Flashback: Garden of Life again

I had so much fun pulling out Garden of Life I had to have two goes at it!!  Well actually I will be providing several examples of each set for inspiration over the course of the summer.

There is something about summer and sunflowers.  Perhaps it has something to do with the trip to Europe I took when I turned 16.  We passed by fields and fields of sunflowers.  At one point I remember my dad stopped the car and my brother and I stood amongst the flowers and we had a photo taken. We looked pretty small too! On mother's day my daughter gave me a plant she had planted in her class.  The pot was decorated in pretty paint patterns and lo and behold there was a sunflower in it. All I could think was this is a terrific gift that keeps giving!

SUPPLIES

Stamps: Garden of Life by PTI
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White by PTI, Dark Chocolate by PTI
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon Thrift Shop
Accents: Misc ribbon, Pearls by Kaiser Craft Vintage Cream
Tools: Scallop punch by EK Success, Copic Markers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Create card base and paper layer.

2. Stamp flower and colour.Adhere button to center of flower.

3. Stamp sentiment. 

4. Attach ribbon and place pearls.

5. Adhere remaining layers.

Hope you have a terrific day!  It is mighty hot at my house today (perfect weather for sunflowers to grow nice and tall).

Alli

Flashback: Garden of Life

So glad you could join me today.  Apparently I did not set this post for yesterday so it comes a day late.

Garden of Life was a set that was inspired by my gardening exposure as a child.  I spent countless hours in the garden alongside my mum learning about many different plants and flowers.  When I created this set a few years back, I didn't have a garden of my own.  I had two years prior to that so I got my first taste of gardening in my own yard but it wasn't until this year that I was able to put my gardening skills to the test.  As many of you know, last year we had a blank canvas.  We had a big pile of dirt in the backyard and lots of excavators.  After months of irrigation planning, rock placement and dirt shifting I was just in time for planting my bulbs and trees last fall.  So as you can imagine I was most delighted to play with some REAL flowers and plants this spring!!  Now that we are into summer I have been planting the summer shrubs and flowers.  Here is one of the roses in my garden!

Today's card was inspired by the technique I used for THIS card which was created for the Garden of Life release in addition to my rose above :)

As you can see I stamped the image on the felt and cut around the circle.
Tip: Stamp it and let the ink settle overnight for best results.

 

SUPPLIES

Stamps: Garden of Life by PTI
Ink: True Black by PTI, Spring Moss by PTI
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White by PTI, Linen Vellum by PTI
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon Thrift Shop
Accents: Raspberry Fizz felt by PTI, Simply Chartreuse Felt by PTI, Vintage Cream Ribbon by PTI
Tools: Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Create card base and paper layers

2. Stamp flower and cut.  Cut leaves.

3. Stamp flower stem and sentiment.

4. Make a bow and attach ribbon.

5. Adhere remaining layers, flower and leaves

Hope you have a terrific day!

Alli

P.S. Cards in the spotlight
My friends Kim Teasdale and Angela Thomas used my set Take Three: Summer recently and I just HAD to share their amazing cards.  Click on their names for a direct link to their cards and some inspiration!

Flashback: Shapes by Design

Hi everyone!  I am super excited you are here today.  If you joined me a few weeks back in the PTI forums you would have read my request to for your input on which of my stamp sets to showcase in the month of July.  I have taken note of all the popular requests and today marks the first day of my flashback series.  I plan to showcase many of them this month along with my sneak peaks for my new stamp set (I will write more about that below).  So each day you see a post starting with Flashback you know I am using some of my previous sets.  I plan to label them too so that you can access them for quick inspiration the next time you are "stuck" for ideas using the set.

As you noticed by the title--Shapes by Design, I decided to use the set in a less traditional way. The set was originally created for versatility in addition to being genderless.  Shapes by Design is a perfect set to create more masculine cards and yet at the same time can have a delicate feminine side to it as well.  I decided to use the square blocks as flower stems.  I carefully stamped the image over the textured surface to give it a real outdoors look.

SUPPLIES

Stamps: Shapes by Design by PTI
Ink: True Black by PTI, Simply Chatreuse by PTI, Spring Moss by PTI
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White by PTI
Accents: Felt by PTI, Brads by Bazzill
Tools: Die cut flower by PTI, Impression Plate by PTI, Hole punch

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Create card base. Use impression plate.

2. Cut paper strip. 

3. Create die cut flowers. Punch hole and insert brad.

4. Stamp images and stamp sentiment.

5. Adhere flowers.

If you are visiting today for the first time from Nichole's blog I just want to personally welcome you!  Thanks for stopping by.  As you are aware, today marks the first day counting down to sneak peaks.  So what can I tell you about the set?  There's variety, there's a mixture of fonts, there's a play on words...and for the first time you get to see some of my handwriting.  Yup.  That's a big step for me.  I am very self conscious about that ;)

Make sure to join me from July 10-15th for daily projects and cards showcasing the set, which will be available for purchase July 15th through Papertrey Ink.

One last note, if you have a request for a particular set to be showcased for the flashback series PLEASE either post at the forum or leave me a message here :)

Thanks again for visiting.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Alli