Simple To Stunning #2 - Mother's Day cards

Shouting out a very Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! In honor of Mother's Day I am happy to share with you the latest in my Simple To Stunning series of cards. These cards showcase how you can take a card design and with a few additional elements or techniques step it up from a simple design to stunning.

These cards feature the May Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart - Flowers for You. This set of 14 images is available during the month of May for $18.95 on my website. You can also get this set for $5.00 with a $50 purchase or FREE if you are a VIP and make a $50 purchase during the month of May. So many great images and sentiments in this set with so many uses.

All three cards are based on Sketch #484 from Freshly Made Sketches. You can see this sketch along with other variations on it here.

The first card follows the sketch very simply with a piece of Sage cardstock cut using the Stitched Squares Thin Cuts set. The flower image was stamped on White Daisy cardstock using Intense Black Ink and colored in using Triblend Markers. I stamped the sentiment in black ink on Ballerina cardstock and dovetailed it. I added an additional dovetailed piece of Ballerina using the light side of our two-toned cardstock for some contrast. I added some simple embellishment with Clear Sparkles.

The next card adds a base layer of Blue Belle Cardstock and a circle cut using the Circles Thin Cuts for the stamped flowers.

The final and most stunning card adds some embossing on the Blue Belle cardstock layer using the Spring Blossoms Embossing folder and some additional embellishment using Mink Twine.

These are some simple techniques you can use with any card design to step up your designs to take them from Simple To Stunning!

I hope you like the cards! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies List:

S2105 - May Stamp of the Month - Flowers for You
X6045 - Sage Cardstock
X6048 - Blue Belle Cardstock
X6036 - Ballerina Cardstock

1385   - White Daisy Cardstock
X254 - White Cards and Envelopes Value Pack
Z4259 - Stitched Squares Thin Cuts
Z3943 - Circles Thin Cuts
Z3694 - Spring Blossoms Embossing Folder
Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Ink
Z2496 - Pale Pink Triblend Marker
Z2530 - Pale Pink Shades Triblend Marker
Z2525 - Vintage Blue Triblend Marker
Z2486 - Dull Green Triblend Marker
Z3274 - Clear Sparkles
Z4221 - Mink Twine

Simple to Stunning Sunday #1 - Father's Day Card

Starting a new series of blog posts today with a Father's Day card. I want to share with you some techniques to step up your card making to take your cards from simple to stunning. 

Each post will showcase a card design and I will show you steps you can easily take to add something extra to the card to take it to the next level. These are the three versions I came up with for the Father's Day card for this week's post.

The basis for the cards started with this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. You can see the sketch and variations on it here.

For the first, simple version of the card, I followed the sketch using a stamp from the Legendary Father's Day Stamp set from Close To My Heart. I am in love with this set and am having fun creating some fun things for this upcoming Father's Day. This set is only available through June 30th so make sure to hop on over to my website to shop today!

I stamped the image in Archival Black Exclusive Ink and then colored in using TriBlend Markers. I used Sapphire cardstock for the base along with some paper from the Mix-ins paper pack. I added some twine and used 3-D foam tape to add some dimension to the card.

For the next, stepped up version of the card, I first used a die from the Stitched Squares Thin Cut set to die cut the piece for the stamped image. I embossed the Sapphire card base and then used some of the zip strips from the Mix-in paper pack to add a little more patterned paper to the card. 

For the final, stunning version of the card, I added an additional layer of Mix-in patterned paper along with some Clear Sparkles to the card. I had fun working and adding additional elements and techniques to take this card from simple to stunning.

I hope you like the cards and learned some techniques to take your cards from simple to stunning. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies Used:

CC6205 - Legendary Father's Day Stamp Set

X9015 - Mix-in Paper Pack

X5957 - Sapphire Cardstock

Z3271 - Archival Black Exclusive Inks

Z4259 - Stitched Squares Thin Cuts

Z2488 - Green Turquoise TriBlend Marker

Z2475 - Brown Grey TriBlend Marker

Z4221 - Mink Twine

Z3274 - Clear Sparkles