I'm Stuck...

Yes... I'm having another creative block. Sometimes you've got it, sometimes you don't. Right now, I don't. I'm trying to come up with a card design that will be easy to duplicate so I can make A LOT of them for swaps for this year's Stampin' Up! convention. I may use these two cards, but want to see what kind of response they get first.


This first card uses the "Wild About You" stamp set. My card base is Basic Black with a layer of Bashful Blue cut 1/4" smaller than the black. I put a smaller black panel in the center of the card and added a piece of DSP from the Prints Pack along the bottom. I stamped the elephant in Bashful Blue, the giraffe in Apricot Appeal, and the alligator in Gable Green. I punched each image out using the 1 1/4" square punch. I punched a piece of coordinating CS for each image using the 1 3/8" square punch and matted the images on those pieces. The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White CS and punched out using the Word Window punch. I used my 1/2" circle punch to create a matte for that piece. I tied a Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon on the front and tied the sentiment to the bow with linen thread. I used a Stampin' Dimensional to make the sentiment stay in one place, but still look like it's floating. Cutie Patootie, huh?


This card uses the "Embrace Life" stamp set. My card base is Bravo Burgundy, which seems to be one of my least used colors. I'm sure it's happy to see sunlight! I added a strip of Old Olive about an inch from the top. Under that, I added a strip of "Olive Press" DSP. I stamped the cherry blossom image with Jet Black StazOn on watercolor paper. I watercolored the image using Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, and Blush Blossom markers and an AquaPainter. I matted the image on Bravo Burgundy and then Old Olive CS. The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla CS in Bravo Burgundy classic ink and added to the front of the card.






This close-up doesn't really show the detail, but I added a little sumpin', sumpin' special to the image. Once the watercoloring was dry, I added Crystal Effects to each blossom. While that was still wet, I sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds on it. I didn't POUR it on... just sprinkled it like fairy dust. It gave the image a little dimension and some bling. I find it quite difficult to make anything without adding bling!

Hope you like the cards. Besides that, I cleaned house, made a batch of cookies, worked in the garden, and "dolled up" a onesie today. Hope you enjoyed your day! Toodles!!