So the several inches of snow that fell earlier this week has all gone thanks to Mother Nature and a deluge overnight. I love it when we don’t have to shovel the white stuff off the driveway. The plus 14C on the thermometer is also a welcome change from the minus 13C we saw just a few days ago too. It hardly seems possible that two weeks from today Christmas will be over. So for today’s simple Sunday project I wanted to bring you something more spring-like. This card, featuring the Elegantly Said Stamp Set, is one of the last ones from my 24 cards in 24 hours challenge I completed in October.

HAND-PENNED INSPIRATION

OK I admit I may have a bit of an obsession with the Hand-Penned 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP). There’s something about the pretty colours and black lines in the floral designs that really calls to me. So when I was looking for inspiration it was the first place I looked. In the pack I came across a small scrap of DSP (2-3/8″ x 3-5/8″) and I decided to use that rather than cut into a new sheet.

Looking on the back of the packaging I could see a list of the colours used on the various designs. I knew that any colours I chose from that list would work well together. In the end I decided on Mint Macaron and Basic Black and carried on from there.

But first I needed three more pieces of DSP and selected the Mint Macaron/Basic White striped pattern. I cut one piece 1-3/8″ x 4-1/8″ and another piece 3/4″ x 5-1/4″, and set these aside.

TIP – to keep the design consistent I was careful to cut this paper so the stripes would all run vertically on the finished project.

Finally I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece of the striped pattern, and using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed this last piece to the flap of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Then with my Paper Snips I trimmed off the excess paper using the edge of the flap as a guide.

For my card base I decided to use Mint Macaron Card. After cutting and scoring the piece I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

Next, taking the 3/4″ wide strip of DSP I used liquid glue to fix it along the bottom edge of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Then I edged the top of the DSP with a 1/8″ x 5-1/4″ strip of Basic Black Card before gluing the layer inside the card base.

ELEGANTLY SAID ONCE MORE

That just left the front of the card to do and I started with the sentiment. From the Elegantly Said Stamp Set I chose “Wishing you a wonderful birthday”. Then using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped it onto a 1-1/8″ x 2-1/8″ piece of Basic White Card.

Next I needed to cut the mats for the DSP and sentiment layers from Basic Black Card. Each one would be 1/8″ bigger than the layer mounted onto it. So my pieces were 1-1/4″ x 2-1/4″ for the sentiment, and 1-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ and 2-1/2″ x 3-3/4″ for the DSP.

After mounting the DSP and sentiment onto the Basic Black Card I used liquid glue to fix the floral piece onto the card front. Then overlapping that I added the striped DSP using Stampin’ Dimensionals. The sentiment came next using Stampin’ Dimensionals (stacked where it extended past the edge of the striped DSP layer).

Finally I added two lines of Mint Macaron embellishments from the Genial Gems pack, and my birthday card was complete.

I really love how this card came together. The delicate font of the sentiment from the Elegantly Said Stamp Set really compliments the black lines on the floral paper. There’s lots more sentiments in that set and it makes me want to try this DSP/stamp set combination again. What do you think?

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Elegantly Said Stamp Set in a bundle with the Elegant Tag Punch (not used today). Using a single ‘bundle’ item number to order them meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore that option.