I was challenged recently to use the colors Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Mint Macaron. At first glance, these colors don't seem like they would work together, but surprisingly, I think the cards turned out beautifully. 

All of these cards use the Painted Poppies stamp set. I am so happy that this stamp set will still be available in the 2020-21 Annual Catalog. I just love poppies and one of my favorite parts of traveling in France was seeing the fields full of wild poppies. So, on y go! Let's get stamping.

I stamped the poppies on scrap pieces of Whisper White cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink. I colored them with the light and dark Pumpkin Pie and Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends. I had to cheat and use Poppy Parade instead of Real Red because I don't have the Real Red Stampin' Blends. There are dies that match the poppies, but since I don't have those either, I fussy cut the flowers instead.

I heat embossed the leaves on vellum cardstock using white embossing powder. I also cut some extra leafy pieces using the retired All-Around Wreath dies. 

I adhered all this to the card front I had stamped. I embossed a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Mint Macaron cardstock using the Subtle 3D embossing folder. I adhered this to the Mint Macaron card base. Then, using Stampin' Dimensionals, I adhered my card front on top of this.  Finally, I added a few colored pearls for a little extra bling.
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On some scrap Whisper White cardstock, I stamped additional leaves using the Jet Black Stazon and colored them with Aqua Painters and Mint Macaron ink. Once again, I stamped over these pieces with the splotches using Mint Macaron ink. Then, I stamped the poppies with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored them using light and dark Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends. Remember, it's important to use the Memento ink when you are coloring with Stampin' Blends. I used the larger splotches to stamp over these images with Real Red ink. Finally, I fussy cut the blossoms and leaves and adhered them over the poppies I had stamped on the piece of Whisper White cardstock. 

I adhered a piece of Real Red 6" x 6" DSP to a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock that I had stamped splotches on using Pumpkin Pie ink. I ran both pieces together through my die cutting machine using the largest Stitched Rectangle die. I adhered the flowers and the greeting and tied this piece with a double piece of Whisper White Baker's Twine. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere this to the Pumpkin Pie card base. 

I took a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White cardstock and embossed it with the Subtle 3D embossing folder. I adhered it with Stampin' Dimensionals to a Whisper White card base. I laid down a swirl of Silver Metallic Thread and adhered the poppy image over this with more Stampin' Dimensionals. To give the card a little sparkle, I added a few Basic Rhinestone Jewels.
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Even though everything looks a little different this year, it's still the time to celebrate graduations! I love the use of rainbows lately to show love and support to people while we're social distancing, so I thought some rainbow graduation cards would be really fun. I made three different cards using the same basic layout, stamps, and colors, but each card uses a different technique. For these cards I used the retiring Check You Out stamp set. This stamp set has only been around for a year and it was one of my absolute favorites from this catalog. I'm so sad to see it go! Because I just couldn't put the set down, check out a 4th, very different graduation card using the same set at the bottom of this post.

While I chose a rainbow for my cards, they could be done in any color combination you like or even in just one color. 

On scraps of Whisper White cardstock, I stamped the owl with Crumb Cake ink and added a graduation hat and glasses. I also stamped the books. I fussy cut all of these images. For the greeting, I heat embossed it with white embossing powder on Basic Black cardstock. Before I attached all of these pieces with Stampin' Dimensionals, I laid down a little nest of Silver Metallic Thread over the Daffodil Delight circle. Then, I added the stamped images and a few basic rhinestones. 

Big shout out to my Mom for being the guest designer for this week's Mystery Stamping! She created an awesome card using the barn door fun fold. To see her card, be sure to check out the On Y Go! Stamping Facebook group. The bottom half of this card swings open while the top half stays put. It's quick and easy to make!

Fold the piece of 11" x 4 1/4" cardstock in half along the scored line. Open the cardstock back up. On the 4 1/4" side, carefully cut from the edge of the cardstock to the fold line. Fold the card again.

You should now have a card that has two flaps on the front. Glue the top flat shut so that it is flat against the back of the card.

Adhere the Designer Series Paper pieces to the front of the flaps and the long piece of 1 7/8" x 5 1/4" White or Vanilla cardstock to the inside of the card. Add you images as desired to the front of the card.

I made three different samples using this card design and three different packages of Designer Series Paper.

Here is another fun way to use Designer Series Paper. The combination of different pieces of patterned paper from the same pack makes a cool radiating background. 

To finish the card, cut the following pieces:

• Blackberry Bliss Cardbase: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
• Whisper White: 3 3/4" x 5"
• Old Olive: 3 7/8" x 5 1/8"

Adhere the sunburst to the larger piece of Whisper White cardstock. Then tie I piece of ribbon across the place where the edge of the sunburst meets the white cardstock at the bottom. I used an old piece of wide grosgrain ribbon in Old Olive. 

This pop up card was so much fun to make! Once again, it looks a little complicated, but the basic concept is quite easy. I used the Broadway Birthday stamp set and dies with the Birthday Bonanza Designer Series Paper. All of these items are being discontinued in May and are available only while supplies last. So, if they are on your wish list, make sure to order them today!

This card uses the colors from the DSP: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Mango Melody, Terracotta Tile, Grapefruit Grove, and Daffodil Delight. The cardstock base is Coastal Cabana. 

I started decorating by adding a few balloons to the background. I stamped these on Whisper White cardstock and cut them with the Broadway Lights dies. 
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At this point, you will have one box. Adhere your gift card holder to the front of this box. Add a couple more balloons to the front of the box as well. Be careful with your placement of the balloons. Make sure that you set them in place and then try closing the card. You can't put them very high up because if you do, they will poke out the front of the card when it is closed. When you are sure you have good placement, glue them down. I overlapped balloons and strings to have more areas where they were attached to give them greater stability.

To finish, add the second box in front of the first box. Like the first time, do this in a way so that the open edges are in the back and on the bottom so that they don't show. If you want to, you could add additional images to the front of this box as well.

This was such a fun card to make! I can't wait to give it to someone for a birthday, graduation, or other celebration! If you'd like to order any of the supplies I used for this card, please click the button below or the shop tab at the top and consider using the current Host Code for a special gift from me.