Wedding Card

Good Morning Paper Gardeners.   

One of my granddaughters was married last week and this is the card I designed for her wedding.  

I created a 5x7 inch frame, using instructions from one of Susan's Garden Club Facebook Videos.  In the background is a piece of burgundy card stock - this is one of the University colors where she met her husband seven years ago.  An older Spellbinders die set was used to die cut the doily.  There is a bar across the upper part of the frame to divide the bouquet from the wedding elements.  I purchased the wedding elements from the craft store.  On the bottom of the frame, I used small number stamps to add the date of their wedding.

Shannon's bouquet was white peonies and white roses.

I used Susan's rose die set to create three small roses.  They were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, shaped using her Flower Tool Kit and assembled using Kids Choice Glue.

The Peony die set was used to create one white peony.  It was also created using Susan's Specialty Cardstock.  

Using Susan's Fern and Victorian Garden Foliage die sets, greenery was added behind the arrangement.  NOTE:  The Victorian Garden release will be available March 10.  

Spirea Tutorial

Hello Paper Gardeners.  Today I wanted to create an arrangement using Susan's Spirea die set.  I usually am not very happy with my spirea because it appears kind of flat.  I wanted to figure out a way to make a nice full branch.  I have a ton of small styrofoam balls, that I usually use to create berries, and wondered if I could glue them to the spirea stem to help give them fullness.  So I decided to experiment.

First I will tell you about this card.  It is a 6x6 inch card.  I used a piece of design paper from my stash for the background.  For texture, I used the Spellbinders Lisette Oval Shadowbox Frame (S5-391).  I laid all the dies on a piece of dark gray cardstock and ran through my Platinum die cut machine.  The ovals were glued to the center of the card.

Using all Susan's Garden die sets, the rose, daisies, spirea, berry branch, and ferns were die cut.  The pieces were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored, and shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  Kids Choice Glue was used to assemble.  One of Susan's ladybugs was die cut, colored and added to one of the leaves.  A butterfly from my stash was also added.

SPIREA TUTORIAL

This a picture showing the Spirea branch covered with styrofoam balls, and the branch on the right shows the finished branch.  Susan's Garden Spirea die set was used.

l.  Item needed are some styrofoam balls in a ziplock bag.  I put mine in a small tray to try and catch any that fall out.  You need a thick glue such as Kids Choice Glue, something to help spread the glue on the branch - I am using one of the Silli Pod tools, and two die cut spirea branches that are glued together.  

2.  Spread the glue over all three stems of the spirea, using the tool to be sure the flower portion of the stem is all covered with glue.  

3.  Place the stem inside the bag with the styrofoam balls and press it down so the styrofoam ball adhere to it.  If the glue is thick, when you press the balls down, they will adhere to the glue.  

4.  Lay the stem over, face down,  on your work mat and add glue to the other side of the stem and repeat step 3.  Add glue to the sides with the tool and place styrofoam balls on the sides so the stem is fully covered.  Allow to dry.  Clean up the little styrofoam balls that are floating everywhere.  😁

 

5.  There are two sizes of little flowers for the spirea -- They have been shaped before getting to this point. I have them separated in two separate little trays.  For this step you need a thinner glue such as Bearly Art Glue.  Place a dab on the non-stick mat.  Pick up the little flowers with the tweezers and lightly dip just the center bottom of the little flower in the glue, and place on the stem that is covered with styrofoam balls.  Cover both sides with the little flowers, including the sides, to create a nice full stem.  

 

Again, here is a picture showing the stem covered with styrofoam balls and on the right the finished stem.  Once the stem is dry, I used a light green pen to add a dot in the center of each little flower.

I know this is an extra step adding the styrofoam balls, but I like the results.  

Gerber Flowers with Berries

Today I have another Gerber Daisy card.  

This is a 6x6 inch card.  The background is embossed with the Altenew Basic Plaid 3-D embossing folder.  I used an old  oval die to die cut the oval with the tiny holes around it.  I then used oval two dies and cut a small purple frame to glue around the oval opening.  A piece of design paper was glued behind the opening.

