3 cards with my ‘Life is Beautiful’ MDA stamp set!
You may have spied my stamp set in a previous post, but I haven't shared much yet! You can be sure I will be posting quite a few projects with it.
If you didn't know, it's a stamp set I helped create as a perk of achieving a Million Dollars in sales in my career with Stampin' Up! It's so cool to have my name posted under the stamp set in the upcoming 2020 August – December Stampin' Up! catalog!
I shared three technique cards using the Life is Beautiful stamp set on FB live last week. I did upload it to YouTube so everyone can watch. *see below
The top left card is created by stamping and heat embossing the leaves with White embossing powder. Then coloring over with Blends alcohol markers. Such a cool effect and actually fun to color too. The dark card stock covers most mistakes if you go off the image a bit.
I used Gorgeous Grape, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay and Pacific Point here. The greeting is from another MDA set called Ridiculously Awesome.
I stamped the tree twice to create a wider trunk and more branches. The colors here are Coastal Cabana, Soft Suede with Granny Apple Green and Pretty Peacock dots.
This Gorgeous Leaves stamp set & bundle is one of the choices you can pick with the Starter Kit special going on right now. It's actually free; one of 12 different options just through tomorrow, September 30th. Click here to see them all.
Here's the most simple card I made. But with these beautiful colors it is still striking. Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen & Cinnamon Cider. Most of the cards used this color combination.
You might wonder how I come up with these color combinations. I usually pull out sheets of card stock and see if they work together. Many times I have to switch one or more out before I'm happy. I don't use a color wheel or any guide; I just play and use what feels right.
This next card is a 3" X 5 1/2" panel of Vanilla CS with a thin edge of Cinnamon Cider. The greeting is stamped and heat embossed on a 1" strip of Evening Evergreen. I did go over the White embossing with my Cinnamon Cider Blends marker. I also colored the White ribbon with the same Blends marker before tying my bow.
Do you ever create your own paper with stamps & ink? These types of images make it fun & easy to do. Try it; you will love filling in your card stock with pretty images. Remember to always start with your largest images first.
In this next card I added a few of the die-cuts from the Intricate Leaves dies from this bundle. The greeting is from the Pretty Pumpkins stamp set seen here. I colored the small leaves image with Stampin' Write markers.
This next card is so quick, easy and still eye catching. Start with a pretty greeting in the center (Pretty Pumpkins set) and add leaves in opposing corners. A little splatter, sponging and gems and you're done!
Now for the next few cards we're getting into some stamping techniques! This set of cards is made with the Emboss Resist technique. Same colors as above with the addition of Bumblebee and Gold.
I embossed the leaves images using Versamark ink and clear embossing onto Vanilla CS. Next, sponge Classic ink randomly, directly over the embossing filling in the entire piece of card stock with color.
Then use a damp tissue or cloth to wipe off the excess ink. It will come off of the embossed images but stay on the card stock. So fun and gorgeous!
I toned down & softened the look with a piece of Vellum card stock (3 1/2" X 4 3/4"). The die-cuts are all from the Intricate Leaves dies. The pretty greeting that is heat embossed with Gold embossing powder is from the Heartfelt Wishes stamp set seen here. It's in the Holiday catalog as well.
As you can see the Joseph's Coat can create a beautiful 'coat of colors'. The card above uses the same colors as the previous cards including Bumblebee. Holiday rhinestones are perfect with these colors.
This next card has Old Olive instead of Evening Evergreen. The Evergreen was just too dark. It is Cherry Cobbler card stock & ink. My photo came out a bit off color.
Once you have clear embossed leaves over this sponged piece you rub on a darker color of Classic or water-based ink. Anything but permanent ink should work. I used Soft Suede here. Most people use Black.
After I rubbed the Soft Suede ink pad directly onto the embossed card stock I used a tissue to wipe off the excess from the embossed leaves revealing the beautifully colored leaves.
*Watch the video below to see this technique done Live.
It's made with the Christmas Season bundle seen here. This bundle was one of my first purchases from the 2021 Holiday Catalog; I think it's extremely versatile and SO easy to create with!
The colors include Evening Evergreen, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake & Very Vanilla. The sentiments are from the Poinsettia Petals stamp set in the Annual Catalog.
Did you know you can get this $54 bundle FREE with purchase of the Stampin' Up! Starter kit?! It's one of 12 choices you can pick from to add to your kit at no cost.See them here
Right now, through Thursday, September 30th you can pick out $125 in product of your choice for $99 and free shipping too! Then choose a free bundle from this list to add on. With the free Paper Pumpkin kit you'll receive over $200 for just $99! It's a crazy, good deal.
Then enjoy the 20% discount as long as you stay active. When you're done ordering, you just stop. No pressure, no need to 'sell or hold events'; just enjoy being a part of the Stampin' Up! family and my awesome Flowerbug's Team! Get your kit here.
After we stamped the background we added texture with either the Timber or Timeworn Type 3D embossing folders. There is also a few spatter images from the Gorgeous Leaves stamp set.
I created a video for a very similar card; check it out below:
Tonight is the 4th Monday so we're stamping at 7:30 pm CT here on my FB page. The cards are a unique Center Flap fold and SO EASY! This fold also shows off your pretty designer paper beautifully.
The black & white card is made with the Beautifully Penned designer paper in the Sale-a-Bration catalog. This pretty black & white paper is 12 X 12 and only available through Thursday, Sept 30th. It's free with a $50 order here.
It's such a great time to order those items you've been wanting since you get something free with each $50-100 you spend! FREE is everyone's favorite thing! Shop here.
Plus if you spend $50 in September you get a stack of 10 hand made cards from me as a thank you. *see below.
Notice: LeeAnn Greff, Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, Manager. The content of this website is my sole responsibility as an independent Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and the use of, and content of, the classes, services, or products offered on this website is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up! Copyright 2025
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