Sponging

Perfectly Plaid In Evening Evergreen

Combination of products used to create a Perfectly Plaid card in Evening Evergreen.

In Color: Evening Evergreen, Part I

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.

Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Crushed Curry Cardstock, woven together

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.

Family Color Designer Series Paper punched with the Pine Tree Punch.

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!

Pushing ink back into the ink pad with a plastic spoon for better stamped images on the tree stamp from the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set.

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!

Two-step stamping with the Perfectly Plaid stamp set.

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.

Stamping with the Perfectly Plaid stamp set and punching image with the Pine Tree Punch.

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.

Stitched Triangle Dies

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.

Heat embossing a sentiment.

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.

Sponging the edges of cardstock.

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.

Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots and Take Your Pick Tool

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.

Perfectly Plaid finished card

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!

Merriest Moments in Polished Pink

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Finished card in Polished Pink using the Merriest Moments Bundle.

In Color: Polished Pink, Part III

Merriest Moments should come in bright and fun colors. And the new In Color, Polished Pink, provides just that! I have been exploring this sweet shade of pink, and created a card using the Merriest Moments Bundle. If you would like to see my last card featuring Polished Pink, click here.

The Merriest Moments card in Polished Pink also features Blushing Bride and Smoky Slate. This color combo isn’t just for Christmas cards! I also picture spring and summer flower cards, perfect for birthdays, Mother’s Day and thinking of you. Let you imagination run wild!

Merriest Moments Bundle

Merriest Moments Stamps Set, Merriest Frames Dies and Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder

There is so much to the Merriest Moments Bundle, it is more than the typical “stamp set and set of dies”. In fact, it is a trifecta of amazing products! Let’s break it down:

Merriest Moments Stamp Set

There are 16 photopolymer stamps in this set. Two of the images are poinsettia flowers of different sizes and style. You can layer them together or use them separately. You will also enjoy 3 sizes of holly style leaves, as well as 3 different sprig stamps. Besides Season’s Greetings and Joy, there are 3 additional sentiments for merry cards.

Merriest Frames Dies

The Merriest Frames Dies come as a set of 16. But there is more to die cut than just the flowers and leaves from the Merriest Moments Stamp Set. I love the stitched rectangle die, and I can see myself using it for a variety of projects to frame up a sentiment. There are also two large dies, designed to work with…

Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder

Yes, this is the third part of this amazing bundle. The Hybrid Embossing Folder is something very new to Stampin’ Up!. These special embossing folders are designed to hold a die and your paper at the same time. In this manner, you are die cutting and embossing in one pass thru your die cutting machine. So cool!

To Hybrid, Or Not To Hybrid

I have to admit, my first play with the dies and embossing folders was not quite as expected. It can be a little tricky to line up all three. The die needs to sit just right in the embossing folder’s nooks. And, after 1 pass thru my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine, I took my sandwich apart in anticipation of perfection.

Perfect it was not. Some of the Polished Pink Cardstock did not cut all the way thru. I needed to reassemble it and run it thru my machine again. Then, once more for good measure. In the end, I still needed to use my Paper Snips to remove some of the stubborn paper.

But…it doesn’t have to be used this way either. Fortunately, the embossing folder and die can be used individually. For my second attempt, I embossed a piece of Polished Pink Cardstock (no die in the embossing folder). After that, I added the large outline die around my embossed image. When I ran it thru my die cutting machine, it was still embossed and perfect. Two steps, but worth the effort!

  • This may also save with wear and tear on your embossing folder. With multiple use as a duo, the die may damage your folder over time.

Merriest Stamping and Die Cutting

All of my stamping on this card also included die cutting. When they go hand in hand, cardmaking is easier! I started by stamping both sizes of flowers from the Merriest Moments Stamp Set, using Blushing Bride Ink on White Cardstock. I wanted 3 finished flowers, so I repeated this process three times.

Die cutting poinsettia flowers

I also stamped a combination of sprigs and leaves. For the evergreen style, I stamped Smoky Slate Ink on Smoky Slate Cardstock. For the decidious looking leaves, I stamped Smoky Slate Ink on White Cardstock. There are dies for each of these stamps, so I was able to quickly cut them out.

The sweet berries on this card add the perfect pop of Polished Pink! I stamped them in Polished Pink Ink on Polished Pink Cardstock before die cutting them. This is another process that I did 3 times in a row.

And a merry card can not be merry without a wonderful sentiment. There are 3 choices to pick from in the Merriest Moments Stamp Set, but I chose mine based on size. I wanted to be able to add my beautiful pink poinsettias in a sweeping style around the stitched rectangle frame. By choosing a shorter sentiment, there was more room for my floral arrangement.

Merriest Details

For a layer of depth and frosted interest, I enhanced my die cuts with some sponged ink. With the large Polished Pink die cut, I sponged on Craft White Ink. This gives an opaque look and dulls the sharpness to a more muted tone. This ink takes some time to dry, and I applied more than one layer.

Sponging with White Craft Ink

My pretty pink flowers also got some additional sponged ink. For these, I edged the outer petals in Polished Pink Ink, a very dark contrast to the Blushing Bride Ink. This really helped them to pop.

Did you notice the fantastic Designer Series Paper on this card? I chose a selection from the Peaceful Place Specialty pack. The tiny snowflakes and silver sparkle on this Basic Gray piece created a gorgeous backdrop for all my pink and white. I layered it behind a piece of Smoky Slate Cardstock to help transition the pink to gray color scheme.

Bringing Home the Merriest

In order to complete my card, I began by dry-fitting all my leaves, berries and flowers. That way, I was able to move pieces around until I was happy with the overall design. Once I was finished with this, it was simply a matter of gluing everything down, a little at a time.

You may notice that my finished poinsettias have a third layer to them. I die cut the top flower from Blushing Bride Cardstock, using the Merriest Frames Dies. And don’t you agree that flowers as pretty as these should be finalized with a Pearl Basic Jewel center? The Take Your Pick Tool is my favorite for working with tiny adhesive backed items like this.

Add Some Merriest Moments

This amazing card using the Merriest Moments Bundle completes my exploration of the 2021-2023 In Color, Polished Pink with my online club. When I think of merry, I associate Christmas. But that doesn’t have to mean only red and green. This pink card is proof of that.

If you enjoyed my picture tutorial and cardmaking directions, check out my other blog posts regarding the new In Colors. All of the supplies used to make this card are found in my online stamping store. Be sure to stop by and find just what you need today!