Welcome to the Summer 2016 Essentials by Ellen Hutson Stamp release blog hop! My name is Carolyn Peeler and I'm happy that you've popped by for a visit and am excited to showcase several of the new Essentials by Ellen stamp sets and dies on my post today! If you've been following along on the blog hop, you should have arrived here from the blog of Chari Moss.
While you're here, I invite you to connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest. And if, like me, you have wanderlust, then (after this blog hop) head on over to www.ladolcevitaforever.com to check out the week-long creative living retreat I host in Tuscany, Italy. I returned home from our 2016 retreat in June and I am getting ready to open registration for our 2017 retreat soon. My special guest will be Jo Packham, Founder and Editor of "Where Women Create" and "Where Women Cook" magazines and I invite you to join us! You can sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the "La Dolce Vita" webpage and you will be notified once registration details go live!
There is also a ridiculously awesome Grand Giveaway in the CLASSroom! To enter, be sure to leave a comment there, also by Tuesday, August 23rd.
Without further delay, let's jump into this hop!
For my first project I was challenged to use the Mondo Peony Stamp (above, left) and matching Die set. I LOVE this set. (Can I say that again? I flippin' LOVE this set!) It is so very beautiful and classic. While I made a card with it, the size and scale of it means that it would also work well for 12x12 scrapbook layouts! In addition to the Mondo Peony stamp sets, I also used a greeting from the brand new "Lovely" stamp set (above, right).
To make this card I stamped the peony stamp with Versamark onto vellum, then embossed with white embossing powder. I then colored the backside of the vellum with Copic markers in the following colors for the petals: RV10, RV11, RV13, RV32, RV34, and in G21 and G24 for the leaves. After coloring, I applied double sided adhesive to the back of the vellum, then stuck it onto white cardstock. Finally I used the coordinating metal dies to cut the flower and leaves out.
I ended up cutting one of the groups of leaves apart in order to remove one of the stalks as given the size of the card it felt a little too crowded with 6 leaves. I glued the leaves directly to the card background and used thin 3D foam adhesive to stick the blossom onto the card.
To finish up, I glued a piece of old ledger paper across the bottom of the card, and stamped the "If flowers could hug..." greeting onto the ledger paper using the "Tuxedo Black" Momento ink pad.
Here is a video tutorial using the exact same technique with the Mondo Hydrangea stamp set and matching die. While the stamp is different, the technique is identical.
For my second assignment, I was tasked with using the "Sunshine Word" die set (below, left) on a project. I chose to pair it with the "All inside" stamp set (below, right) from a previous Essentials by Ellen release.
And here's the sweet card I made. I love how playful and cute this card is. It still has touches of me - such as the vintage ledger paper background - but it's a bit of a departure from my usual style - and I think I like it!! (It's good to step outside of your comfort zone from time to time, isn't it?!)
To begin, using white cardstock cut a white rectangle using the My Favorite Things Die-namics, STAX Inside & Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangle. Using Antique Linen distress Ink and a Ranger Ink Blender tool, lightly ink the border of the die cut. Next, lay the 'SUNSHINE" die into place on the lower center portion of the rectangle and send it through your die cut machine. Cut a piece of Bazzil Gold Coins cardstock that is large enough to go behind the 'SUNSHINE' cut out so that the yellow can be seen in the negative space and then glue it in place behind the word. To finish up prepping the rectangle focal die cut, cut a pice of Bazzil Candy Bar cardstock slightly larger than the white rectangle and glue it beneath the white cardstock to create a very narrow dark brown border. This border will add contrast to your card and helps ground this center element.
The sun element on this card was made using the same technique as I used on the Mondo Peony card above. So, in short, I stamped the sun using Versamark onto vellum. Then embossed with white embossing powder. I used the following Copic markers to color the vellum on the wrong side: Y13, Y15 and RV11. After coloring, I applied double sided adhesive to the back of the vellum, then stuck it onto white cardstock. Finally I used the coordinating metal dies to cut the sun out of the vellum.
Before adding the sun to the card, I needed to prep the blue 'sky' background. Using the 1" Ink Blender tool and Tumbled Glass Distress ink I created a gentle blue background that is slightly larger than the sun area. After the area was colored I stuck the sun in the center of this area using thin 3D foam adhesive. Using the 'sometimes you just have to make your own' stamp and "Tuxedo Black" Momento ink" stamp the greeting between the sun and the 'SUNSHINE' die cut.
You're almost done! To finish up, cut a piece of vintage ledger paper 4.25" x 5.5" and glue to the front of a white card. Then, glue the center section with the "SUNSHINE' die cut in it to the center of the card. And that's it! You've finished!
THANK YOU for joining me today. It was my pleasure to participate in the blog hop today and I hope you enjoyed checking out my cards. Your next stop on the blog hop is with Miriam Prantner, enjoy your visit with her!
Here are links to all the products mentioned in today's post:
