Whimsical Trees Bundle - be still, my heart!
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| Click here for the list of supplies used |
The Whimsical Trees Bundle was the first thing I ordered from the July- December 2021 Mini Catalogue. It wouldn't surprise those who know me well - I love Christmas trees!
Did you know...
If you get the Starter Kit during Sale-a-bration (before end of 30 September 2021) with me, you can add this Whimsical Trees Bundle (valued at $108)* to your Starter Kit at no additional cost!
That means you only need to pay $189 for $393 worth of products, and as a bonus, you also do not have to pay for shipping for it all. So if you have a long wishlist, now is a good time to get it all!
* There are also other bundles you could pick instead, as detailed below:
So, back to the cards...
There are lots going on in these avid cards, but I want to give you a little bit of an insight in the design process.
What happened?
I feel like sometimes even the most experienced of us cardmakers can get a bit overwhelmed with decisions in front of us - what stamp sets, choice of sentiment, what pretty paper to use, what colour palette. It's like where do we begin? So I thought out a systematic process and I practised on myself - and ta-da the result is the trio of cards above!
1. I made the area I have to work with small. So, instead of a full size card, or even a notecard size, I constrained it to a 3"x4" size. Why this size? Well, our Memories and More card packs come with 3x4 card size, and 3x4 size means you can cut a 12x12 sheet of Designer Series Paper (DSP) neatly, with no "leftover strips". We'll come back to this point later.
So I cut a 3x4 size in Basic White card stock.
2. Pick a starting point. Is there a stamp set you want to work with? As in, something you have purchased and loved but it is still unopened, all packaging intact? Or maybe it is a pack of DSP? In my case, I love the sentiment in the Whimsical Tree stamp set, so I just got my inkpad and paper and started stamping. At this point I had no clue what colours I am working with, and the temptation is to deliberate - but that is time wasting! Let's not get bogged down with specifics (ink colour, cardstock colour, label shape, etc) - just stamp the sentiments on a strip of paper that the sentiment will fit on.
What you will find is that once you have a focus, your other decisions will become easier; your choices will become clearer.
3. Next, focus on how you will build your focal image. The sentiment being the focus of your card, what elements can you add around the sentiment to enhance it. Just pick one or two things. In my case, immediately the word heart stood out to me. Likely because I have some hearts already stamped from my Delicate Dahlias One Layer Card (see this post). So I now have a sentiment strip and a heart shape diecut, and I began to move things around. I decided I need a third element and since I am working with the Whimsical Tree stamp set, one of the trees should work. At this point, you may or may not have decided on a colour scheme. I didn't so I cut the trees out in white. I now have three things to group for my focal point - the sentiment, a heart and a tree. I moved things around until I was happy with my placement.
4. By now, your next decisions will be about how to add interest to the card - which at this point is still only the 3x4 size. Obviously colour palette is a big one. Inspiration can be from colour challenges, or your favourite go to combos. The Catalogue is your friend too, look at the colours of a suite or DSP. In my case, I had my catalogue opened to the Whimsy and Wonder Suite pages. Mint Macaron caught my eye and I remember I like Mint Macaron combined with Real Red for a contemporary Christmas look. Well, as it turned out, how convenient - the tree shall be in Mint Macaron, and the heart in Real Red! It's coming together... Next, I go back to the question again - how do I add interest? The 3x4 base, if it wasn't clear to you at step One, now it will be - will you stamp on it, will you use a coloured card stock, will you dry emboss it with an embossing folder, will you use a 3x4 DSP or Memories and More card? You can see which direction I went in.
5. Now that my 3x4 card is ready, I can easily use it on a standard size card. More decisions - card stock colour, embossed or not, probably not stamped as my 3x4 is already stamped, use a DSP layer, etc. I was tossing between Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron and Basic White and because I couldn't make a choice - I decided to make two more 3x4 cards. As you can see, I change things up a bit (eg embossed the Real Red heart for one and embossed a Blushing Bride heart for the other).
So, next time you are a bit stuck in designing, maybe you can give this process a go. I'd love to know how you get on - especially if you found it helpful.
Below is another card I made, also following this process:
I started with the sentiment. The word "world" reminded me of the four globes from the retired World Map Dies I had previously cut out but never got used and have been sitting in my "catch all" basket of unused diecuts. It was natural to think sea and immediately I thought I could use the inkpad swiping technique. Instead of starting with Basic white 3x4 though, I used Pool Party and swiped with Pacific Point inkpad. Once I have decided on using the Sahara Sand cardstock for the card base, I used the tone on tone stamping technique to add interest to the card base.
I look forward to seeing your creations.
Until next post, have fun stamping!
*** For current specials, click this link https://michellepepper.stampinup.net/special *** Shop online with me today and use the current September Hostcode W6GDP7DK or contact me to place an order.
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