Susan's  Gerber daisies were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock and colored with OLO Markers.  There are Prills in the center of each flower.  You can watch Susan's YouTube Video for instruction on how to create these pretty flowers or watch her Susan's Garden FaceBook Live videos.

Susan's Fern die set was used to die cut the Maidenhair Ferns.  They were colored with OLO markers and shaped with Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  Susan's Berry Branch die was used to for the Berry Branches.  I colored small styrofoam balls with alcohol ink and attached to the berry branch.  There are two branches of berries that have been cut apart and placed behind the arrangement.  

Susan has a Ladybug die in many of her die sets.  One was die cut, colored and attached to one of the leaves.  Clear Crystal Glaze was added to make her shiny. 

Double Diamond Popup Card

I love the challenge of creating different shaped cards and adding dimensional flowers.  This is a 6x6 inch card.  It is a Double Diamond Popup Card.  I found the instructions on Sam Calcott's YouTube Video.   

For the side panels, I used Susan's Bamboo 3-D Embossing Folder and cut them down to fit.  They were die cut using green metallic cardstock.  They are mounted onto white cardstock.  For the small triangles on center section, I used the same metallic green cardstock.  After cutting the pieces to fit, they were placed in the Altenew Garden Harmony 3-D Embossing Folder.  For the center diamond shapes, I embossed a piece of white cardstock using the Altenew Angled Mosaic 3-D Embossing Folder.  It was cut to fit and glued to the top of the diamond shapes.  

On the side panels, I used Susan's Carolina Allspice die set and created the branches of flowers.  They were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored with OLO markers, and shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  The card was closed to the 6x6 shape and held down using the reverse tweezers so I could glue the Carolina Allspice down so it didn't intefere with the diamond when the card is closed.  

For the top diamond, Susan's Cactus Dahlia die set was used for the flower.  It was die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored with OLO markers and shaped with the Flower Tool Kit.  

One of the stamps from Susan's Garden Favorites Stamp Set was used for the Sentiment.  It was stamped using VersaFine Black Ink, clear embossed, then die cut using a square die.  It was backed with a piece of the same green cardstock as the base card and mounted with dimensional tape

This card will fold down and fit in a 6x6 inch clear acrylic box for mailing.  When open, it stands up for a great display card.  

Topical Arrangement

Good Morning Fellow Crafters!   I am so tired of all the cold weather so decided to dream of being somewhere tropical.  My card today is created using Susan's Bird of Paradise, Hybiscus, and Pulmeria Die sets.

For the background, I used Susan's Bamboo Trellis 3-D Embossing Folder.  I used a piece of light green mirror cardstock.  Don't you love that embossing folder!

The Hybiscus was created using the Hybiscus die set .  If you need help in creating any of Susan's flowers, be sure to check out her YouTube Videos.  The flowers were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock and colored using OLO markers.  For the stamen, I glued on small red flat backed pearls on the top and added yellow pollen down on the stem.  

The Bird of Paradise die set was used to create two Bird of Paradise flowers.  They were also die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored and shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  Kids Choice Glue was used to assemble the flowers.  

The Pulmeria die set was used to create the little pulmeria.  A Prill was glued in the center.  

Susan's Rosemary die was used for the extra greenery.  If you watch Susan's YouTube Video she used the Rosemary to resemble Palm branches.  

I want to thank all of you that have used my links below to order your products.  I really appreciate your support.

Quad Easel Card

Good Morning.  Today I created a Quad Easel Card.  I watched a video by Sam Calcott on YouTube.  Here is the LINK for instructions.  It's a fun card to create as each panel is an easel, so the card is very dimensional.  

I have used a variety of flowers I previously created and have not used.  The flowers on the panels are Bee Blossom, Chrysanthemum, Coreopsis, Carolina Allspice and Pansy.  All the flowers were created using Susan's Garden die sets.  

Bird of Paradise, Pulmeria, Kerria Japonica, and Gerber

Good Morning.  Today I have a colorful card.  The Susan's Garden Bird of Paradise, and  Gerber, from the Painters Garden release, plus Kerria Japonica and Pulmeria die sets were used.

