix things up a bit. Instead of one paper pack, I chose 3: Dandy Designs (FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $100 order), Delicate Desert and Enjoy The Journey. The color and patterns I chose worked really well together too.
Notice how the patterns rotate positions? This is part of the Stack Shuffle Repeat process.
Waffle Cones And Cherries
The sweetest thing about this card, next to the designer series paper arrangement, is the delicious looking and very realistic paper waffle cones. Did you notice they almost form a heart as they are grouped together? I used the Layering Circles Dies to create a Vellum scallop and Petal Pink layer as backdrop for my waffle treats.
You will be able to quickly and easily create waffle cones just like this with the Share A Milkshake Dies. There is very little stamping involved, since the dies really do all the hard work for you. You just need the right color cardstock (I used Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Early Espresso). And to detail your waffle cones, add like-color ink with a sponge dauber.
I think the best color for the cherries is Cherry Cobbler, of course! I used a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock to stamp on before die cutting. And watch for the tip I shared in class on lining up the stamp from the Share A Milkshake Stamp Set with the coordinating die.
Get Your Share A Milkshake Card Class From ME
This is just one 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 your card kits, click here.
I will be sharing more cards from the Share A Milkshake Bundle as this week goes on, so be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook. I would love to know what you think of this fantastic card!
As my 2021-2023 In Color tour comes to an end this month, we are turning to the last color, Pale Papaya and the stamp set, Shaded Summer. I have to admit, Pale Papaya is not my favorite color hue. In fact, I struggle with this yellow/orange color that seems to shift tendencies depending on its color partners.
Our first combo with Pale Papaya is Calypso Coral and Basic Gray. Of course, Basic Gray lends some neutral sensibility to this mix. And Calypso Coral actually coordinates well with Pale Papaya! When I put all three colors together, I was very pleasantly surprised.
Shaded Summer
I realize as I make this card and write this blog post that it is November. Summer is long over. But, the color combo of Pale Papaya and Calypso Coral reminds me a little of summer. And Basic Gray is definitely “shade”! So, I just had to pull out my Shaded Summer Stamp Set.
Something else that I used on this card is long over too: the retired, coordinating dies from January-February 2021 Sale-A-Bration, Shaded Summer Dies. If you don’t have these dies, you could fussy cut the flower image from the Shaded Summer Stamp Set using Paper Snips. Another option would be to swap it out for a similar image with a matching die.
Watercolor Flowers
I started first by stamping my floral image from the Shaded Summer Stamp Set, using third generation Crumb Cake Ink on Basic White Cardstock. Not sure what this means? After inking my stamp, I stamped off twice and used the third stamped image. I wanted a very light outline image to work with.
Next, I grabbed my Watercolor Pencils. I added Calypso Coral to the flowers and Old Olive to the leaves and stems. While coloring, I focused on the outlines and Crumb Cake shaded areas. Notice from my picture that there are plenty of white spaces left un-colored.
You may be wondering why I left so much white space! This is where my Water Painters come in handy. With just the wet brush tip, the watercolor pencil lines are blended and softened beautifully. This artistic wash is simply something that I could not accomplish on my own.
TIP #1: Squeeze some water from the barrel of the Water Painter onto a clear acrylic block and use that water to blend your pencil lines. It is so much easier than squeezing the Water Painter to moisten the brush as you go along.
TIP #2: After you use your Water Painter to blend your lines, you can go back over your image with the Watercolor Pencils again to add more color or sharpen the look of certain areas.
Cutting Edge Beauty
Remember those retired Shaded Summer Dies I spoke of earlier? I used mine to die cut my colorful flower image with my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. Paper Snips are a great alternative if you need to fussy cut instead.
I took advantage of other dies in the retired set, and die cut leaves in both Basic Gray Cardstock and Smoky Slate Cardstock. Any leaf dies or punches would work here as well.
It was easy to add elegant die cuts to my card front with the Encircled In Beauty Dies. These dies may remind you of a spiro-graph image or doilies when you see them. The lacy circles come in a variety of sizes and designs, and work together so nicely.
After that, I die cut some 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Vellum in Pale Papaya with the same Layering Circle Die. This Pale Papaya circle now fits inside my white die cut rim perfectly, and will add a bit of sheen to my finished card.
Perfect Punches and Elegant Embossing
I love the look of an embossed image on my card front. The raised texture adds a richness and lots of interest for so little effort. For this card, I decided a floral embossing folder would be too busy, competing with all the images and die cuts I already have.
The final elements of this card came together quickly. I love my punches for that very reason. Starting with the Treasured Tags Pick A Punch, I punched both ends of my Pale Papaya Cardstock using the largest width allowance. All of the Pick A Punch’s are channeled to give you 3 different width options and 2 designs.
After my paper was punched, I stamped my sentiment from the Shaded Summer Stamp Set, using Basic Gray Ink. This ink color is a good option when you want something a little lighter in color from a harsh black ink. I sponged the edges of my sentiment piece using Pale Papaya Ink to help it stand out.
And last but not least, I used my Sprig Punch. This one is my go-to for some extra layering behind a focal piece or sentiment. The 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Vellum allowed me to use some sparkly Pale Papaya to get a couple of sprigs in no time flat. The sprigs and previously die cut circle in the same medium bring continuity to my card.
Beauty Of Assembly
Once I had all the parts and pieces finalized for my card, it was time to assemble. Instead of automatically adding layers to my Basic Gray Card Base, I began with the embossed piece of Pale Papaya. First, I adhered a piece of Simply Elegant Specialty Designer Series Paper. Next, I added my white rim die cut.
Following in order, I adhered the circular shimmer vellum, adding tape only where it would be next covered by the Calypso Coral die cut piece.
Before I went any further, I added a strip of Gray Granite 1/4″ Shimmer Ribbon on the bottom third of my circular pieces. I wrapped the ends of the ribbon around the back of the Pale Papaya embossed cardstock and secured them with Tear & Tape Adhesive.
From there, it was just a matter of layering on the rest of my pieces. I tucked in the gray die cuts leaves and the shimmer vellum sprigs. Then, I centered my watercolor flowers over the Calypso Coral die cut. Next, I adhered my sentiment and added a bow from another length of the same ribbon. I placed my artistic ensemble on my card base.
For a final bit of bling, I added some Pearl Basic Jewels. The elegance of pearls fits this card perfectly. I love the ease of adding small embellishments with my Take Your Pick Tool. Whether you use the spatula end or the putty end, the application is effortless.
Meant To Be
Much like the sentiment says, some friendships are meant to be. And the color combo I used here is also meant to be. I was so happy mixing Calypso Coral and Basic Gray to Pale Papaya. This card made with the Shaded Summer Stamp Set is perfectly beautiful.
If you haven’t seen any of the other In Color cards from this series, be sure to check them out. Click here to see another card that showcases a different way to use the Water Painters.
All of the current supplies used to make this card can be found in my online store, so shop anytime at your convenience to add these items to your crafty stash. And please come back and visit, to see where the next adventures in Pale Papaya take us!
