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Clean & Simple Blog Hop; Pretty Pop-Up dies

Welcome to the Control Freak's May blog hop!  The theme is Clean & Simple projects. 

Control freak welcome Save

You may have just arrived or hopped over from Wendy's blog.  I'm sure you loved her unique projects. 

For some reason when I think of clean & simple I lean towards mostly white projects.  I've been wanting to play with my new Pretty Pop-Up dies so here is what I came up with for my first project: 

Pretty pop up card Save

It's almost all white; just a few accents of Balmy Blue & Petal Pink.  These Pretty Pop-Up dies do not cut all of the way through; they provide detailed texture and a 'peak' behind the die-cuts.  

I added a bit of color to some of the flowers and butterflies with Balmy Blue & Petal Pink light blends markers.  To get them to pop up a bit I pushed each die-cut outward with my Take Your Pick tool.  I adhered this 4" X 5 1/4" piece to a smaller piece of Balmy Blue card stock using mini dimensionals.  

Pretty pop up card Save

The greeting is from the Nature's Thoughts stamp set and on a die-cut from the Natural Prints dies.  I added a 1/4" strip behind this to bring in a bit of Balmy Blue. This card might not be considered true clean & simple but it does only have a few layers!  Ha!

I stuck with the Balmy Blue & White them for my second card but added a bit of Gray Granite with the Abigail Rose designer paper. 

I used the smaller oval die for this card and used one of the single dies for the White butterfly.  

Pretty pop up card Save

The greeting is stamped on a circle die from the Picture This dies and is from the Nature's Thoughts stamp set as well. There is a piece of Vellum card stock behind the Balmy Blue layer. 

You can see some of the dies I used in the photo below: 

Pretty Pop up cards. Save

Thank you so much for stopping in today; I hope you enjoyed seeing these Pretty Pop-Up die projects!  

I hope you'll stick with the 'hop' to see all of the projects!  Click here to see Melissa's projects or on the icon below.  

Control freak click Save

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All Posts

  • Free Sale-a-Bration choices with a pre-paid Paper Pumpkin subscription! Ends Wednesday!

    Every month I share a bunch of alternative, bonus projects with my Paper Pumpkin subscribers and my Team.  The kits are fine as is but it's fun to create something new from the stamps & elements in the kits!  

    Here's one I shared on last week's FB Live.  I love the Sweet Sunflowers kit!  

    August 22 Sweet Sunflowers . Save

    We always get a sneak peak of each month's kit so we have the opportunity to adjust our subscription. We can pause that month or choose to get  more than one kit! 

    The monthly kits are available until the 10th of each month, so the decision to opt in for it or pause has to be made by then.  

    The Sweet Sunflowers kit included a bonus of 10 free gold foil honeycomb sheets this time.  I used them as a stencil with Blending Brushes on the front and the inside of the card.  

    August 22 Sweet Sunflowers . Save

    The card bases are patterned on both the front and the back! So I was able to get both of the cards below from one card.  I cut it in half and die-cut the two layers with the Deckle dies. 

    Which one do you prefer?  

    Sweet Sunflowers this or that Save

    I used Crushed Curry ink on the left card below and Balmy Blue on the right card.  I cut one of the fold foil honeycomb sheets into quarters and used two of them on these cards, trimming them apart with a paper snips. I shared how I made these cards and two more in the video below.  Or click here to watch it. 

    Below you can see how many free Sale-a-Bration items you can choose with a pre-paid Paper Pumpkin subscription.  It really is the best time to get one! Why not earn free products with your purchase?!

    Click here to get your pre-paid subscription. 

    2022 Paper Pumpkin SAB Save

    I order a 6 month pre-paid subscription twice a year; once in the summer during SAB and once in January or February during SAB.  I love this option to earn free products! 

    Did you know that when you are a Paper Pumpkin subscriber you can get refills from most of the monthly kits?  The refills are usually around $11 and include everything in the original kit except the ink spot & stamp set.  So once you have the full kit getting a refill means you can make more of the original projects or alternatives easily!  See the optional refills here. 

    Unfortunately they do not expect to have refills for this kit; it was extremely popular!  But if they do they'll be on the link above.  

    Each month the kits get better & more fun to create with!  They knocked it out of the park with this one! 