This is a 6x6 inch card.  The background was embossed and attached to a piece of green cardstock.  

First I created the beautiful Bird of Paradise.  This looks like it might be a complicated flower to create but Susan has designed the dies so it is very easy.  You will find her tutorial on YouTube for easy instructions.  The pieces were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock.  OLO markers along with a little ink sponging were used to color the pieces.  There are two Bird of Paradise flowers in this arrangement.

From Susan's Tropical Release, the Pulmeria were die cut.  They were die cut using Susan's Speciality Cardstock, colored, and shaped using her Flower Tool Kit.  Kids Choice Glue was used to assemble all these flowers.

The Gerber die set from the new Painter's Garden was used to create one red flower.  This is a very easy flower to create.  The number of pieces to die cut is always shown on each die to make it easy to know how many pieces you need to assemble the flowers.  In the center a few Prills were added.

The Kerria Japonica, from Susan's Spring Flora release, were die cut.  This arrangement has seven little yellow flowers attached to the branches and divided around the arrangement.

In each of Susan's releases, she always includes a little ladybug. She has been die cut, colored and added with a dab of clear crystal glaze on her back.  

To help make this arrangment a little more tropical, I cut green cardstock in very narrow strips, curled the strips around the end of a large brush and tucked them in around the arrangment.

I hope I have given you inspiration to create a pretty arrangement.  With all the bad weather, it is nice to escape to the paper garden.

Arrangement on Bamboo Trellis

Good Morning.   Today I had fun doing something different with Susan's new Bamboo Trellis 3-D Embossing Folder from her Painter's Garden release.

This is a 5x7 inch card.  I first used the Bamboo Trellis embossing folder and embossed a piece of white cardstock.  Before putting it in the folder, I lightly misted the back of the cardstock.  This embossed piece was dried with the heat tool. The cardstock won't cut very well if damp.   I thought It would be fun to have open squares between the bamboo trellis.  I used a 3/4" square die and individually die cut each opening. After die cutting all the little squares, it flattened the 3-D embossing.  I lightly misted the back again and placed it carefully  back in the embossing folder and embossed it again.  The piece was dried again with the heat tool. This took a little bit of time to die cut the squares, but I like the results.  For a background between the trellis, I found a piece of light lavender design paper, that had a faint brick design, in my stash.  The Trellis was cut down to fit the card and the design paper glued to the back of the trellis.   

For the floral arrangement, the Gerber die set was used to create two gerber flowers.  They were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored, and shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  Kids Choice Glue was used to assemble the flowers.  Prills were added to the centers.

The Zinnia die set was used to die cut the five zinnia flowers.  For instructions on how to assemble any of Susan's flowers, you can go to YouTube and search Spellbinders, Susan's Garden.  Susan has created these flowers in previous releases years ago, but these new die sets are improved and make it very quick and easy to create.  

Susan's Berry Branch was die cut twice using watercolor paper and colored light brown.  On one branch I added lavender styrofoam balls for the berries, and the other branch I added dark purple styrofoam balls.  The branches were cut apart and attached under the arrangement.

I am happy with results of die cutting the little squares to help make the beautiful trellis show up really well.  Would you take the time to do this?

Gerber Daisies and Hollyhocks

I am happy you have come to visit today.  One of the flowers from Susan's Garden Painted Garden that I haven't posted yet is the Gerber Daisy.  I have always loved this beautiful flower.  It comes in many different colors.  

This is a 6x6 inch card.  For the background, I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the Altenew Curving Leaves 3-D Embossing Folder.  

Using the Gerber Die Set, two flowers were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock.  They were colored using my new OLO markers then shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  Prills were added to the center of each flower.  You can find Susan's instructions for this flower on her Susan's Garden FaceBook Video at this LINK.  

