Category: Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday Fruit Salad Card

Posted on by dayinker
Throwback Thursday card featuring Pineapple Punch paper and Lemon Zest Lemons
Throwback Thursday Fruit Salad

Welcome to my Throwback Thursday post, where I dig into my craft stash and see what I can come up with. Today’s card started with a prompt from a group I follow on Instagram: Yellow. I could have gone in many directions with this, but being that it is Thursday, and I, like all avid crafters, have a whole lot of crafts materials in my stash, I decided to see what I could do with some oldies but goodies.

Instructions for My Throwback Thursday Card

Starting with a base of Pineapple Punch and a layer of the Pineapple punch patterned paper answered the call for yellow. Stampin’ Up! has several yellow colors, all of which are lovely, but this one packs a punch! Maybe that’s how it got its name. But I digress. Lemons! I needed lemons for a yellow punch to go with pineapple paper. These lemons are from a retired set called Lemon Zest. This is not a set I will release out of my craft stash anytime soon. I love these lemons! I stamped them in Daffodil Delight to add some contrast.

At this point, I needed more fruit. I mean, I had a theme going. So I dug into the You’re So Cool Paper Pumpkin kit from last month and used one of the watermelon cards and two stickers: a strawberry and a kiwi. I cut the watermelon in half so that it was easier to arrange on the card and not so overpowering. The stamp is also from the Paper Pumpkin, and I used the recently retired Terracotta Tile ink.

Lastly, I added a white baker’s twine bow under the sentiment and used up some translucent sequins that I think were from another Paper Pumpkin. A super bright and fun card that was very easy to make. What do you have in your stash you haven’t played with in a while? Need to use up some lingering embellishments? Now is a good time to put that stash to use and make space for your new catalog wish list. Let me know if I inspired you. Until next time…Ink up!

Throwback Thursday Texture Tips and Techniques

Posted on by dayinker

Fortunate to Know You Birthday Card

Fortunate to Know You fun fold card with stamping techniques to create visual interest and tips on creating your own DSP and card layouts.

This stamp set, Fortunate to Know You, is an oldie but a goodie. The layout is one I’ve used before— get the details here. I’m sharing this card to showcase a couple of techniques or tips for you to try with your stamp sets.

The Stamping

The first thing is the color combo. It’s a little more interesting than a traditional monochromatic card because I’ve paired Real Red, a bold color, with neutrals like Crumb Cake, Smokey Slate, and wood grain in the chopsticks.

Next, I used tone on tone stamping to create my own DSP or visual texture with the fortune cookie stamp. A couple of tips when you do this. Rotate the stamp so you don’t get a row of identical images in the same direction. Also, stamp off the edge of your paper. This cuts the image off and adds interest. The eye reads it as part of a larger sheet of stamped paper, and it becomes wallpaper instead of stamped images that require the viewer’s eye to focus, which means texture instead of a focal point. You don’t want the background to compete with your focal point.

The third thing I’d invite you to try is stamping on your DSP. For the chopsticks, I stamped the image on woodgrain DSP and cut them out with scissors (fussy cut). The stamp is just an outline image, so by stamping on something that has a pattern, I made it more interesting with zero work. For the take-out box, I added interest by coloring in select spots with Stampin’ Blends. I used Smokey Slate for the handle, a little bit of Ivory for the shadows on the corners, and Real Red for the Heart.

The Layout

The last thing is the arrangement of the focal point. The chopsticks, sentiment, and red rhinestones are laid out in a triangle. This draws the eye around the card. The viewer takes in the DSP’s texture, the stamped pieces, but their eye is focused on the main images. Also, notice that the pieces are connected. The chopsticks are laid across the box in line with the handle. And the sentiment is tucked under the box and touched by the chopsticks. That keeps the layout from feeling busy or disjoint. These pieces connect to form one focal point.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and techniques and you try it with your stamp sets. Happy crafting!

Butterfly fun

Posted on by dayinker

I don’t think it’s a secret that I love butterflies. In my garden, in my craft room, anywhere I can find them. It’s been like this my entire life. I remember a shirt my dad bought me for my birthday when I was six or seven. the butterfly on the front was filled with an iridescent liquid that would change color from purple to blue to green. If I hadn’t outgrown it, I’d still be wearing it.

I sort of fell in love with the Butterfly Gala stamp set and matching Butterfly Duet punch. The first thing is that there are four butterfly patterns from natural to stained glass. Second, the stamps for the little butterfly and the big butterfly are one stamp and line up perfectly with the punch. Zero waste. And there are extra stamps for shading the wings and adding details. And then Stampin’ Up! added some great bold sentiments. Love. Completely in love with this set. Because of that, I have three cards for you this Thursday. The stamp set and punch are current. Many of the products I used, in addition, are throwbacks.

Garden Butterfly

The first card used the butterflies that look like leaves. Perfect for a flowery card in Daffodil Delight and Granny Apple Green. After I stamped and punched the butterflies, I frosted them with a touch of Frost White shimmer paint.

The card base is retired, but Balmy Blue would be a good choice, perhaps with some monochromatic stamping for visual interest. The next layer is Daffodil Delight with some of my DIY DSP that I colored in with Stampin’ Blends.

I used Balmy Blue for the sentiment and the Tailored Tag punch. Pearls and a bit of retired Daffodil Delight ribbon finished up this card.

Stained Glass Butterflies

The next two cards are notecard sized. Starting with a base of Whisper White, I used retired vellum DSP to compliment the patters on the stamped butterflies. For the first card, I sponged the base with a variety of pink shades including the retired Powder Pink and Berry Burst. Then I layered on the vellum. Coloring in the butterflies is a breeze using the stamps. I didn’t get out my Stamparatus, and they still came out pretty good. The embellishments are a combination of Artisan pearls and enamel dots.

Lastly, I used the Painted Glass stamp set (current in the annual catalog). The Thank You sentiment and medallion are both included in this set. I heat embossed the medallion stamp on a scrap of pink paper (most likely Powder Pink or Pink Pirouette. It’s easily punched out with the 2″ Circle punch. I added some Rose Metallic Thread behind the sentiment and circle. My advice on this thin wire is to use a lot and don’t fuss with it too much. It adds a nice touch of texture and bling.

I colored the vellum and the butterfly using the retired Stampin Blends in Pink Pirouette. A few silver pearls finished this boldly feminine card.