Hey, Friends!
I've got a super fun set of cards to share with you today! I'm up to some paper shenanigans again, with my funny friend Rita (@harbourbreeze) over on Instagram! We created this fun hashtag (#papershenanigans) just as a way to share fun projects with you and to encourage you to get out your supplies as well, and make something out of paper! Whatever you'd like....so long as it's out of paper! Rita is sharing a darling DIY for you over on instagram, and I'm sharing this pretty pile of cards for this week's Make & Tell segment at The Greetery!
Pop over to my instagram (linked at the bottom of this post!) to see a time-lapse video of me making this whole pile! You can watch me make all five cards in just over a minute!! Haha!
In every product release from The Greetery, it seems like there's at least one product that I fall especially hard for, and I end up with more ideas than time. Print Shop: Fresh Floral was one such product collection that I knew I wanted to create more with. SOON! HA.
To start off, I chose five colors I wanted to work with, and stamped the pretty pile you see in the photo above. Then, I turned on the video camera to record the time lapse for you, and honestly, I think the fact that the video was recording the whole time, made me make quicker decisions and not deliberate and second guess so much! I just started cutting and gluing, with zero expectations about how many cards I wanted to make or ANYthing! No rules! I just let myself create!
PRO TIP: If you're a second-guesser, turn on your video camera and record yourself! You'd be surprised how much faster you can work, when you feel like you HAVE to! Hahahaha!
PRO TIP: Two of the patterned papers I stamped with the Fresh Floral background stamp....I did some ombre ink blending, by inking up the stamp, and then tap-tap-tapping over the areas where the colors would overlap, with a blending brush. This creates a really soft blend between colors that might otherwise be clunky or block-y in their transition. I used three different colors on both of those papers.....two blues and a yellow on one, and yellow, pink & red on the other. VERY FUN! Highly recommend! :)
PRO TIP: I stamped and stenciled this patterned paper, with Print Shop: Fresh Floral and then cut it into three strips, using just two of them on this card, and using the third strip on another card. It's a great way to stretch a single patterned paper.
ANOTHER PRO TIP: Don't forget that cutting a section into two pieces like I did here, adds interest and can sometimes even help to balance the visual scale, by giving the illusion that the pattern is bigger than it actually is, depending on how much space you put between the two strips.
A few gems from my stash (JoAnn's) were a great accent to add some texture!
This card happened to be the last one I made, and I literally just put ALL of the embellishments I had left, on the card, to create this striking border!
PRO TIP: When the embellishments are as busy as they are on this card, you want to balance that out with a really simple background that's not too busy. The new Painterly Stripes stamp is a perfect example of that!
SIDE NOTE: My mind starts to race, when I think of all the possible color combo options with this grid backgrounds!!
PRO TIP: Don't always feel like you HAVE to have a sentiment on the front of a card! This particular card has a lot going on, so I chose to skip the sentiment! Note cards are a great thing to have on hand!
PRO TIP: I wanted a stripe of red card stock that was an EXACT color match to my sentiment and background pattern. Ink blending brushes to the rescue! I simply cut a strip of white card stock and then blended on the same red ink that I used on the rest of my card! Easy peasy exact match!
For this one, I stamped up that sweet little envelope from the Signed & Sealed stamp set, and man, I love it with these flowers tucked in!
Notice that I stamped the pink plaid envelope liner as well, even though most of it got covered up. That tiny bit of plaid peeking out, adds such a fun pop of interest and the lines in the plaid play well against the floral background.
PRO TIP: Paying attention to those tiny little details are sometimes what can take a card from "cute" to "WOW!"
PRO TIP: I had a few flower stems left over that I knew I wasn't going to be using, so I snipped off the leaves to use, and tossed the stems. You can see a few of those thin leaves tucked in here, behind the flowers, and you can see some more of them on the card above with the floral border. No leaf left behind!! Haha!
I hope I've inspired you to make something pretty today!! Which card in this group is your favorite??
{Five Card Set supplies -- click on thumbnails}
Thanks so much for popping in today, and be sure to visit the Greetery Blog for more! Also, don't forget to check out Rita's paper shenanigans project today, as well! And, we invite YOU to play along! Just make something with paper....whatever you feel like! Post it on instagram and add the hashtag #papershenanigans! Tag me (@dawnsing) and Rita (@harbourbreeze) so we can see what you've made! We'll spotlight some of YOUR projects in our Stories!
Have a great day, friends! Ooooh, and head's up! I've got something else fun in store for you on Thursday, as well!! Eeee! See you then!
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