I really love some shine and a little sparkle! And using metallics for a card makes it look unique and special. The Ornate Garden Specialty DSP does not disappoint if you love metallics and shine. Many of the papers are richly colored vintage floral designs, but there are several designs that feature rich gold metallic designs. Perfect for an over the top card design! Which is what I went for with this card!

The paper is gold metallic on Mint Macaron. And I loved the look so much, I decided to go for a monochromatic look. The only departure from that is the sentiment, which was stamped in Old Olive just to get it to pop! Even the main die cut is one of the Ornate Borders Dies is cut from the same DSP and layered under the sentiment with smaller pieces die cut from Gold Foil paper. A few of the Ornate Garden Faceted Gems highlighted the Ornate Border Die cut. And the ribbon, it is the Metallic-Edge ribbon colored with a Stampin’ Blend.

Stampin’ Tip: You can customize many ribbons using Stampin’ Blends. The Stampin’ Blends color perfectly on polyester ribbon and lay down even, rich color. I always test on a scrap first. And its best to always start with the lightest shade of Stampin’ Blends and experiment on the scrap with a second coat of the light blend. Usually that gives you the perfect color. Customizing ribbons is one of my favorite stampin’ tricks and I use it all the time. If you have some of the neutral shades of ribbon on hand and Stampin’ Blends, you will have ribbon to match many, many colors! 

What I Used To Make This: 

Easter is almost here! Even with this long quarantine, for me it has gone by fast. Hopefully, if we are all good and do the quarantine right, we can be somewhat normal in May. Until then, crafters cannot complain much about having to be at home! There is always something to do!

Today’s card was done for the Global Design Project’s Theme Challenge this week – #GDP235. The theme is Spring/Easter. And the timing could not have been better. To see ideas from other cardmakers, click on the image below:

For my card, I wanted to use some more of the Ornate Garden DSP and the layering frames. I had used these for a similar Easter Card design you can see HERE. For this card,  I wanted it to look like the scene in a sugar Easter Egg. I used to get these for Easter when I was a kid and I am still in love with them. I loved them so much, I would keep mine for months after Easter until all the decorations fell off!  These eggs are so fun to get in your Easter basket and you cannot stop looking at the scene inside. It so charming. Here’s a picture of sugar eggs below. As you can see,  the Ornate Layering Frame dies are perfect for creating this look!

The Fable Friends set combined with the Ornate Layering Frame dies and the Ornate Garden DSP is perfect for creating this look! And what fun I had making this card! I think I may have to make myself a Sugar Egg next year!

Stampin’ Tip: With  the Stampin’ Up! fabulous Color System, most colors in the collection are going to work well together. In this case, I used Pear Pizzaz for some of the greens and Old Olive for others. In the case of the sentiment, the Old Olive made the sentiment stand out better. Using both greens worked out fine for this card. Don’t be afraid to try mixing colors up a bit. I think you will be pleased with the look. In many cases, it will give your card and design some depth and interest. It won’t work in every case, but experiment to see what you like! 

What I Used To Make This Card:

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Garden Goodness is one of those stamp sets that doesn’t always get a lot of attention. Because I love any stamps with Fruits or Vegetables, it was a must have for me.  I brought it along on a group craft retreat I was on just before our “shelter in place” started!  On our retreats, we always have a “group project” we work on. It is usually a sampler because some of us are card makers and some of us are scrapbookers. And a sampler fits everyone’s skills and supplies!  While I don’t really understand this, some people use things other than Stampin’ Up! Who knew?

For this trip, the project was to make a sampler with a “vegetable” theme. So, of course I packed Garden Goodness as well as Slice of Happiness. And along with those, some retired DSP I thought would be great for a vegetable theme project. Here is the sampler we made:

My contribution were the peas and the artichokes patches. But the “patch” that intrigued me was my friend Jayne’s Bell Peppers in Pumpkin Pie and Crushed Curry. Are they gorgeous? That was the inspiration for my card. I have been trying to make cards that I could send to friends stuck at home during our “Shelter In Place” time. So, the sentiment from Garden Goodness was perfect. Then I wanted to use the Basketweave 3D Folder for the background. That seemed to be perfect for a vegetable themed card. I kept it all colorful with a Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Real Red and Pumpkin Pie pepper on a Pear Pizzaz Background.

So, there you have it. A bright, cheery card ready to send to someone to brighten up their day and let them know I am thinking of them. Just what a hand made card should do! And the project? It’s is now in a shadowbox frame and proudly hanging in  my kitchen, where it makes me smile!  Didn’t everyone do a fabulous job?

Stampin’ Tip – Adding some texture to a card really helps when you are not using embellishments or DSP. A 3-D Embossing Folder makes detailed, deep designs that give your card a rich look. And a stitched, die cut circle is always going to stand out more than a plain circle.

What I Used To Make This Card: