Heart's Delight Cards: From the Heart

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Petal Palette & Organizing, Part 2 (of 3)

Petal Palette, From the Heart, Occasions 2018, Stampin' Up!, Organizing,

Here's another pretty card to grab your attention before we get down to the card base organization that I promised yesterday. The Petal Palette roses were in the Box o' Useful Bits, as was the Garden Trellis embellished cardstock. I cut the trellis down with Lots of Labels Framelits and added the Fresh Fig mat.

I thought the label needed more contrast from the background so I went with Sahara Sand, embossed with Simple Stripes. I love the subtle contrast of the colors and embossing! Products used are listed at the bottom of this post.

Okay, now, on to the card bases and how I organize them. First, when I cut a piece of colored cardstock to use as a mat, I like to turn the half I'm not using into a card base to save for later. I find the Stampin' Trimmer and Bone Folder make quick work of the scoring. I prefer to use a bone folder, because it gives a deeper score line than the scoring blade that comes with the trimmer.

When I open a pack of Whisper White Thick or Very Vanilla Thick cardstock, I'll spend a couple minutes scoring all of it, and then trimming it all with the Carl Cutter. Most of it is scored lengthwise at the 4-1/4" line (see above), and trimmed to 5-1/2" x 8-1/2". Occasionally I reserve a few sheets and score them at 5-1/2" and trim to 4-1/4" x 11". These are used for top-fold (portrait orientation) cards.

It is just so convenient to pull a ready-to-use card base out of the bin! In addition to card bases, I also have pre-cut card liners for inside of the colored cardstock bases, and 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" Whisper White and Shimmery White pieces ready to grab for stamping and coloring. Note: At the front of the bin are the free Sale-A-Bration Tutti-Frutti card bases, ready to grab and go!

This is the bin that I keep them in on a shelf under my desk. It is 16 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 3 inches deep, the perfect size for card bases AND the smaller Framelits dies envelopes (and embossing folders) as shown below! I keep the newest dies at the front. After carefully prying the dies off the sticky tape, I use the Carl Cutter to cut an adhesive magnet sheet to stick over the tape. Sure makes it easier to get the dies off again without bending them! I put them back in the envelope so I can see the dies, and with the name clearly visible at the top.

Tomorrow I'll share my awesome storage for Washi Tape/Twine and the PERFECT ribbon storage! I'll give you a peek at my craft room, too. It is truly my happy place!

Product List

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Lots of Happy Alternatives!

As promised, here is another way to turn the smaller card components from the Lots of Happy card kit into a full size card. But first, a few helpful hints on coloring the printed die-cuts:

Leave the die cuts attached to the sheet while you are coloring them. It stabilizes them and makes them easier to handle. Once they're colored, go ahead and pop 'em out.
If you want to use a Blender Pen or Aqua Painter, just color a small bit of each part of the image. Then use the BP or AP to pull the color into the rest of the image.
To deepen the color (for depth, shadows, etc.) pick up some color directly from the Watercolor Pencil tip with the tip of an Aqua Painter and add it to the image. Be sure to wipe off excess water on a paper towel first.
The dies cuts are not watercolor paper, so don't work one area too much, or the paper will pill up.
You can practice your technique around the edges of the die-cut sheet before you move on to the real thing!

I thought the blossoms looked like they belonged in a flower box, so I turned the small Sahara Sand rectangle into a box and then popped the flowers up on dimensionals. The heart "garden stake" is a retired embellishment on a narrow strip of Wood Textures DSP.

I borrowed the greeting from Petal Palette, because it fit perfectly for the size I needed, as well as the theme, and you've probably noticed I used different watercolor pencils, too. The embossed background is the new Simple Stripes embossing folder. It looks like painted wood siding, doesn't it?

So, there you have it - an alternative to the little, teensy, tiny card in the kit. Just add a blank card base, an embellishment and you're finished!

Product List