There are so many occasions when it’s appropriate to wish someone good luck that I was surprised how rarely I actually make good luck cards.  In fact, even as I sat down in my craft studio this morning I had no plans for that.

My vague idea was to create a card featuring a large focal point, with die-cut pieces adding interest and dimension.  I settled on the Bouquet Bunch Framelits, and that lead to the coordinating Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set.  Standing beside it on the shelf was the Banners for You Stamp Set and it was then I spotted the good luck sentiment.

From there I turned to this week’s Stamp Ink Paper colour challenge.  The colours in the challenge were light pink, pale mint and navy, and this was ideal for my floral theme.  After that the project seemed to design itself.

I began as by pulling out ink pads and card in my chosen colours.  Having everything out on my desk helps me see how things can work together and it’s now become a habit.  Then I sat down to work on the focal point of my project.

SMALL ELEMENTS

Taking the small 6 petal flower from the Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set I stamped it 3 times onto Whisper White Card with Petal Pink ink.  Then for the flower centres I chose the round stamen image from the set.  I inked it up with Night of Navy ink and stamped it into scrap paper.  Next I stamped the stamen image in the centre of a flower without reinking it.  I liked the lighter navy achieved by this ‘stamping off’ technique and stamped the other flowers to match.

My Big Shot and Magnetic Platform was needed now, along with the Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies.  Using the coordinating die I cut out the three flowers and set them aside.  The foliage for the card would be simple die-cut pieces from the same Framelits.  From Soft Sea Foam Card I cut two of the larger leaf pieces, and from Mint Macaron the long sprig with more rounded leaves.

GOOD LUCK

With the embellishment pieces done, I turned to my good luck sentiment from the Banners For You Stamp Set.  One of the reasons I bought this set was that as well as lots of words and phrases, there are some banner outlines.  I think these really add something extra to a design and so I grabbed the single line banner image.

I wanted an embossed sentiment that would really stand out so chose Night of Navy Card for the background.  But first the card needed to be wiped with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static.  VersaMark ink was then used to stamp the banner image.  Before I could stamp the sentiment I needed to clearly see the banner outline, so I sprinkled it with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess.  That was much better.  Now the good luck sentiment could be stamped inside the banner using VersaMark ink.

Now more white embossing powder was sprinkled over the sentiment and banner then tapped off.  Once the stray specks of powder had been removed I could melt the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

All that was needed then was to cut out the banner with my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform using the coordinating die from the Bunch of Banners Framelits.

ASSEMBLING THE FOCAL POINT

With the floral pieces and sentiment prepared I was ready to assemble my focal point.  Or so I thought.

I’d decided to use Soft Sea Foam Card as my background and my leaves didn’t really stand out against it.  To solve the problem I used some Stampin’ Sponge in a tapping motion to add ink to the leaf pieces, Mint Macaron ink on Mint Macaron Card and Soft Sea Foam ink on Soft Sea Foam Card.  That was much better.

With a strip of Tear & Tape Adhesive along the back of the sentiment I began to add the leaves.  Excess pieces of the stalks were removed with Paper Snips as I worked.  Then one flower was added on the left of the sentiment with Multipurpose Liquid Glue, and the others with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally I attached the completed sentiment to a Pearlised Doily using the exposed Tear & Tape Adhesive on the back.

CARD BASE AND BACKGROUND

Although I’d already decided on a Soft Sea Foam background layer I was still debating the card base.  In the end I settled on Night of Navy Card.  This was cut and scored using the Stampin’ Trimmer and folded along the scored line with a Bone Folder.

Although I liked the contrast between the Soft Sea Foam background and Night of Navy card base, it looked bland.  Texture was what was needed here, and I knew exactly what kind.

Using a Stampin’ Spritzer I lightly misted the Soft Sea Foam Card with clean water.  Then I placed the card into the Basket Weave Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  I put the folder onto the multipurpose platform with all the tabs open and then added a cutting plate on top.  Finally the embossing folder was run forwards and back again through the machine.  With that done I set the embossed card aside for a minute to dry.

INSIDE AND ENVELOPE

I always decorate the inside of my cards and the envelopes as I think it gives a more finished look.  So on the front of a Whisper White Envelope I stamped the long stem image using Soft Sea Foam ink.  Then I added a Petal Pink flower and ‘stamped-off’ Night of Navy centre.  Another stem and flower was stamped next to the first and a partial flower peeking in from the edge.

Then on a layer of Whisper White Card I repeated the same flower stamping as on the envelope.  The completed layer was then fixed inside the card base with liquid glue.

FINAL STEPS

With the embossed Soft Sea Foam piece now dry, I then had to decide which side to show.  In the end I chose to have the back of the piece visible as I liked the unusual texture.  With the decision made I then fixed the embossed piece to the front of the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  Finally the assembled focal point could attached with Tear & Tape Adhesive behind the sentiment banner.

I love how this project turned out.  The layers and texture add interest, but somehow it doesn’t seem cluttered or fussy.

HOW TO GET BETTER RESULTS WITH EMBOSSING FOLDERS

Stampin’ Up! sells two types of Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, standard and Dynamic.  Each type needs to be treated slightly differently so I created a short video to explain this.

The two types of folders are clearly identified on pages 222 and 223 of the Stampin’ Up! 2018/2019 Annual Catalogue.  There’s also a reminder on page 222 of the correct ‘sandwich’ when using these folders with your Big Shot.

THE CHALLENGE

It was this week’s Stamp Ink Paper Challenge SIP163 that gave me the colour choices for today’s project and I have to say I love it.  There’s something really clean and fresh in this combination, but striking too.

Here’s the colour challenge logo that inspired me to make this good luck card.

 

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