A Bunch of Thanks

Hi All! Welcome to another edition of Thankful Thursday. Today's project is a group of thank you notes I made a while back using the Variety of Thanks stamp set (a hostess reward set from Seasonal Expressions 1, which retires at the end of march), the Brushstrokes stamp set (which was introduced in Seasonal Expressions 1, and will NOT retire at the end of the month), and the Paper Fundamentals Adventure Assortment paper pack.

While most of my projects include lots of layers and bling, I do occasionally prefer the clean and simple. This set of cards is just that. I let the bright, bold patterns and colors of the papers do all the work, and just added a little stamping and heat embossing.

Lets take a look.

Color: Gypsy

The note cards are standard 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch cards made with White Daisy cardstock. I layered that with a piece of patterned paper that was cut at 4 x 5 1/4 inches. The back of the paper fundamentals papers have a resist pattern, so you need to use a strong adhesive to adhere them to the base. (I used Tombow's Xtreme Adhesive.)

The sentiment is stamped on a piece of White Daisy cardstock that is cut at 3 1/2  x 4 3/4 inches and adhered to the patterned layer with regular adhesive. I stamped the Brushstroke stamp in ink that matched the patterned paper (in this case, Gypsy Exclusive ink), and then stamped the sentiment in Versa Mark ink. I added white embossing powder and heat set it. I like the texture and shine of the embossing,  but you could stamp the sentiment in White Daisy pigment ink if you don't want texture and shine. If you don't have white embossing powder, you could stamp the image in white ink and emboss it with clear embossing powder for a similar effect to the above.

Here's a close up:

And here's a look at all of the cards:

Colors: Cranberry, Cotton Candy, Hollyhock

Colors: Sunset, Honey, Pear

Colors: Topiary, Lagoon, Pacifica

I ended up making 2 of each pattern, so 20 cards in all. My goal is to start sending notes regularly to friends and family. I know we usually keep thank you notes to respond to gifts given or specific things that have been done for us, and I'll use these that way. But I also thought it would be nice to send out a few to just thank people for being themselves and being in my life. I'm grateful for my friends and family. I should probably tell them that more often....

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share Day 2: A Funky Bit o' Gratitude

Hi and welcome back for Day 2 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share featuring Close To My Heart's June Stamp Of The Month: A Flowering Bunch.

Today's color palette was inspired by a Rose Blossom Team Challenge from the ever-inspiring Brenda Rose. The challenge: use Lagoon, Topiary, Honey and Black, with White Daisy as an accent. Here's my response:

The card base is a standard A2 size (5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches) made from White Daisy cardstock. For the flowering centerpiece, I layered Black cardstock on to White Daisy cardstock and popped it up with some dimensional adhesive. I did a bit of random stamping on another piece of White Daisy using a small flower from A Flowering Bunch and Lagoon, Honey, and Topiary Exclusive Inks. I stamped the Tulip on a separate piece of White Daisy in Black Stāz-On Ink and let it dry. After it was dry, I used my water color brush and the Lagoon, Honey, and Topiary inks to water color the tulip. I left a few parts white and covered them with Stardust Glitz. (You can see why yesterday's bling-less card was such a novel for me....) Then I let it dry. Once again, if you don't let the ink and glitter dry, you will not be lovin' life so much later. (Ask me how I know....)

After the tulip was completely dry, I fussy cut it and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. Now one of the great things about the A Flowering Bunch stamp set is that it coordinates with the CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge, which you'll see I took advantage of in tomorrow's project. However, for this particular card, I didn't want the 1/8-inch white border that is left behind with the Cricut cut, so I decided to opt for the fussy cut. If I'd been making a bunch of cards, I would have turned to the Cricut and blinged up the edge with some Glitz.

For the sentiment, I used the second generation stamping technique with the Honey and Lagoon Inks, off-setting the layers by about a quarter of an inch. I also used scotch tape to mask off "A Bunch" with those first two colors. I then finished off with a Topiary layer at full strength and left "A Bunch" on the end.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I have to say, I was a little skeptical about putting these colors together, but I really like how it all turned out. (Brenda definitely has an eye for color.)

I hope you are inspired to get a little funky in your color choices as well. Remember, A Flowering Bunch can be yours for $5 with any qualifying order of $50 or more, or you can purchase it on its own for $17.95. However, It's only available through 30 June, so click here to get your set now. Don't forget to stop by Lynn's and Jody's and see what inspiring bits of creativity they have cooked up for you today! And don't forget to leave us a little love in the comment box for your chance to win this fabulous double stamp set and card kit by Lynn:

See you tomorrow for Day 3 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share!