When you sit down to make something do you have a fixed plan that you follow? Or do you just start and then see where the products take you? Mostly for me it’s the second option. In fact that’s how I ended up with the striking black and gold gift tag on my blog yesterday. My plan for this project was a simple background and focal point using the Cottage Rose Stamp Set. However when I pulled out the Cottage Flowers Dies they added an extra detail I hadn’t previously considered.
COTTAGE ROSE
I began my card with the background layer by cutting a 3-3/4″ x 5″ piece of Very Vanilla Card. Then from the Cottage Rose Stamp Set I chose the leaf image along with an Old Olive ink pad. To create the background I simply stamped the leaves randomly around the card taking care not to overlap the images.
At this point I decided to use the leaves as my coordinating feature. So next I stamped them over the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Finally I cut a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Very Vanilla Card and stamped them along the top and bottom edges.
With that done I was ready for the large rose image which gives the Cottage Rose Stamp Set its name. This was actually larger than I needed but that wasn’t a problem. I just stamped it onto a 2″ x 3-1/8″ piece of Very Vanilla Card leaving off most of the leaves. Then in the space that was left I stamped “feel better real soon”.
Now I needed to add some colour and for that I decided to use Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I began with the dark Pale Papaya and used it to colour over the shading on the petals. Then I coloured the rest of the rose using the light So Saffron. There wasn’t much in the way of leaves so I used just the light Old Olive Stampin’ Blends. Finally on the tiny flowers I used dark So Saffron, and my stamping and colouring was complete.
LEAVES & LAYERS
With the colours of my Stampin’ Blends leading the way I chose Old Olive Card for the card base. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, then folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. On the inside I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach the larger Very Vanilla layer.
Now I needed to cut some Pale Papaya Card for the mat layers on the front of the card. I started with a 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″ piece and glued the background layer to it. Then I cut a 2-1/8″ x 3-1/4″ piece and glued my rose layer onto that. And then things took an unexpected turn…
While I was working out how to place the rose layer onto the background I realised that it was a little small. I’d only stamped a border on the background layer and now I had some large empty areas showing. They weren’t what I had in mind at all so I had to think about how to ‘fix’ that.
My first solution was to cut 2″ of 7/8″ Natural Ribbon and fold it in half. Then using Tear & Tape Adhesive I fixed it behind the top right corner of the rose layer. But I still had a gap at the bottom to deal with and I didn’t want to use more ribbon.
Instead I thought I could add some die-cut pieces and reached for the coordinating Cottage Flowers Dies. With my scraps of Old Olive Card still close to hand I cut a some ‘skeleton’ leaves. Then as I was working out exactly where to put them I noticed they sort of lined up with the stamped ones. That was all the incentive I needed! I put Stampin’ Dimensionals over the back of the rose layer. Then I attached the die-cut leaves using the Dimensionals to keep them in place before adding the assembled piece to the background layer at an angle.
Finally using more Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the completed layers to the card base and my project was done.
I must say that it never occurred to me to use a die-cut piece to extend an image before. But I have to say I like the illusion created by these leaves. It’s an idea I’ll definitely be trying again. What do you think?
For some other cards using the Cottage Rose Stamp Set see these earlier blog posts:
PRODUCT LIST
BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Cottage Rose Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Cottage Flowers Dies. Buying the two products using the ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle below in case you want to explore that option.
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