Getting Started with Spring

Inspiration

I’m tired of winter, aren’t you?  I live in Texas, which has very little true winter weather, but I’m always ready when March rolls around to see spring on the way.  I know it is an early spring here, and I am SO thankful!  We had some 70+ degree weather this week, and trees have started to bloom!  When I sat down to make cards this week, I had quite a case of spring fever, and this is what I came up with.  I wanted to show you both the outside and inside of the card – I tried to keep the spring them going on both.

I used a new “toy” on this one – called “Bow-Easy”(TM).  I picked it up at a stamp show here in Dallas earlier this year from a company called Posi-Bendr; I found that they have an eBay store where you can get one for $6.  It is a very simple little device that lets you tie a beautiful bow every time!

The sketch came from CardMaker magazine, and the color combo is straight off the Stampin’ Up! color wheel. 

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK (all SU!): Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal, Apricot Appeal DSP, Whisper White

STAMPS (all SU!): Just Like You, A Flower for All Seasons, On Your Birthday

INK (all SU!): Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal

ACCESSORIES: SU! Markers (Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery), COPIC markers (C1, C3, W1), Celadon (#57) 1/4” grosgrain ribbon (The Ribbon Retreat), Large and Small Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft), Cuttlebug (ProvoCraft), Horizontal Slot punch (SU!), Bow-Easy(TM) (Posi-Bendr Co.), Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch), Rotary trimmer with straight blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Cut a piece of coral cardstock to measure 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”, and score it in the middle at 4/1/4”.

INSIDE LAYER:  Cut a piece of white cardstock to measure 5 1/4” x 4”.  Stamp the image in the lower left corner using black ink, and color with markers.  I used a combination of SU! and COPICS on this one.  Stamp the sentiment in green in the upper right area.

FRONT LAYERS:  Cut these pieces cardstock:

• 1 blush rectangle, 5 1/4” x 4”
• 1 patterned rectangle, 5” x 3 3/4”
• 2 coral rectangles, 3” x 2 1/4”
• 2 white rectangles, 2 3/4” x 2”

Emboss the 2 white rectangles with the Swiss Dots folder and Cuttlebug.  Then rub the Apricot Appeal ink pad lightly over the dots to shade them.

IMAGE LAYERS:  Using the rectangle Nestabilities and the Cuttlebug, cut an apricot piece (3” x 2 3/8”), a blush piece (2 3/4” x 2 1/8”), and a white piece (2 1/4” x 1 3/4”).  Run them through twice: once to cut, and once to emboss.  Using the coral and green markers, ink the flower image, and stamp it on the white rectangle, slightly to the right of center.  Color the open flowers with the apricot marker.  Mount the pieces together (white on blush on apricot), then use the horizontal slot punch to put a hole through all 3 layers.

FINAL CARD ASSEMBLY:  Put the card together in this order:

1. Mount the white inside layer to the inside or the base card
2. Mount 2 layers to the front of the card – the blush, then the patterned paper.
3. Mount the embossed rectangles to the coral.
4. Mounting the ribbon is a little tricky – I attached it under the edge of one coral rectangle, then mounted the coral rectangle on the card.  Then, put adhesive on the back of the ribbon, and string it through the image with the punched slot.  Then, carefully mount the second coral rectangle starting with the left side.  Before you fully mount it, tuck the end of the ribbon around it, then press it down. (I need to perfect a method for this – it took me several tries to get it looking right!)
5. Apply some adhesive to the back of the image stack, and press it down, too.
6. Tie a green ribbon bow using the Bow-Easy(TM) and mount it to the left of the image with a Glue Dot.

Thanks for stopping by!