Painted Harvest

Hello, Crafters.

I'm pleased to say hubby retrieved my email that I somehow managed to wipe off my laptop yesterday! Pheww!!

Yesterday I had my first play with the Painted Harvest Stamp Set, which is a two-step stamping set! Personally, I don't like sunflowers but I've seen some fabulous ideas crafters have come up with using this set with all sorts of different colours for the flowers. 

I think sunflowers in non-sunflower colours look very much like asters! I chose to go with Powder Pink and Smokey Slate for my card as it gave me an opportunity to use our fabulous 0.5" Gingham Ribbon!

After deciding the colour scheme for today's card, I had to decide on the background for the flowers. As we have a co-ordinating punch for the leaves, I'd already decided I'd be fussy cutting the flowers, so I wanted to use an all over background stamp.

Using Whisper White Cardstock (CS), I stamped two flowers using Powder Pink Ink, and five sets of leaves using Pear Pizzazz Ink. I used Smokey Slate, stamped off once for the centres of the flowers, and then added the little stamp of five dots at full strength ink. 

After I'd cut the flowers out, I punched the leaves out, but did a lousy job lining two of them up! Rather than dicard them, I trimmed off the excess white cardstock that was visible, and they were good to go! 

I chose the HAPPY BIRTHDAY stamp from the Better Together Stamp Set. Using Smokey Slate ink, I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of Whisper White CS, and punched it out using our new Everyday Label Punch.

I also punched out one shape in Powder Pink CS, and cut it in half vertically. I adhered each piece at either end behind the sentiment using Tombow.

I've digressed! Back to the background for the top layer of Whisper White CS! 

I recently bought three more background stamps: Marbled, Sheet Music and Diagonal Stripe. I already have Burlap, Hardwood and Watercolour Wash.

I was disappointed when Stampin' Up retired the Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stacks that we could buy in the colour families. I loved having these because it meant I always had some DSP in any colour I was working with. 

By having a selection of background stamps, I'm now back in the same position of being able to have DSP in any colour I'm working with, albeit stamped by me! I chose to use the Marbled Stamp for today's card with Smokey Slate Ink, stamped off once! The effect is stunning! 

I adhered this top layer to a layer of Powder Pink CS, and then adhered a piece of the Smokey Slate Gingham Ribbon around the centre. Using Tombow, I adhered this layer to the Whisper White card base.

I used Dimensionals to adhere the sentiment so it was over the ribbon, and then I adhered the two flowers in position using Dimensionals.  I adhered the leaves also using Dimensionals, except where I overlapped them onto the sentiment, I used Tombow. I finished the front of the card by adding tiny pearls to the flower centres.

Inside the card I adhered a layer of Powder Pink CS, and then a layer of Whisper White CS on top! I stamped a flower in Powder Pink and wanted to add some leaves, so I took timeout to stamp a mask onto a Post It Note (PIN) and fussy cut it.

I didn't find it easy to pick out particular features on the two individual flower stamps to remember how they were positioned.

I decided to stamp the first stamp on a PIN and then onto what would be the Masking PIN. I paid particular attention to make sure I kept the stamp in exactly the same position for both PINS!

On the first PIN I drew a line around two areas which I felt I'll be able to recognise next time I use this stamp set. Then I repeated the pocess for the second stamp i.e. first stamp on a separate PIN, and then stamp it again but this time on top of the flower already stamped on the Masking PIN. 

Again I drew on two areas I felt would be easy to recognise easily next time. I hope I've explained this in a way it makes sense!

The mask worked brilliantly, and I was pleased how the stamped leaves came out! I won't know if my plan with the PIN's is good or not until next time I try using it! Fingers crossed!

That's about it for today. My daughter and I are both taking time out to go out for coffee together this morning, just so we can enjoy some quality Mother and Daughter time together! ☺

Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.