Bird Cage Collage Cards

A few weeks ago I worked on some cards using the Abigail Rose papers and some card layouts and ideas from Gail Ellis, another demonstrator on Pinterest.  I kept the colors scheme very simple and love the look that these cards have.  

There's a cute new set of stamps in the catalog with parakeets and a bird cage cut out.  However, I already have a lot of bird stamps and bird cages, too.  So I used some of my old stamps and cut outs to redesign Gail's cards.  

I used Abigail Rose designer papers for the cards, some vintage lace and several older bird stamps and cages including Free as a Bird stamp set.  

Seriously, I love how they came out!  I had an old Tim Holtz bird cage die cut, one of the Bigz dies that I had never used before.  I also used the new Designer Tags cut outs for the tags on the cards.  The flower die is from the Pretty Pillowbox.  

I love the muted colors and the fun "collage" style.  I call the set of cards a Mix & Match.  Once you stamp and emboss and cut everything out, you can mix and match the items on any of the cards.  

For the last card, I kept things simple.  It's mostly a sheet of the designer paper that makes this card so wonderful.  Then I added some tags, flower and saying.  The Designer Tag dies really makes the cards.  For the color scheme, I used Petal Pink for the accent color.  I think the card would look pretty if you colored in some of the flowers on the designer papers, too.  Maybe next time I will try it!

Magnolia Suite

When I first got the new (June) Stampin Up catalog this summer, I saw the Magnolia stamp set and coordinating papers.  I wasn't sure that I "needed" it, but after seeing so many beautiful samples online, I decided to go for it!

For my stamp classes this month, I offered a couple of classes featuring the Magnolia Lane suite.  The designer paper is amazing and this set works up some really nice projects.  This card is a simple card that also coordinates with the framed project.  I got the card idea from Gail Ellis.  Then I made a matching bag to hold all of the cards.  I watched a bag-making tutorial made by Amanda Flowler.

The Live, Love, Laugh sayings were from an old framelit set that I had.  I thought this would be a great use for them.  But I have to say that I love the 3D flowers along the side.  It gives the whole project a nice 3D look.  I'm not sure who to thank for the idea for this project, but it's lovely.  (If it was your sample, please let me know so that I can give you the credit.)

For the next set of matching projects, I made the Magnolia flower the focal point for the framed project along with a matching square card.  The card is from Stesha Bloodhart and I'm not sure again of the source of the framed project that I found on Facebook. 

I got the wooden frames at Joann's in the clearance section and painted them.  I also used Naturals white cardstock for the card to give it a more vintage feel.

Rounding out this month's cards is a lovely gold embossed card.  I painted the teal focal point with some ink to give the card some color.  It's a simple to make card that has a great impact.  I found it on Facebook but again don't have a name.

Lastly, but perhaps my favorite of all, is this painted Magnolia card.  I stamped onto Crumb Cake cardstock and embossed with white ink.  Then cut and gave the flower a watercolor look using some matching ink and some white craft ink.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but there's some wink of Stella to make the flower shine.  (No watermark on this card either, so no name.)

I was trying to showcase cards from this set that worked up fairly quickly without having to color in the Magnolia flower.  I think everyone enjoyed them.  What do you think of this set?

Lost Lagoon is a Christmas Color?

Somehow this pretty aqua color, called Lost Lagoon, has made it into the Christmas color palate!  I paired it with a softer aqua, named Pool Party and added a dark brown Espresso for contrast.

The pines are stamped first in the Lagoon color and then embossed with white to give it some depth.  The pine cones add more dimension and the framed saying just gives it a simple finish.  I found the idea on Pinterest by Rambling Rose Studios.

I think this is one of my all-time favorite cards. I love the simplicity of the blues along with the simple saying of Christmas Wishes. Now if only the rest of the holiday planning was this easy!