Do you ever find yourself looking at a product in the Stampin’ Up! catalogue and being unsure whether or not you like it? I know I do. Take the Fern 3D Embossing Folder, which is part of the Sun Prints suite. I had no hesitation in adding the stamp set, dies and paper to my Demonstrator pre-order but left off that embossing folder. However the more I thought about it, the more I came to realise my mistake. The all-over fern design is amazing, as today’s thank you card shows.

3D FERN FIRST

This project actually began last week as I was experimenting with the Fern 3D Embossing Folder. I found a piece of Crumb Cake Card (which happened to be 3″ x 5″), placed it inside the embossing folder and ran it through my Cut & Emboss Machine.

I was immediately impressed by the effect of the multi-layered fern fronds but wondered if I could accentuate them even further. So I picked out a Soft Suede ink pad and a Blending Brush and gently added ink to the embossed surface using a circular motion. This definitely helped but I decided I wanted the ferns to at least have some green. So next I took a Soft Succulent ink pad and brushed on some of that. It was better but still not quite what I was looking for. Finally I picked out the Shaded Spruce ink pad and added that with my Blending Brush. Eureka! The colours were still quite subtle but the result was exactly what I was hoping for.

By this time it was time for dinner so I set the embossed and inked piece aside. And that’s where it stayed for the whole of the following week while I created other projects.

RUSTIC LAYERS

This morning I was determined to use that beautiful background on a card. Then as the Fern 3D Embossing Folder is part of the Sun Prints suite, I decided to incorporate elements from the Nature’s Prints Stamp Set and Natural Prints Dies too.

First on some Very Vanilla Card I used Shaded Spruce ink to stamp the “a heartfelt thank you” sentiment. Then I cut out just the “thank you” part using Paper Snips.

Next from the Natural Prints Dies I took the label die and used it to cut some Crumb Cake Card. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the “thank you” onto the label.

While putting the die with the rest of the set I noticed some small leafy dies and thought they would create the perfect pieces to go between the sentiment and background. However when I thought about using these dies with coloured card I just felt everything was too ‘flat’. So I instead I found some scraps of Crumb Cake Card and added a light layer of Shaded Spruce ink with a Blending Brush.

With that done I cut out the inked card using the three small leafy dies. Then for some added contrast I used the two longer leafy dies to cut some scraps of Vellum Cardstock.

Now I had quite a lot of green and wanted to balance the colours, and so I cut a 5″ piece of 7/8″ Natural Finish Ribbon. However I then cut along one edge and pulled off some of the long threads. Next I put Tear & Tape Adhesive behind the right-hand edge of the embossed layer so I could attach the frayed ribbon. I didn’t waste those long threads though. Instead I put a strip of Tear & Tape across the front of the layer and used it to hold the threads in place. Finally using Stampin’ Dimensionals I added the sentiment over the threads to hide the tape.

SUBTLE FERN IMAGES

My project was almost complete, but I still had the envelope and inside to prepare. For this I went back to the Nature’s Prints Stamp Set and chose the fern image.

First I inked up the stamp using Sahara Sand ink, then I ‘stamped-off’ twice onto some scrap paper to remove most of the ink. Next I used a Sponge Dauber to add some Shaded Spruce ink to the stamp rubber around the edges of the image. Now when I stamped the fern onto the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope it came out mutli-coloured just like the embossed layer.

After cleaning the stamp I repeated the whole process again so I had a fern in the top left and bottom right corners of the envelope. Then I did the same thing on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Very Vanilla Card.

By this point I had at last decided what I wanted for my card base. So using my Stampin’ Trimmer I cut and scored some Thick Very Vanilla Card. Then I folded the card along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

Next, using liquid glue, I added the stamped Very Vanilla layer to the inside of the card base. Finally I attached the assembled embossed layer to the card front and my project was complete.

I have to say that I love how this project turned out. The various textures and muted colours used are perfect for a masculine card. Next I want to try the Fern 3D Embossing Folder with some bright colours, just because I can…

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Nature’s Prints Stamp Set in a bundle with the Natural Prints Dies. Buying these products using a single ‘bundle’ item saved me 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included links for both options below in case you want to explore these further.