The pure black and gold of this card is absolutely stunning! It's like a glam neo-art deco 70s pattern. (Is that a thing?) I used the black and gold honeycomb pattern paper from the package of DSP. I added a few hexagons of gold cardstock. These were cut with the honeycomb pattern die in the Detailed Bee dies. I also cut the bee from gold foil sheets using the same dies. I used a square die from the Stitched Shapes dies to cut the square for the card front and added a strip of gold cardstock underneath it. The card front is layered on gold cardstock and adhered to a Basic Black card base. 

I started with a Whisper White card front for the next card. I added a strip of black and white striped patterned paper from the package of DSP. Then, I cut the honey comb pattern from a gold foil sheet using the Detailed Bee dies. I stamped the small bees from the Honey Bee stamp set on Whisper White cardstock using Jet Black Memento ink. I colored them with Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends. 

The Basic Black square is cut with the Stitched Shape dies and the "friend" greeting is cut from Gold cardstock using the Well Written dies. I layered everything on the card front and used Stampin' Dimensionals to help the bees fly off the page. All this is layered on a Basic Black card base. 

My third card also uses a Whisper White card front. The patterned paper, both from the Golden Honey Bee DSP, includes a white with gold honeycomb and a black and gold stripe. The two together are gorgeous! I cut more honeycomb from gold cardstock and stamped the larger bee from the Honey Bee stamp set on Whisper White cardstock with Jet Black Memento ink. Once again I colored it with Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends and cut it using the Detailed Bee dies. 
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My final card returns to the pure black and gold color combination of the first card. In fact, it uses many of the same elements.

I had so many gold hexagons left over from all of the honeycombs I cut out, that I couldn't just throw them in the trash. Instead I added them randomly to another piece of black and gold honeycomb paper from the Golden Honey Bee DSP.
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For the first card, I stamped the group of poppies on Whisper White cardstock using Jet Black Memento ink. I cut them using the Stitched Rectangle dies and colored them with Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends. The larger poppies and leaves are stamped and colored similarly, using the Granny Apple Green blends for the leaves, and then cut out.

For the front of the card, I used Poppy Parade cardstock with a strip of black and white striped paper from the Golden Honey Bee Specialty DSP. After adhering the patterned paper to the cardstock, I cut them both with the largest rectangle from the Stitched Rectangle dies. I added the rectangle of poppies and tied Polka Dot tulle around the front before adhering the larger poppies. I stamped the "hello" from the Timeless Tulips set using Jet Black Memento ink. Finally, I attached the card front to a Basic Black card base.

For my second card, I started by applying embossing paste over one of the Basic Pattern Decorative masks on Basic Black cardstock. I set this aside to dry while I made the rest of the card.

For the card front, I embossed a piece of Poppy Parade cardstock with the Subtle 3D embossing folder. I added pieces of black and white patterned paper from the Golden Honey Bee DSP. I stamped the poppy on Whisper White cardstock using Jet Black Memento ink and colored it with Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends. I cut this out using an oval from the Stitched Shapes dies and adhered it to the Basic Black cardstock that I had put embossing paste on. 

My final card today has a red poppy on a circle of green. I began by stamping the poppy on Whisper White cardstock. I stamped the outline using Jet Black Memento ink. Then, I stamped the inside of the poppy with the texture stamps from the stamp set using Poppy Parade ink. I colored the leaf with Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends. I then cut out the flower and leaf. 

Next, I cut a circle of Granny Apple Green cardstock using a circle from the Stitched Shapes dies. I embossed it with the Brick & Mortar embossing folder. I cut the "thanks" from Basic Black cardstock using a die from the Well Written set.

The first couple of cards feature the Country Club DSP from the January-June Mini Catalog. For this first one, I cut the different papers using 2 dies from the Stitched Rectangle dies. I layered these on a piece of Night of Navy cardstock that I had embossed with the Subtle 3D embossing folder. I stamped the greeting from the Broadway Birthday stamp set on another rectangle cut from Whisper White cardstock. I punched holes in the ends and threaded White Baker's Twine through them before adhering the greeting to the front of the card. I tied the twine in a bow and attached the whole card front to a Night of Navy card base. 

