The Greetery - A Top Down Kind Of Day

Good morning, Friends! Welcome to Day 1 of the April release introductions from The Greetery (new products, unless otherwise noted, will be available on March 27th at 10am ET)! Today the team is showcasing some super fun and whimsical products that are perfect for welcoming Spring and warmer temperatures. Let's jump right in!

First up, I have a birthday card made with the Top Down Day stamp set. This charming set features a sporty convertible and a wonderful selection of greetings that cover everything from birthday to hello and beyond!

I began by creating a little scene for my car. I used the Pathway stencil to create a little cobblestone road and added clouds by creating a stencil using the new Silver Lining die (this die will be a little delayed, but should be available in early April).

I stamped and die cut my convertible and added the driver and balloons to give my card some birthday style. Then, I stamped my sentiment and matted my scene with a Postal Frames die cut.

Next, I used the new Painterly Stripes background to create the plaid pattern on a white card base. I wanted to soften the pattern a touch and add some color to the card base, so I lightly blended ink over top of the pattern in the same color. Then, I just mounted my scene to the center of the card base. Cute!

My second card has a little bit of an interactive element involved. It was super easy to create a slider using the bumper of the Happy Hippie Van die to make a channel.

I began by die cutting the clouds (again, the Silver Lining die will be delayed until April, but it's totally worth the wait) and cutting the slider channel in the top layer. I sponged a sunny glow on the back cloud layer to look like the sun peeking from between the clouds before assembling the scene. Then, I applied a thin line of glitter to the edge of the clouds to give them a sparkly "silver lining" look.

I adhered all of the layers to an aqua card base that I had stamped with the same Painterly Stripes background. I love that you can get different looks with this background just by rotating it or stamping only once!

This time, I created a sunny yellow convertible filled with flowers. Betsy's handy stamping guide makes it a snap to put together the bouquet! I also stamped and die cut the sentiment and attached it in the center of the sunny glow to reinforce the theme. Isn't it just adorable?!

Thank you so much for joining me today! Unfortunately, this is my last post for a bit so I'll miss seeing you for the rest of this release. Hopefully, I can pop back in with some inspiration before baby arrives, but I'm afraid things are a bit uncertain right now. What is for certain though is that these wonderful ladies are sure to give you plenty of beautiful projects to enjoy, so make sure to visit with them today and over the next few days:

Kay Miller
Laurie Willison
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Keeway Tsao
Angelica Conrad
Kelly Lunceford
Norine Borys
Wanda Guess

I hope you find something you love coming from The Greetery this month! I have no doubt that you will!

Supplies:
Cruisin' By Birthday Card

Sunny Side Card

Concord & 9th Guest Designer - Modern Frame Bundle & Forever Flower Bundle

Good morning, friends, and welcome back for another look at the February release from Concord & 9th! I have two more projects to share with you featuring two super collections that are so much fun! Let's get to it!

First up, I have a card showcasing the Modern Frame bundle. The die collection in this bundle also coordinates with the I Like You freebie (with qualifying purchase) for this month, so you get even more bang for your buck. I love that!

I began by blending a very soft aqua background onto a piece of linen cardstock. I really like the extra special touch you get from linen stock. So much texture, but it's not screaming at you. I added some speckles using the splatter stamp from the Brushed Stripe Background and then framed the area with two metallic gold Modern Frame die cuts.

Next, I heat embossed a sentiment from the Modern Frame stamp set onto the stitched rectangle die cut from the Stitched Blooms collection. I layered that with another die cut, this time from a darker cardstock to give a shadow effect, and mounted it to the front of my card.

Then, I added flower and leaf die cuts that I had shaded with Copics. I double layered the flower to give it some volume and then added a glittery enamel dot to the center of the flower to tie the color scheme together. I love the way those stamped splatters draw your eye from one side of the sentiment to the other. Such a simple yet impactful detail.

And finally for my projects this month, I have a birthday card made with the new Forever Flower bundle. These infinity cards are so much fun and they're deceptively easy to put together!

I started by stamping and die cutting two sets of flowers. The first I cut from pink cardstock and the other I cut from white that I had stamped with the Blooms Turnabout. On the back of the pink flower, I stamped the dots from the Forever Flower set. On the back of the Turnabout flower, I stamped the Brushed Stripe Background in a cheerful yellow.

