Stamping Sunday Blog Hop — Paper Perfection

Welcome to the July Stamping Sunday Blog Hop. This month, our theme is paper perfection. Don’t you just love pretty papers? One of my favorite things is perusing the beautiful designs in a new catalog and thinking of all the possibilities. What’s funny is that I end up ordering a bunch and then wanting to keep it in my stash just to look at it!!! I have to force myself to use it up! Does that happen to you?

Our challenge was to use papers from pages 131 to 135 of the Annual Catalog, so I picked two of my favs: Abigail Rose and Perfectly Penciled. I just received the Abigail Rose DSP in my most recent order, so I was excited to use it, and I LOVE coloring the Perfectly Penciled DSP!

Abigail Rose Happy Birthday:

My first card features the Abigail Rose DSP and Cottage Rose Bundle. These stamps and coordinating dies are ultra feminine and beautiful and just perfect for watercoloring. (Need I remind you that it’s World Watercoloring Month?)

I stamped and embossed the large rose image twice in white on Shimmery White Cardstock so I could watercolor it. By stamping it twice, I could cut out the large rose and layer it for added dimension. To paint the rose, I used Fresh Freesia and Highland Heather ink. Then, I used Orchid Oasis and Soft Succulent ink for the small flowers and leaves.

The Cottage Flowers Dies are really unique because they include this large background die that cuts a negative, as well as the three pretty detailed accent die-cuts on my card. I thought it would be fun to pop-up the background die for a unique look.

To accent my card, I used some Simply Elegant Trim and 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds colored Fresh Freesia. They are sooo pretty!

Perfectly Penciled Best Wishes:

For my second card, I really focused on the DSP! The only stamped image is the sentiment from Cottage Rose. All the rest, including the flowers and butterflies, are Perfectly Penciled DSP that I cut up. That DSP is all black and white, so it’s just begging to be colored!

I spent a therapeutic morning with my Stampin’ Blends Markers just having a good old time coloring away! The background is Balmy Blue, the flowers are a combination of Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather, and Orchid Oasis, and the leaves and stems are Soft Succulent.

Here are a few Stampin’ Blends tips: These markers are alcohol based, so they’ll dry up quickly. Therefore, color in small sections and leave the caps on. Each “color” comes in a combo pack with a light and dark marker. For this card, I started with the light color and then added the darker color. My intent wasn’t to blend the colors, but to make them look painted, so I purposely tried to show brushstrokes. By adding the darker color second, it blended less. I also followed the shading of the paper as a guide for my darker colors. For the background, I did the opposite. I started with the darker color and then added the lighter color to blend it well.

Similar to my first card, I popped up the background and cut a negative circle with the Stylish Shapes Dies. I thought this would help emphasize the sentiment.

To finish the card, I added some 2022-2024 In Color Matte Decorative Dots and Simply Elegant Trim.

I hope these cards have inspired you to not only purchase some DSP, but use it! Haha!!! Be sure to continue on through the rest of the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop by clicking the navigation buttons below for more “paper perfection” inspiration.

Stamping Sunday Blog Hop Designers:

Enjoy your Sunday!

Use Host Code 9ZEM4RAE for purchases at my online store to qualify to receive free exclusive project tutorials. This month’s PDF includes 12 fantastic tutorials designed by my demonstrator friends and I to inspire your creativity! The projects feature products from the 2024 Annual Catalog, Online Exclusives, and new January-April Mini and Sale-A-Bration Catalogs. Enjoy!

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