Last month Stampin’ Up! offered a virtual event for Demonstrators called “Creativity Now”. It was all stamping, no business, as they said. Just a gathering of Demonstrators from all over, stamping together following different presenters making several cards plus a couple of interviews with designers talking about the Splendid Day Suite and the Sweetest Christmas Suite. I always love “behind the scenes” information! I didn’t get to watch and stamp live last month but I did get to catch up and watch the recording and make most of the cards. This card, Creativity Now Splendid Thoughts New Life Together Card, is the first one that was shown.
This card sort of fits into “Watercolor Month”. Although it’s not really watercolored, it has that look in the background made with Stampin’ Blends markers rather than true watercoloring. The card base is Soft Sea Foam cardstock with a layer of Basic White cardstock and a piece of the Splendid Day Specialty Designer Series Paper. We started with the Basic White piece on which we “scribbled” light and dark colors of Pool Party and Fresh Freesia Stampin’ Blends markers. The top half of the Basic White is colored with the Light Pool Party and the bottom half (not quite out to all the edges) with Light Fresh Freesia. Then halfway down the Light Pool Party, it is colored with Dark Pool Party down to the Fresh Freesia. Likewise, the Light Fresh Freesia is half-colored with Dark Fresh Freesia. We were told just to scribble back and forth and you could do this as solidly or less solidly as you liked. If you wanted to, you could have used water and ink to achieve the same look. Just be cautious on Basic White so that you don’t get too much water.
After coloring the bands of color on the Basic White piece, we stamped the bee in the stamp set a couple of times, randomly, in upper and lower halves both in Pool Party ink and Fresh Freesia ink.
The greeting is stamped with one from the Splendid Thoughts Stamp Set in Fresh Freesia ink on a piece of Basic White, then the ends were “flagged” with Paper Snips. On the back of this sentiment piece, an 8″ piece of Soft Sea Foam Ribbon is folded in half and adhered to the back with a loop on the left side and the ribbon tails hanging out on the right side. The ribbon can be secured with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
We also used the Splendid Stems Dies to die cut two of the leafy stems in Soft Sea Foam. These are adhered to the back of the greeting, top and bottom, using Mini Glue Dots. This greeting piece is adhered to the center of the Basic White piece. Then this Basic White piece is adhered, at an angle, to a piece of the Splendid Day Specialty Designer Series Paper. We used the Fresh Freesia print side of one of the patterns, not the foil side. Then this layered piece is adhered to the card base popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. It is adhered at an angle. The presenter said she tried to place it so that the Basic White top piece is straight and then the designer paper underneath is angled slightly. You can do that or have it all straight as we usually do it.
You can take this idea and change it up a bit. Add a different greeting, different diecuts, color in the background with true watercoloring or different colors or even blocks of cardstock, stamp a random design on the card base, add some bling! So many possibilities, yet this card is soft and beautiful just as it is. It could be an engagement or wedding card or change the greeting for another occasion. This design idea is very versatile.
I think this Splendid Day Suite is kind of a sleeper in the Holiday Mini Catalog that might be overlooked. The designer paper is just gorgeous and the coordinating colors make for soft, colorful, and even relaxing impressions. There are lots of choices in the stamps and dies for leafy stems or stamped images. Be sure to check out the Splendid Thoughts Bundle for a savings of 10% if you want both the stamp set and dies. If you also want the designer paper and embellishments of Soft Sea Foam Ribbon and Open Leaf Trinkets, then just order the whole Suite!