I assembled the flower by following the very helpful tutorial up on the Concord & 9th YouTube channel and then set about to decorating. On the front I heat embossed a sentiment from the Modern Frame set along with glittered die cuts spelling out "Dear" that are included in the Forever Flower die set.

Inside, on the first flip, I used sentiments from the Blooms Turnabout and Modern Frame (stamped onto a Stitched Blooms die cut). On the second flip I used the Happy and Birthday sentiments from the Forever Flower set. The cool thing is, you can see the sentiment through the petals on the first flip, too, so the birthday message gets plenty of attention. This is a really clever and innovative collection and I know I'll be using it a ton in the future!

That's all for me for this month. I've really enjoyed my time guesting for Concord & 9th and I really hope you've enjoyed it, too. Have a great weekend, everybody, and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies:
Gratitude Card

Birthday Flower Card

Concord & 9th Guest Designer - Stitched Blooms & Blooms Turnabout

Good morning, friends! I'm back today to share a couple more projects from this month's Concord & 9th release. If you're a floral fan, today is your day! The Stitched Blooms Bundle and Blooms Turnabout are sure to put a smile on your face!

First up, let's take a closer look at the Stitched Blooms Bundle. I really enjoyed the fact that I could use the stamp set to add color and dimension to the stitched design. Plus, the set includes several essential sentiments that I use all the time.

I began by die cutting the stitched design into a panel of white cardstock. I fussy cut the bottom edge to follow the stitching and give it a more decorative vibe. Then, I stamped and die cut several leaves and flowers from the set and adhered them over the stitched elements in the design.

I heat embossed the sentiment from the set onto dark navy cardstock for a nice pop of contrast and then attached it to the focal panel with foam tape. I wanted to give my card base a bit of subtle interest, so I stamped it with the Brushed Stripe Background (also released this month) using a tone-on-tone ink.

Then, I adhered the focal panel with a bit more foam tape. So full of texture while still being easily mailable. I love that!

My second card today is giving me major Spring vibes. I've always been a big, big fan of the Turnabouts and this Blooms Turnabout is no exception! I'm not usually a purple enthusiast, but I thought these sweet posies would look great in shades of purple, blue, and yellow. What do you think?

I began by stamping the flowers using all four turns and followed up with the leaves in all four turns (though only with three colors). I adhered that panel to a card base and then added a stitched strip that I had stamped with the Brushed Stripe Background (definitely a new favorite). You may notice that the stitched strip extends all the way across the card even though the label die isn't quite long enough for that. I just used some selective die cutting to lengthen the die and make it even more versatile!

Next, I die cut a medallion shape from both lavender cardstock and vellum. I used a circle die to cut the center of the lavender shape and layered the two. I attached that piece to the card front with foam tape and layered on a greeting die cut from the Forever Flower Infinity collection and a stamped sentiment from the Meadow Blossoms set.

I tied on a piece of crochet thread to finish things off. I'm definitely going to create more of this design in a whole bouquet of colors!

Thank you so much for joining me today! I hope you enjoyed this peek at the Concord & 9th February release. Pop on over to their website to shop the new products and I'll see you again soon. Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Thank You Card


Hello Friend Card

Concord & 9th Guest Designer - Meadow Blossoms & Brushed Stripes

Good morning, friends! I am so excited to be guest designing with Concord & 9th this month! I've loved their designs for a while now and I am totally pumped to be joining them for their February release.

To kick things off for this month, I'm sharing a card I made with their brand new Meadow Blossoms and Brushed Stripes sets. The second I saw the gorgeous Meadow Blossoms floral I knew I wanted to do some coloring. So that's exactly what I did!

I haven't done much no-line coloring, but these flowers seemed perfectly suited, so I started by stamping them in pale gray ink. Then I used a mix of Copics and Prismacolor pencils to add shading and depth. Sometimes when I use markers by themselves I feel like things get away from me a little bit (perhaps that just means I need more practice). I love this technique because I feel like it really gives me control over how much color is going down.

Once my flowers were finished, I die cut them using the coordinating die and embellished the flower centers with a bit of my favorite crystal glitter. I just felt they needed a little something extra and this little touch of sparkle did the trick. I set those aside while I stamped the Brushed Stripes background onto a white panel using the same pale gray ink from before, but I reinked a few times to build up the color a bit. I used a darker gray for the sentiment from the Meadow Blossoms set.