    Sweet Sunflowers this or that Save

     

    Here's a peak of last month's alternative projects my subscribers received.

    July sending good thoughts all Save

    I loved this kit too!  They were wonderful, versatile cards.

    ~~~

    August Specials

    Get free items here in August during Sale-a-Bration! 

    2022 Fall SAB Save

    Host code: E22FXSSB

    August free fine sparkle gems Save

    Get these pretty gems free! *click here to order 

    Earn free products with my loyalty rewards! 

    Click here to download yours and earn a $50 shopping spree!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Water-coloring TWO ways with video tutorial!

    In August our Flowerbug's Team had our usual card swap – this time we featured either Sale-a-Bration or Holiday catalog products.  I chose to use both!  

    I created this card for a few reasons; I wanted to use the Aspen dies (LOVE THEM) and also wanted to create a water-colored background.   What do you think?  

    Perched in a Tree WC swap Save

    I chose to use Orchid Oasis as my card base and added Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry and a bit of Tahitian Tide in the water-color wash at the bottom. 

    Be sure to watch the video below to see how it's done.  It's super simple and hard to mess up!  Honest!  

    Tips for a successful water color wash:

    • Wet the water before adding ink.  This is super important!  The ink will spread so much easier and without lines if the paper is wet. 
    • I used our Water Painters – but a paintbrush also works. 
    • Use a heavy paper such as watercolor paper, Thick White or Vanilla or Shimmer paper. Here I used our Silver & Gold DSP from the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  It worked but thicker paper is easier and has less chance of the paper fibers lifting. 
    • Let the paper dry between layers if you want a definite line between colors – like this sunset & water combo.  

    Other details:

    • I stamped the bird in Orchid Oasis and colored him in with our watercolor pencils and a blender pen.  
    • The greeting is from the Perched in a Tree stamp set – it's in a bundle with the Aspen dies I used here. 
    • The greeting die-cut is from the All That dies. 

    The Aspen dies are available in three ways – in the Bundle at a 10% discount, separately from the Perched in a Tree stamp set or free during August & our Sale-a-Bration promotion. 

    *Best buy: purchase the Perched in a Tree bundle in August and choose a $50 Sale-a-Bration choice for free!  See them all here. 

    ~~~

    August Specials

    Get free items here in August during Sale-a-Bration! 

    2022 Fall SAB Save

    Host code: E22FXSSB

    August free fine sparkle gems Save

    Get these pretty gems free! *click here to order 

    Earn free products with my loyalty rewards! 

    Click here to download yours and earn a $50 shopping spree!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Perched in a Tree Ink Blending sunset technique

    I can't get enough of the Perched in a Tree bundle!  We made these cards at my August Card Clubs this month: 

    Perched in a Tree Aug Club. Save

    They had the choice of adding the bird or a set of die-cut, colored leaves.  We added color to both with our Blending Brushes using Crumb Cake & Balmy Blue for the bird and Bermuda Bay & Mango Melody on the leaves.  

    The greetings are from the Soft Seedlings stamp set stamped on a 1" X 4 1/4" Vanilla CS strip.  

    Perched in a Tree Aug club Save

    If you have trouble getting a smooth Ink Blending background please watch the video to catch my tips.  

    From the top down I used these colors:  Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody & either Balmy Blue or Crumb Cake on the bottom.  You might think I used a yellow color on the upper right card but it's just very light Mango Melody.

    The Aspen dies are available in three ways – in the Bundle at a 10% discount, separately from the Perched in a Tree stamp set or free during August & our Sale-a-Bration promotion. 

    *Best buy: purchase the Perched in a Tree bundle in August and choose a $50 Sale-a-Bration choice for free!  See them all here. 

    Perched in a Tree Club Aug Save

    Below is the video; click on the photo below to watch.  Or here to see it on YouTube.  Don't forget to subscribe to my channel!  

    ~~~

    August Specials

    Get free items here in August during Sale-a-Bration! 

    2022 Fall SAB Save

    Host code: E22FXSSB

    August free fine sparkle gems Save

    Get these pretty gems free! *click here to order 

    Earn free products with my loyalty rewards! 

    Click here to download yours and earn a $50 shopping spree!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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