The Hollyhock die set was used to create the pink Hollyhock flowers.  They were also die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored with OLO markers, shaped using the Flower Tool Kit and assembled using Kids Choice Glue.  At Spellbinders, you can purchase the SILI Glue Pod with sealable lid and three different size SILI brushes.  This is a great container to add some  glue and use the brushes to add small (or large) amounts of glue to your project.

The branch behind the arrangement was die cut with one of the dies in the Foliage & Ladybug die set.  Pink styrofoam balls were glued on for the berries.  The Ladybug was also die cut using the ladybug die in this same set.  Nuvo Clear Crystal Glaze was added to the ladybug.  

The sentiment is a stamp in Susan's Garden Favorites Stamp Set.  It was stamped using VersaFine Black Ink and clear embossed, then die cut using a small scallop square die.  It was attached using dimensional tape.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a fun crafting day!

Framed Pansies

Yesterday on Susan's FaceBook Live, she demonstrated how to create a frame without using dies.  For this post, I created a frame but in the bottom I added a small square piece for one of Susan's Quotes.  Here is the link to Susan's FaceBook Live Video for instructions on how to create the frame.

The frame is 6x8 inches.  On the inside of the frame,I used the Pinkfresh - Heart Grid Hot Foil Plate - to gold foil the little hearts. It was attached to a piece of gold cardstock and glued to the inside of the frame.   The strip in the bottom of the frame is the same size as one side of the frame, but the wide side is placed up - it is glued with one wide side to the back of the frame and one narrow side to the top edge of the bottom frame.  I hope that makes sense.  A strip of metallic gold cardstock was cut and glued around the top edge of the frame plus across the middle of the insert at the bottom of the frame.  One of Susan's quotes was stamped with VersaMark and Gold embossed and added.

A blue scallop oval was die cut and centered inside the frame.  

The new Pansy die set was used to create the three flowers.  They were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored using OLO markers and shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  Kids Choice glue was used to assemble the flowes.  

The Forget Me Not die set was used to die cut the small blue flowers.  If you need help in learning how to create any of Susan's flowers, you can watch Susan's Spellbinders YouTube Videos - just go to You Tube and type in Spellbinders Susan's Garden, and all her videos will come up.  You can scroll down and find the flower(s) you are interested in.  

Spellbinders Gold Embellishments were added to the corners of the frame.

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Carolina Allspice

Good Morning.  I hope you are enjoying all the card samples Susan's Design Team are posting this week using her new Painter's Garden Release from Spellbinders.  Today I have a card using the Carolina Allspice die set.

For the background I used a Quatrefoil die and added a piece of cardstock underneath that was sponged with orange and yellow inks. The cardstock was placed on the Waffle Flower Stencil Mat and the inks blending together with brushes.   Along the bottom,  I drew five scorelines, using a score borard.

The Carolina Allspice die set was used to create the flowers.  They were die cut using Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored maroon with an OLO marker.  The leaves were colored with two shades of green OLO markers.  Both the flowers and leaves were shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit.  A small amount of Kid's Choice Glue was added to the SILI Glue Pod and used to assemble the flowers.  Three branches of the Carolina Allspice were arranged over the die cut background.

A stamp from Susan's Spring Flora Stamp Set was used for the sentiment. It was stamped using black VersaFine Ink and clear embossed.   It was die cut using a framelit layering die and attached using dimensional foam squares.

This is a great die set to add to your Susan's Garden die sets.  It is beautiful used alone plus great to use in a floral arrangement along with other flowers.

Pansies

Hello my friends.  Today I have a card designed using Susan's new Pansy die set.  This is in her new Spellbinders Painters Garden Release.

This is a 6x6 inch card.  I die cut a rectangle on the right side of a 6 inch square card stock, then using the same size and one size larger die, cut a frame to go around the opening to give it a finished look.  A 1/8 inch score line was drawn around the edge of this piece.    Under the opening a piece of yellow design paper was glue on.  This was glued to the card front.

Using the Pansy die set, two differernt colors of panies were created.  They were die cut from Susan's Specialty Cardstock, colored with OLO markers and shaped with tools from  Susan's Tool Kit.  They were assembled using Kids Choice Glue.