I adhered my flowers to the front panel of my card and trimmed the overhang off the edges. Then, I attached that panel to a coral card base to give a pop of contrast once the card was opened. I debated adding more embellishments, but in the end decided that allowing the coloring to shine was the best option. I'm really looking forward to trying these flowers in even more colors!

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'll be back for the next few Fridays with even more inspiration from this month's Concord & 9th release. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies:
Thanks Card

The Greetery - Lily & Palm Mini Release

Good morning, friends! Welcome to the introduction of The Greetery's Lily & Palm Mini Release. All of the new products I'm showcasing today will be available tomorrow, February 14th at 10am. If you make Easter or spiritual cards (prayers/religious sympathy) this release is going to be right up your alley. The products Betsy has designed are all so elegant and lovely. Let's get to it!

First up, I have a card featuring the new Easter Jubilee Creative Kit. This fabulous mini kit is packed with stencils, dies, and stamps that will make it a snap to make Easter cards with floral charm.

I began by using the stencil set to create the base for my design. I wanted to incorporate a couple different colors of tulips, so I used a smaller blending brush to single out the individual blooms. Then I used the coordinating stamps to add details to the leaves and flowers.

Next, I die cut the "Easter" letters out of the center area and added the pierced oval to highlight the central design. Rather than use the letter die cuts, I backed the whole panel with adhesive paper and sprinkled glitter through the negative spaces. The result is beautifully sparkly!

To finish the card, I heat embossed one of the sentiments from the set onto a mini banner and attached it to the card with foam tape. I also adhered my front panel to a contrasting, colorful card base to add a bit of interest. It's a very simple design, but all of the little details make it special.

Next up, I have a card made with the new Caring Cross stamp set. I chose to make this an Easter card, but the stamp set includes several sentiments that would make it a wonderful choice for year-round crafting.

I began by stamping and die cutting the cross and palms. I used the cross pieces die to cut a second cross from champagne shimmer stock and layered those onto the first die cut, allowing the palms to peek through.

Next, I sponged a bit of pale blue ink onto a card panel and added speckles. I stamped the sentiment and then stitched a strip of cardstock (stamped with the individual palm branch) along the bottom edge of the panel. I adhered that panel to a card base and then added the cross with foam tape.

I thought the palms still needed something, so I went back with a glue pen and embellished the berries with crystal glitter. It's subtle, but the hint of shimmering glitter adds an exceptional touch without taking away from the message.

And lastly today, I have a card showcasing the new Botanicuts Lily, Botanicuts Palm, and Let's Have A Word: Happy dies. The lilies are so striking and really command attention on a card. And just think of how many different kinds of lilies you can create with these! I went with Easter lilies (because Easter), but there are daylilies, Stargazer lilies, Tiger lilies...the options are endless!

I die cut my flowers first and used a fine point blender brush to add a hint of color. I also embellished the stamens on the lilies with crystal glitter to zhoosh them a bit. Next, I die cut a Halfsies shape and sponged it with the same ink (albeit a bit more heavily). I stamped that with the recently released Windowpane Plaid Background and set all of those pieces aside.

Next, I sponged a bit of Aqua ink onto a card base and splattered it with clean water to get a subtle speckled look. Once it was dry, I attached my plaid Halfsies panel and arranged my Botanicuts Lily and Botanicuts Palm pieces.

To add a sentiment, I cut the Let's Have A Word: Happy shape from white cardstock and then smooshed the die cut into a Versamark pad. I used Perfect Pearls to give the sticky surface a shimmery finish. I attached that to the card front and added the companion sentiment on a Sentiment Suite Basics die cut. This card has so much dimension thanks to those gorgeous lilies!

Thank you so much for joining me today! Make sure to pop in on the other creative ladies on the team for even more inspiration:

Kay Miller
Laurie Willison
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Keeway Tsao
Angelica Conrad
Kelly Lunceford
Norine Borys
Wanda Guess

Make sure to leave comments as you go because Betsy is giving away $25 gift certificates to two lucky commenters! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies:

Easter Greetings Card

He Is Risen Card

Happy Easter Card