I'm so excited to participate in a blog and Instagram hop to celebrate my friend and team leader, Rachel Tessman! When a Stampin' Up Demonstrator achieves a milestone $1 million in sales, as Rachel did back in 2021, she or he gets to help design a new signature stamp set. Rachel's stamp set is called Layering Leaves and is now available. I love that she coordinated it with the existing Bough punch, making it acccessible even if you don't have a die-cutting machine.
I wanted to create a monochromatic card in one of my favorite colors, Pretty Peacock, and one way to add interest when using a limited color palette is to play with textures. I started by punching out 9 of the large leaf clusters from Basic White cardstock and then gluing them to a Basic White layer. I blended in Pretty Peacock ink all over, concentrating more color towards the bottom. Next, I added a bit of water over the surface using my Stampin' Spritzer to create a speckled effect, spraying farther away to make smaller droplets and closer in to make larger ones.
For a more finished look, I used a scrap piece of cardstock to then create a large debossed rectangle in the middle of the card, which creates a subtle frame around the perimeter. To do this, I centered scrap cardstock on top of the decorative layer, placed them both on top of a 3-D embossing folder, and ran them through my Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine using the usual sandwich of plates. You can also do this with a standard embossing folder, though that is a different combination of plates. Now please note that each machine has a different tolerance, and some may be tighter than others by just a very tiny fraction of an inch. If this configuration feels too tight to go through your machine, don't force it--it's best to skip.
I stamped some of the leaves and buds from the Layering Leaves stamp set and punched them out; the large single leaf was fussy-cut. I also blended Pretty Peacock ink onto vellum and punched out leaf shapes from that. I stamped one of the sentiments onto Basic White cardstock and used a 2" circle punch to cut it out. Isn't that such a pretty font? I also cut out a circle of Pretty Peacock cardstock using the Stylish Shapes die and used it as a mat behind the sentiment.
Finally, I added Lost Lagoon Bordered Ribbon and Pretty Peacock Adhesive-Backed Sequins to embellish the card.
Measurements:
-Pretty Peacock cardstock
5-1/2” (W) x 8-1/2” (H), scored at 4-1/4" along the long side
-Basic White cardstock
TWO 5-1/4" (W) x 4" (H) (one for inside)
-Scrap cardstock (for debossing only)
4-3/4" (W) x 3-1/2" (H) for left panel
-Lost Lagoon Bordered Ribbon
7-1/4"
I had a lot of fun playing with this bundle, and I'm just so thrilled for Rachel! I hope you'll follow the hop to see other creative ways to enjoy the Layering Leaves stamp set.
Shoppable Supply List: