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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. 

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: 

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.  

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.  

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: 

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.  

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  • 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?  

    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. 

    ~~~

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    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!

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  • 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: 


    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.  

    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. 

    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! 


    Host code: E22FXSSB


    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!

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  • Bewitching Bundle for my Artist of the Month series


    I'm excited to share these incredible projects made by Annette. She is our Artist of the Month as part of my Flowerbug's Team.  Each month we have a featured artist that showcases a stamp set or bundle.  For creating the projects they get to keep their new bundle as a gift.  

    She chose to use the Bewitching Bundle from the 2022 Holiday Catalog.  See it here. 

    First up today is an eye catching card featuring the Gingham Cottage designer paper. 

    She used Pumpkin Pie blends markers to color her hat and added a stamped spider and Black hat band.  The stitched circle die-cuts are from the Stylish Shapes dies.  Offsetting them adds a playful look to the card.

    Next is a super cute coordinating candy treat box: 

    She found the box pattern from Cathryn Themann.  It's about 5" X 3" in size and fits a row of Tootsie Rolls nicely.  



    She used the same Cottage Gingham designer paper as she did on the card above. Notice that cute Black & Pumpkin gingham ribbon?  She colored it with a Pumpkin Pie blends marker!  Perfect!  

    The circle and banner die-cuts are from the Stylish Frames dies seen here.  They're my 'go to' set of dies lately! 



    She added the perfect finish to her hat band; the Black & Pumpkin glitter washi tape.  

    Come back for more fantastic projects featuring the Bewitching Bundle tomorrow!  

    ~~~

    August Specials

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


    Host code: E22FXSSB


    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!

     

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