Using the Foliage & Ladybug die set, three Eucalyptus branches were die cut, colored and shaped.  They are placed behind the arrangement.

Susan's Berry Branch was die cut and purple berries added.  I used small styrofoam balls that were colored for the berries.  

One of the stamps from Susan's Garden Favorites Stamp Set was used for the sentiment.  It was stamped using Black VersaFine Ink, clear embossed, and cut out the the rectangle die.  It was attached with dimensional tape.

For final embellishment, I added tiny dark purple rhinestones around the left side of the arrangement.

Zinnia Rocker Card

Good Afternoon.  Today I have a card created with Susan's Garden new Zinnia die set.  This is one of the new sets in her Painter's Garden Release.

Since Valentine's Day is not far away, I created a Valentine.  For something different, I decided to create a rocker card.  The large 6" circle was die cut out of red card stock, then a smaller circle was die cut out of white card stock and embossed with the Spellbinders Tile Mosaic 3D embossing folder.  It was cut in half and a piece was glued to the bottom half on both the front and back of the card.  The two smaller red circles were attached in the center with one piece on the front and one piece on the back.  A smaller white scallop edge circle was die cut for both the front and back.  Spellbinders white pearl embellishments were attached on each scallop.  

The Zinnia die set was used to create three red flowers.  They were die cut out of Susan's Specialty Card stock and colored with OLO markers.  Susan's Flower Tool Kit was used to shape the flowers and leaves and Kids Choice Glue was used to assemble the flowers.  I put the glue in the SILI Glue Pod to make it easier to work with the glue.  

One of the sentiments from Susan's Through The Garden Gate stamp set was stamped using black VersaFine Ink and clear embossed.  It was fussy cut and glued to the blottom of the rocker.  

One of Susan's Ladybugs, which is available in several of her die sets, was added to one of the leaves.  Crystal Glaze was added after it was attached.  Since this is a Valentine Cards, I added three small hearts around the sentiment.  

I am happy you are visiting my blog.  I hope I have given you an idea you can use with flowers from Susan's new Painter's Garden Release.

New Susan's Garden Painted Garden Release

Happy New Year Paper Gardeners!   We are starting off the new year with a new release from Susan's Garden.  This release is her Painter's Garden which includes five new flowers -- Bird of Paradise, Carolina Allspice, Gerbera Daisy, Zinnia, and Pansy --  plus a beautiful Bamboo Trellis embossing folder.

My card today showcases the new Bird of Paradise, Carolina Allspice die sets and the Bamboo Trellis embossing folder.  I created a frame, using one of Susan's tutorials, out of design paper from my stash.  On the inside of the frame, I glued in a piece of Kraft cardstock that was embossed with the Bamboo Trellis embossing folder.  To highlight the design, I used a gold rub-on paste over the design.  To highlight the cords on the lattice, I used a brown marker.

To create a vase for this bouquet, I used the Spellbinders Zen Garden Welcome die set.  Its was die cut using gold mirror card stock.   I used the insert that is normally discarded in this die cut for the vase.  It was put on a Score Board and three embossed lines were drawn on the top portion.  On the bottom, a piece of glossy black cardstock was cut into a small strip and attached to the bottom, and Spellbinders gold embellisments added for extra texture.

The Bird of Paradise die set was used to create two flowers.  There is a tutorial by Susan on the 'Susan's Garden Club Budding Paper Gardeners"  FaceBook page on how to create these beautiful flowers.

The new Carolina Allspice die set was used to create the maroon flowers. I always use Susan's Specialty Cardstock to die cut all my flowers and OLO markers were used to color them.  They are shaped using Susan's Flower Tool Kit and Kids Choice Glue used to assemble them.

Susan's Oriental Lily die set was used to create three yellow flowers.  Pollen was added to the end of the stamens.  The lily die set is from Susan's Summer Flora release.

Even though a lot of us have lots of snow and winter weather, we can start thinking about Spring creating these beautiful flowers from  Susan's new Painter's Garden release.  I have the new release linked below.  

Have fun creating with Susan's new release!