Blessings of Home Card

Hello, Crafters.

Yesterday, our Christmas with Vicki and her family had to be cancelled – my grandson Jack has Covid. We knew this was a very real possibility because this new variant is spreading at an alarming rate. Never the less, it’s still very disappointing! We won’t be totally alone because my son LD will be coming over to us instead of going to Vicki’s. But it is what it is and there are plenty of people having to deal with far bigger problems than this!

Yesterday, I was working on my project for the January Create with Us International Bundle PDF. We’re featuring the Heart & Home Suite which is in the forthcoming Spring/Summer 2022 Mini Catalogue. I chose to use the Blessings of Home Stamp Set and the matching Flowers of Home Dies. There are two flower images and five sentiments in this stamp set and I didn’t know which direction I was going in. I started by using my Stamparatus to stamp both the images in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Basic White Cardstock (CS).

I painted the smaller image first using Pale Papaya and Soft Succulent Stampin’ Blends. Happy with the result, I decided to paint the big flower image using Balmy Blue, Soft Succulent, Fresh Freesia and Pale Papaya Stampin’ Blends. This time, I was disappointed with the finished image. The standard of my colouring was fine but I had painted too many flowers in blue and not enough in lilac. It didn’t matter because I decided to go with the smaller image. When I had finished it, I moved on to see what I could do with the large image.

I was happy with both completed cards and decided to ask hubby which one he liked best; I decided I’d use his favourite for the Create with Us PDF! You can see by the card I’m sharing with you here he chose the blue one as his favourite!! The highlight of the Pale Papaya card is that I did some split dry-embossing on the front and I’m really pleased how it turned out! I used one of the narrow Meadow Moments Embossing Folders (EF). The one I chose was the one that only has a partial design on it. This enabled me to emboss the top half of the Basic White CS and then I turned the EF round and embossed the other end. You can see from the photographs the fabulous effect it gives!

To achieve this effect, when you emboss the first half, place the edge of the top cutting mat at the edge of the EF. Then repeat the other end. More or less everything else about this card is straightforward. I started with a Basic White CS card base, two middle layers of Pale Papaya CS and two top layers of Basic White CS. I embossed one of the top layers and die-cut a leafy branch Iin Soft Succulent CS for the layer inside the card. I also die-cut a partial branch in Pale Papaya CS so I could cut out the three of the flowers and paper piece them onto the branch. I adhered the branch along the bottom of the top Basic White CS layer inside the card.

I stamped the HAVE A PERFECT BIRTHDAY sentiment on a half-inch strip of Basic White CS using Soft Succulent Ink. I layered it onto a piece of Pale Papaya which was five-eighths of an inch wide. I adhered it in place, using a strip of Foam Adhesive Sheet, along the bottom of the card front. After I had die-cut the flower image, I adhered it onto the card front front using Dimensionals. After I had painted the flowers using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter pen, I adhered three large Brushed Brass Butterflies randomly on the card front. The final touch was to adhere a Pale Papaya Open Weave Ribbon bow on the stem of the flowers. I’m really pleased with the embossing on this card and I’m sure I’ll be using that EF again sometime soon!

 

I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make a video to publish on Boxing Day – 26th December 2021 – watch this space! In the meantime, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very blessed Christmas. Please take very good care of yourselves and stay safe; I really hope you are all able to go ahead and enjoy your planned Christmases. I look forward to being back with you after Christmas. Merry Christmas!

JanB. xx

Basic Card Cardstock Measurements: A4 (Metric) US

Card base 8¼” x 5¾” (21cm x 14.6cm) US 8½” x 5½”

Scored and folded at 4⅛” (10.5cm) US 4¼”

Middle layer: 2 pieces 3⅞” x 5½” (9.9cm x 14cm) US 4” x 5¼”

Top layer: 2 pieces 3¾” x 5⅜” (9.6cm x 13.7cm) US 3⅞” x 5⅛”