Staying Positive In Trying Times

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you can’t have missed the latest developments with COVID-19. In Nova Scotia we’ve had our first confirmed cases and here, as elsewhere, steps are being taken to slow down the spread of the virus. While it’s definitely a worrying development, it’s not unexpected so we are as prepared as we can be. It’s important to stay positive and keep a sense of perspective. So to that end, if I end up having to self-isolate I’m planning to spend it inside my craft studio. After all I’ve been stockpiling stuff in there for years!

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

All joking aside I have a feeling I’ll need to stock up on get well cards (but hopefully not many sympathy cards). Today’s project mainly uses the Positive Thoughts Stamp Set with a sentiment I love.

Having chosen the stamp set I then thought about my colour scheme and I settled on pastels. I pulled out ink pads in Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Seaside Spray and Daffodil Delight.

Then using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored some Mint Macaron Card. I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a card base.

On a layer of Very Vanilla Card I used Mint Macaron ink to stamp the leafy image in the bottom right corner. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the layer inside the card base.

I stamped the same leafy image on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope too, so everything would coordinate.

Finally I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of Very Vanilla Card with Mint Macaron ink, and set it aside.

For the background layer I chose the All Wired Up Stamp Set. It’s a delicate pattern that wouldn’t distract from everything, but the stamp itself is very large. So with the help of my Stamparatus I stamped it onto Very Vanilla Card using Seaside Spray ink

Now all I had left to do was create the focal point for the front of my project.

NATURE’S THOUGHTS

I began by stamping the leafy image from the Positive Thoughts Stamp Set onto Whisper White Card using Mint Macaron ink. Next I stamped the flower in Blushing Bride and the butterfly in Daffodil Delight. Then I cut out each of the images using the coordinating dies from the new Nature’s Thoughts Dies. Before putting away the dies I also cut out the stamped background piece using the rectangle die from the set.

With the die cutting complete, I began by fixing the stamped rectangle to the card front with liquid glue. Then using Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the sentiment.

The leafy image came next, added with liquid glue at the bottom and a dot of liquid glue behind the very top leaf. This way I could add some subtle dimension by fixing the top leaf to the bottom of the sentiment.

After that I attached the flower using Stampin’ Dimensionals, leaving just the butterfly to do. I gently folded the butterfly wings up and then fixed a narrow strip of Stampin’ Dimensional along the line of the butterfly’s body. Then I added the butterfly to the card.

I really liked the design but it needed a little extra pop of colour. So I pulled out my card scraps and there among the Daffodil Delight pieces was a 1/4″ strip that was perfect for what I had in mind. I put some liquid glue on the back of the strip, carefully tucked it underneath the sentiment and fixed it to the rectangle layer. My project was now complete.

I have to say that this is the first time I’ve used the Nature’s Thoughts Dies and I love them. With that cute pierced pattern around the edge I know this rectangle die will get a lot of use.