For the second card, I punched the paper using the Tailored Tag punch. I adhered the pieces to Garden Green cardstock in a pattern and trimmed off the edges. I stamped another greeting from the Broadway Birthday stamp set in Garden Green ink on Whisper White cardstock. I layered this on Night of Navy and Garden Green cardstock before attaching it to the card front. I wrapped two pieces of white baker's twine around the card front and tied them in a bow. Finally, I attached the whole piece to a Garden Green card base. 

This first card uses papers from the Best Dressed DSP. This packet coordinates with the Dressed to Impress stamp set that has images of make-up, perfume, and shoes. I chose to use some of the floral paper from the DSP pack. I cut a rectangle of the Purple Posy floral pattern and adhered it to a piece of Purple Posy cardstock. Then, I cut a circle of the brightly colored floral paper using the Stitched Shapes dies. I stamped a greeting from the Timeless Tulips stamp set in Lovely Lipstick ink on Whisper White cardstock and cut it with a die from the Stitched Rectangle dies. 

This card uses papers from the Tropical Oasis DSP pack in the January-June Mini Catalog and the Lily Impressions DSP which is one of the items you can earn for FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 order. 

I embossed the tropical floral paper with the Subtle 3D embossing folder which gives a beautiful texture that is hard to see in this photo. Then I layered it on a piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock. I added a strip of the Melon Mambo patterned paper to this card front. I clipped the end with the Tailored Tag punch. Then I colored the White Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon in the same way that I did on the previous card using the dark Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blend. 

My last card uses the Lily Impressions DSP (the one you can get FREE during Sale-A-Bration). I cut a piece of the purple lily paper and a piece of the Melon Mambo paper using the Stitched Rectangle dies. I attached these to a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock that I had embossed with the Subtle 3D embossing folder. 

I stamped a greeting from the Here's a Card stamp set with Blackberry Bliss ink on Whisper White cardstock and cut it using the Layering Circle dies. Before adhering it to the card front, I put Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of it. Then, I wound silver thread around my fingers three times. I slid the thread off, twisted it, and adhered it to the dimensional in the center of the circle. I then adhered the circle to the card front before adhering the card front to a Blackberry Bliss card base. 

For this technique, I began by embossing the outline stamp from the To a Wild Rose stamp set in either white or gold. (For more directions about embossing, check out this blog post.) 

Then, I used my Whisper White craft ink pad to put some ink on a clear acrylic block. I used the clear block as a palette to do the watercoloring. Using an aqua painter, I picked up some of the white ink and colored in the flowers and leaves.

​If you've never used an aqua painter before, it is like a watercolor brush with a built-in water reservoir. You fill the end with water and then, give it a little squeeze to get the water flowing to the brush tip. You swish your brush in the ink just like you would a watercolor brush. When the ink is gone, you pick up some more. When you're done with a color, wipe the aqua painter on some scrap paper to get the white ink out of the tip. All the fun of watercolor, with a lot less mess. I used to give these to my kids when they were in upper elementary/middle school so I didn't have to worry about them knocking over glasses of water while painting.

Next, I put Gorgeous Grape and Granny Apple Green ink on clear blocks as well. I then scooped up some ink with my aquapainter and colored in the flowers and leaves. I put down more color in the areas that I wanted to be darker, like the centers of the flowers and along the stems of the leaves. 

I let everything dry and then finished off my cards. (Well, I finished off the cards months later.) 

Both of these cards use elements from the Dinoroar Suite: the Dino Days stamp set, the Dinoroar Designer Series Paper, and the Dino Dies. The cardstock colors match those of the Dinoroar DSP: Lovely Lipstick, Pool Party, Pretty Peacock, Sahara Sand, Mango Melody, and Whisper White. The inks coordinate with the patterned paper as well: Lovely Lipstick, Pool Party, Pretty Peacock, and Old Olive. 

The shapes were cut with the Stitched Rectangle dies and the Stitched Shapes dies. In addition, I used the Swirly Frames stamp set to create the rectangle frame on the card above and the lines of stitching on the card to the right.