Simply Beautiful Quiet Meadow

Card made with the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set and Meadows Dies.

Quiet Meadow, Classic Beauty

The Quiet Meadow Stamp Set has been around for awhile. So you may be wondering why I am featuring this lovely set once again. (See another blog post featuring Quiet Meadow here.) After all, the holiday catalog is all the rage right now. I am sure you are busy thinking fall leaves and Merry Christmas projects, not quiet meadows.

And yet, much like this timeless stamp set, the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog is also classic. I think we often forget all the hidden gems in it as we bounce from mini catalog to mini catalog. So here it is, and with perfect timing. I’ll explain that later.

The Quiet Meadow Stamp Set and Meadow Dies

Let’s take a look at this amazing stamp set, Quiet Meadow. This one is red rubber cling, and has 10 stamps in it. I love the combination of flowers, sentiments and background stamps.

Quiet Meadow Stamp Set

Of course, we all love a good die set to match our stamps! The Meadow Dies will not disappoint. In fact this set of 13 dies features lots of floral picks and sprigs. And did I mention there are 2 butterflies in this set? The only thing missing, really, is dies to cut out the stamped flower images.

Meadow Dies

Make It Monday, Easy

I chose this card from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog to C.A.S.E. (copy and share everything) for my Make It Monday live card demo. You will see it on page 68 and 69 in the 2022-2023 copy. I was so pleased that for all the beauty of this card, it was so simple to create. You can view my video on FaceBook, or my video on YouTube.

The Card Recipe

There were not a lot of pieces that needed to go into this one, so making multiples would be fairly easy to do and nice on the paper budget. Here are the details:

-Crumb Cake Card Base, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, scored at 4-1/4″

Pretty Prints Calypso Coral DSP, 2-3/4 x 4-3/4″, cut at an angle; Bermuda Bay 1/2 x 4″

-Scraps of White CS for the sentiment and butterfly

-@7″ of ribbon, similar to Silver Metallic Edge Cotton Ribbon

Can we just take a moment to notice how beautiful this paper is?

The Right Angle Cut

This card features a unique angle to the focal designer series paper. Sure, you could take out your scissors and trim away a chunk, but this method may leave you a little crooked.

Instead, I chose to use my Paper Trimmer to do the job. After a little experimenting, I found the best way to cut my paper to match the card sample. I walk you thru the process in my video, but here is a picture visual to guide you.

Lining up the dsp in the paper trimmer to make an angle cut.

Quiet Meadow Card Elements

Background Stamping

This card features some fantastic elements. First, I started with background stamping, using tone on tone (Crumb Cake Ink on Crumb Cake Cardstock).

TIP: Make sure you stamp with a protective sheet behind your card, as this method requires stamping both on and slightly off the card front.

Sponging

Sponging is one of my favorite ways to add some color. After I die cut the butterfly from plain white cardstock, color was definitely needed. I added some Mango Melody with a Blending Brush for a soft sweep of color.

TIP: Start with your Blending Brush off the intended target and work your way in. Less pressure is better, as you can always add more color if needed.

Blending color on the butterfly die from Meadow Dies

Heat Embossing

Isn’t it fun to heat emboss on Designer Series Paper for an elegant look? The dsp is thinner in weight than regular cardstock, so it is normal for it to bend or buckle slightly after the heat embossing process. With enough adhesive, it will lay flat during assembly.

TIP: When choosing DSP for stamping on and/or embossing, make sure the image on the paper is plain enough so that your stamped image really shines. Don’t let the paper and stamping compete with each other.

A close up of heat embossed stamping using the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set

Ribbon

I really think a good ribbon swooshing sets a card off nicely. I like to start with a strip of Tear & Tape Adhesive, and use my ribbon right off the spool for less waste.

TIP: The Tear & Tape will let you re-position the ribbon if you aren’t happy with the first (or second or third) placement. Just be gentle when you pull the ribbon off the tape.

A look at ribbon placement on the Quiet Meadow Card

Color Swap!

You may have noticed another card very similar to my featured card, but in different colors. I love to share my Make It Monday Card not just once, but twice, with a few modifications. In fact, every Wednesday in the Positive PaperCrafters FaceBook group, we vote on Who Wore It Better. Which one do you prefer?

