Boho Indigo – Two for Tuesday

Today’s cards feature one of my favorite products from the 2020 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog: Boho Indigo Product Medley. I’ve used this suite a lot because I love the colors, the distressed vibe, the preprinted pieces, and all the lovely patterns on the DSP. And that doesn’t even speak to the super cute vase stamps and matching dies! It’s just a great set. Let me show you my latest creations, one from a sketch and one inspired by the product.

A Boho Indigo Banner Sketch

I based this first card on a sketch by Kristie Marcotte on Pinterest. The Misty Moonlight base is covered with a 4-1/8″x5-3/8″ piece of the Boho Indigo DSP. The next layers of this card use the pre-embossed Very Vanilla papers. I added the 4″x4″ square to a piece of Misty Moonlight that was 1/8″ larger. For the circle, I added more Misty Moonlight cut with the Stitched Shapes circle die.

Before I added the circles to the card, I cut three banners from the Boho Indigo DSP. The banners go right to the top of the card and peek out underneath the circles, which adds a lot of interest. I considered die-cutting a vase for the leaves, but I decided to use the pre-punched banner instead with the sentiment stamped in Misty Moonlight ink. Rather than adding more embellishments, I let the leaves be the focal point. I love the accents of gold, and this card inspired me to create the next card.

The Boho Indigo Tag Card

For this second card, I started with a base of Very Vanilla. I wanted the leaves to be the star of the show, so I added the four of them directly to the base. Next, I added a layer of the Boho Indigo DSP cut to 3″x5-1/8″. Before I glued that down, I added a piece of Misty Moonlight twill ribbon. It’s a bit fussy to add the ribbon wrap without compressing the paper, but I didn’t want to add another layer of card stock underneath.

Next, I worked on the tag, which is the focal point of this card. First, I masked off the gold edges using Washi tape. In the end, this idea failed. The Washi pulled some of the gold off the tag. It’s fine for this card because the Boho Indigo has a distressed vibe, but I’d use a different medium if I tried that again. I stamped the viney leaves from the stamp set in Garden Green. It’s a third-generation image because I didn’t want it to compete with the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment from Rooted in Nature in Night of Navy. I should have used my Stamparatus. Next time. To finish the tag, I added another piece of Misty Moonlight twill ribbon and tied that off with a bow in Linen Thread. I lifted the tag using Dimensionals for more interest.

One fantastic product medley, two great cards. If you love this medley as much as I do, don’t miss out. It’s retiring at the end of the month.

World’s Greatest Alternatives

I love that title. It’s actually two alternatives for the August Paper Pumpkin kit: “World’s Greatest.” The kit was designed to make nine cards, three shakers, and two other designs you can see in this picture. Aren’t the plaid details fun?

Of course, we all have everyday heroes we can acknowledge. The people in our lives that we would greatly miss. The people who make our days just a little bit brighter. This kit was ideal for sending an unexpected note of gratitude to those folks.

But as always, I was inspired to change things up just a little bit. I have two simple alternatives for you. One uses only what was in the kit. The other uses stamps from a past Paper Pumpkin. Let me show you.

Best Friend

For this card, I started by cutting the blue plaid base in half and trimming one piece down to 4″ x 5-1/4″ —save the extra strips. I layered that trimmed piece onto a base of Whisper White card stock. Next, I used the “leftover” piece from the shaker card frame. It also had a pre-punched blue circle, which left a frame for my “award.” That was placed on the card with Dimensionals.

I used the stamps from the kit to add the ribbon to one of the large white circles and the sentiment to one of the small white circles. I layered the small circle onto a gold medallion from the kit and popped it up on Dimensionals on the large stamped circle.

Next, I trimmed one of those “scrap” strips to fit in between the green plaid edges. I stamped “friend” using the stamp and ink from the kit, and yes Dimensionals. Lastly, I scattered on a few stars and there you have it. Simple, cute, and nothing wasted.

A Great Birthday Card

This lovely birthday card starts out the same way as the previous card but uses the green plaid base, cut in half and trimmed down, saving the trim strip. The plaid is on a base of Whisper White and over that I added one of the Bumblebee water color wash pieces from the kit that I had stamped with a Happy Birthday sentiment from an earlier Paper Pumpkin kit (April 2019 – Sentimental Rose).

Next, I added two of the vellum sprays and a 3-1/2″ length of the grosgrain ribbon. I added a layer of the plaid strip that I trimmed earlier. For the flower, I used Magenta Madness ink and fussy-cut it as I did with the leaf sprays, but they are stamped in Just Jade. The flower is lifted on Dimensionals and I added a Gold Glitter enamel to the center. The final touch was a few of the stars from the kit.

I hope you enjoyed these two quick alternative cards and that they inspired you to create your own alternatives. Happy crafting!

Tasteful Textures – Two for Tuesday

Texture is one of my go-tos for making beautiful cards, so, of course, the In Good Taste suite in the new catalog drew my eye. The suite includes the bundled stamps and dies. The stamp set has a beautiful flower and a nice sized feather along with a spray of leaves. It also has two unique background stamps and four general sentiments. There are ten different dies, perfect for layering and cutting out sentiments. There is also a cool 3-D embossing folder called Tasteful Textile and wood embellishments. But the thing that captured my attention was the beautiful paper: wood textures, tiles, stacked stone, textiles, and paint. A totally versatile suite that will make card making a snap. Let me show you two I did to show off the pieces in this suite and demonstrate how easy it is to shine it up or keep it simple.

Simple Card

For this card, I used Gray Granite for my ink and paper. There is a layer of cardstock under that piece of gorgeous textile paper to give it some structure so I could add the piece of Faux Suede Trim. The trim actually goes on top of the base banner cut with one of the dies and some of the wood grain paper that came in the In Good Taste DSP pack from the suite.

I also die cut the sentiment with a different die from the Tasteful Labels dies. See how well they layer? I dabbed a bit of Gray Granite around the edges to give it more dimension and popped it up on Dimensionals. The feather, from the stamp set, is so easy to fussy cut that it’s almost not fussy. And doesn’t it look great with that handwriting font? For a final touch, I added three of the wood elements which are much less shiny than pearls, but just as festive.

Shiny Card

This card is a similar construction to the one above. It has a base of Whisper White and a layer of Rococo Rose underneath the gorgeous paint effect DSP. But then, I ran a small piece of Rococo Rose through the Embossing folder to add that rich texture.

I stamped the flower in Gray Granite on Rococo Rose paper. After I fussy cut it out, I dapped on a bit of Frost White Shimmer Paint into the center. I also added the paint to two of the wood embellishments. The set is called In Good Taste Elements and it has these sprays, the wood pluses above, a larger leaf and some small hexagons.

I heat embossed the sentiment, a stamp from the suite, on to the DSP, and die cut with one of the label dies. I lifted the flower on Dimensionals so it could “float” over the wood sprays. For a final touch, I added some clear epoxy droplets. This card could do duty as a birthday, thank you, or thinking of you card depending on the inside message.