Prized Peony Project

I was really intrigued with this Prized Peony bundle when I received it in my last order. The Peony dies has 17 pieces to it and I won’t lie, it did take me a bit to figure out how to assemble this 3 D peony as it is a bit different from any other dies Stampin’ Up! has had. Once I got my mind around it they became very easy to put together. I created a fun project using our new Mini Paper Pumpkin boxes and two note-sized cards. My only complaint would be that these boxes don’t fit a full sized card. However, I will just have to get used to making note sized cards!

I created this handy chart to quickly illustrate the order of assembly the peony. If you use the bottom of the flower as a visual aid it also will help you with the assembly. And because the layers nestle quite snuggly you don’t actually need that much adhesive.

There are also 3 leaves included in the Peony Dies so I added those onto the guide so you can see which pieces layer together to create the final leaf. I hope it helps!

I labeled the flowers in the order that they slip inside each other. You can fold back the paper along the slit to help create more dimension in your flowers.

I love the size of these mini paper pumpkin boxes! They are just so fun and have unlimited potential. I wanted this project to look ‘fancy’ so I added a tab using the Stitched Rectangular dies to create a tab that gives the illusion of keeping the box closed. I added one of the Elegant Faceted Gems to it as well.

The Smoky Slate card has a light background stamped using one of the images in the Prized Peony stamp set. I stamped it off first so it was very faint and then I used my Water Painter dipped in some Basic Grey ink to create a splatter. I stamped the large peony on Smoky Slate card stock and cut it out with the coordinating die. It is popped up on Dimensionals. The sentiment is stamped in Petal Pink and cut out with a die from the Tasteful Labels dies.

The Basic Grey card has the large single bloom (no stem) stamped as the background. I then cut the peony pieces out of vellum and sponged the edges in Petal Pink ink. I added a very thin strip of DSP and the scallop edge is cut from a piece of the Basic Grey card stock (about 1.2 inch in thickness). A few silver metallic pearls completes the look!

Rainbow Glimmer Paper!

I recently hosted a Zoom bingo with some of my stampin’ friends and one of the items they got to take home is the new Rainbow Glimmer paper. Have you seen this in person yet? Its AMAZING and has endless potential! When I host a bingo I always make a fun tag of some sort to attach to their Swag, so this is how I used the Rainbow Glimmer paper and the Playful Alphabet dies. It can double as a name plaque on their desk or craft room.

To create this tag/name plate cut a piece of Whisper White to 5 1/2 x 4 and score at 2 on the short side. I stamped the bloom in Staz On from the Hand-Drawn Blooms stamp set. I then cut the letters out of the Rainbow Glimmer paper and attached with Tombow glue. I stamped Hello in Just Jade ink on Just Jade card stock and hand cut. I added it to the tag with a Dimensional. And the final touch was a few of the Artistry Blooms Sequins

Creating this tag was the perfect way to keep these two Swag treats together! I used a Dimensional on each side which can easily be removed when the recipient wants to repurpose the tag

Create with Connie and Mary--Monochromatics!

I will admit, I did find this weeks theme of ‘Monochromatic’ a bit of a challenge! It took me a bit to get my crafting mojo but I am happy with what I created in the end. I decided to use a color I am really loving right now which is Soft Seafoam. I am so happy it is a permanent part of our Subtles collection.

I started by cutting a bunch of hearts using the Stitched Hearts dies to create a background. I then cut the joined hearts out of vellum (I was really trying to stick with the theme!) and a larger focal heart. On the larger heart I flicked with my Soft Seafoam marker. I coloured the Crinkled Seam Binding ribbon with my Dark Soft Seafoam Blend to layer behind the focal heart. I pulled a few strands loose from the vanilla ribbon that is in the Forever Greenery Trim Combo pack and added behind the heart in an organic way. This a great trick to use in place of metallic thread.

My favourite part of this card is the ‘Hi’…want to know why? Because it is on the FOAM ADHESIVE SHEETS which are basically all my dreams come true. I found the easiest way to work with the adhesive sheets and the Playful Alphabet dies is to cut the letters out of card stock first so they are handy. Then cut out the letters on the foam adhesive sheet, pick off the top layer (these sheets are like one giant Dimensional) and press the card stock letter into place and then pop it free from the sheet. Works like a charm!

HOT TIP: Don’t through away your sheet when you are done cutting it all up, save all those weird bits to use as Dimensionals.

And those clear gems…ya, to die for! They are found with the Peony Suite in the new catalogue and are called the Elegant Faceted Gems. Got to have those…add them to your shopping list right now…you will thank me!

This close up look hopefully lets you see how fabulous the HI looks on the Adhesive Sheets. I can't say enough about how amazing they are, especially paired with the Playful Alphabet Dies. And the Elegant Faceted Gems have a pattern on them which just adds to their awesomeness.

In Color Bookmarks!

Have you noticed all of the amazing inspiration in the new Annual Catalogue? One of my favourite things to do is CASE (Copy and Share Everything) the projects and the first one I chose are these amazing In Color Bookmarks to share with all of my group members in June.

These bookmarks are a great way to share the 5 new In Colours, ribbon, and a new bundle Lovely You. You can find Stampin’ Up!’s version on page 23 of the catalogue.

I started by stamping an entire sheet with my chose floral image and then I trimmed the card stock down into strips to fit into the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch. I used the smallest punch option which was 1/2 in width.

This project is the perfect example of making one sounds fun, making thirty is dirty! Hahaha! Who else can relate? It happens to me more than I would like to admit! But I know everyone who receives one will appreciate it :)

Tasteful Touches Fun Fold

Sometimes you just need a good card fold, design and elements to make a really awesome card! Today I am sharing a ‘fun fold’ card that is simple but packs a punch!

You start with your standard card base of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. Mine is Purple Posy. You can get 4 card bases out of one sheet of card stock too which is awesome. You will then cut your second ‘card’ base to 3 x 11 and score at 5 1/2. Once you have these two pieces you can stamp a pattern along the edges of the Purple Posy. I used one of the images from the Tasteful Touches stamp set and stamped in Highland Heather. Attach the white card to the Purple Posy base and then embellish as desired.

I used the Tasteful Touches stamp set as the focal point of this card. I absolutely LOVE the feathers. I stamped them in Bumbleebee on Whisper White card stock. I inked the feather once and stamped it three times to get three different tones of the ink. These are then hand cut.

The sentiment, You are the Best, is actually stamped twice. I stamped it once and then layered a 1 inch strip of card stock over top as a mask. I then stamped my sentiment again to get the second half ‘The Best’ to line up underneath this strip. I then added a DSP strip from the Flowers for Every Season 6x6 stack overtop in place of where the mask was.

I added a bit of linen thread and some of the shapes from the In Good Taste Wooden Elements. The Misty Moonlight scallops along the white base edges come from the Budding Blooms dies. And of course I had to flick my Purple Posy marker across the Whisper White base! Its the best trick out there to take away the feeling of too much blank space.

I hope you will give this ‘fun fold’ a try! Have an awesome day!