Quiet Meadow Card in alternate colors

Annual Catalog Stamp Sale

As I created this card for my live demo, Stampin’ Up! was just announcing an Annual Catalog Stamp Sale. They had not listed the stamp sets that would be on sale, so I randomly picked one from the catalog that I thought might be on sale.

Turns out, I could have picked ANY stamp (other than the host stamp sets) from the Annual 2022-2023 Catalog. They are ALL on sale, 15% off, but only for September 15th, 24 hours. Please visit my online store by clicking here, and look for Shop Now, Specials, and Stamp Sale. Plan to shop early to avoid out-of-stock items. Hope you take advantage of this amazing 1 day only deal and stock up on some of your must have stamp sets!

Quiet Meadow in Fresh Freesia

Card made with Quiet Meadow Bundle in Fresh Freesia color.

In Color: Fresh Freesia, Part I

The Quiet Meadow Bundle speaks of beautiful flowers, and I paired it effortlessly with Fresh Freesia.

Fresh Freesia is one of the new 2021-2023 In Colors. And a lovelier soft purple could not have come along! This month, my In Color Club is exploring Fresh Freesia. For this card, we are pairing it with Gorgeous Grape and Granny Apple Green.

Quiet Meadow Focal Flower and Sentiment

First, I stamped my focal flower from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in Memento Black Ink on White Cardstock. Then, I used Stampin’ Blends in both Light and Dark Fresh Freesia, as well as Light Daffodil Delight to color it in. I punched the stamped flower out with a 1 3/4″ circle punch. For a backing circle, I punched a 2″ circle out of Gorgeous Grape Cardstock. If you don’t have circle punches, you can substitute circle dies.

Stampin' Blends to color the focal flower from Quiet Meadow Stamp Set

I stamped the sentiment “You’re too kind” from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in Gorgeous Grape on White Cardstock. After that, I die cut it with the border die from the Meadow Dies. This die has the cutest outline of stitching on it, with open scallops on each end.

Circle punches make easy work on this Fresh Freesia card.

Backgrounds: Stamped and Embossed

I enjoy making cards with lots of layers. For this Quiet Meadow Card in Fresh Freesia, I embossed a piece of light purple cardstock using the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder. For the next step, I brushed on some Fresh Freesia Ink with a Blending Brush. Lastly, I stamped some “splotches” from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in Gorgeous Grape Ink as an accent.

Using a Blending Brush with Fresh Freesia Ink

My stamped background piece brought a balance of Granny Apple Green to my card. I used the text words from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set. For this stamping, I alternated a fully inked stamp with second and third generation stamping. This method uses all the ink up in three continuous “stampings” before inking the stamp again.

Background stamping in Granny Apple Green with the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set

Quiet Meadow Greenery

When you think about meadows, you may picture flowers and greenery! For this card, Granny Apple Green is our complimentary color. I die cut 2 of the fern-like dies from the Meadow Dies. To fill out my greenery, I did a little trimming of the die cut branches and fanned them out behind my focal flower circle assembly. I sponged just the tips in Granny Apple Green Ink using a Sponge Dauber.

Granny Apple Greenery from the Meadow Dies

Quiet Meadow Accent

To finish my card, I searched for some bling in Gorgeous Grape. The Pastel Pearls were perfect for this, both in size and soft sheen. I added 3 of them around the assembled card in a sweeping pattern. These pearls added just the right touch to complete this Quiet Meadow card in Fresh Freesia!

Pastel Pearls in Gorgeous Grape are perfect accents.

Quiet Meadow Additional Cards

I C.A.S.E.’d (copy and share everything) the Quiet Meadow card in Rich Razzleberry found on page 110 in the Stampin’ Up! 2021-2022 Annual Catalog. This card features Water Color Paper for the die cuts, and some Ink Refill coloring with Water Painters.

*My TIP is to place a drop of Ink Refill onto a Clear Acrylic Stamp Block. Add a squeeze of water from your Water Painter to dilute the ink and water-paint away! The clear blocks are super easy to clean up when you are done. I use a paper towel or baby wipe for this.

Quiet Meadow card in Rich Razz;ebrerry

And for more fun with color, I decided to try my hand at one in Balmy Blue too!

As you can see, the Quiet Meadow Bundle is perfect for making beautiful floral cards. Make sure you add this to your collection today! And be sure to add some Fresh Freesia supplies to your cart as well. You can never have too much purple.