Monochromatic Betterpress

These are my second projects with the February Betterpress Society plates, "Bloom with Happiness".

I wanted to do a monochromatic design, so reached for my Simple Stories Colour Vibe 'Winter' paper pad - and each card just takes one sheet.  I pressed the frame onto the plain side of the paper with Distress Oxide inks.  Vintage Photo/Walnut Stain on the taupe card, and Evergreen Bough with a black sentiment on the teal card.  For the taupe version, I used a lighter shade of cardstock for the sentiment, as it was getting a little lost against the background.

After die cutting out the middles, I used the negative to press the sentiments.

The remaining strip of paper was glued to the card base with the dots face up.  The frames and sentiments were adhered with 1mm foam adhesive, and this made a huge difference!  The shadow created really highlights the pretty floral frame.

You can't really see in the photo, but I inked the centers of the flowers on the taupe card with my Lisa Horton Crafts metallic gold ink.  You could also use a gold gel pen.  *You can get a subscription to the Betterpress Society through the Papercrafter's Workshop.

Cosmos Background

This was one of the first Betterpress plates that I purchased!  And I still adore it.  I had a few panels pressed and ready to go, so wanted to play with colour a little bit.  This is the Cosmos Background.

My first one was just pressed onto regular white cardstock.  I pulled out two Pinkfresh coral inks for the flowers, intending for it to be very soft - but after I inked them with the matching stencils, they were darker than I'd planned.  I switched gears, and used Stormy Sky and Hickory Smoke distress inks to stencil the leaves - and ended up REALLY loving the colour combo.

I matted it onto coordinating cardstock, then inked up the Dashing Sentiment set from Pigment Craft Co in Hickory Smoke, layering it three times for some dimension.  I may add a few gems to this depending on who I send it to?

Card number two was pressed onto a Porcelain Cotton Card Panel.  I wanted something pretty but a bit subdued (not sure if I nailed the subdued part...)

The flowers were inked with Spun Sugar/Picked Raspberry/Milled Lavendar/Seedless Preserves, with Antique Linen in the centers.

For the leaves, I didn't want regular green, so I used Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers - loved the result for this one, too!  For the card design, I die cut a large Essential Arches shape, and glued it down to my black background.  I popped up the outer portion with 3D foam adhesive, and added a black embossed Betterpress sentiment, and added a few black jewels.

Chrysanthemum Slimline

The Chrysanthemum Slimline stamp set from Pinkfresh Studio is one that I haven't used in a while - but I adore how simple cards look just amazing with it.  It's intended as a slimline set, but works really well cut down as an A2.

I stamped the outline in Versafine Onyx Black, and used several Pinkfresh Studio inks with the coordinating stencils to colour it in.  After trimming the panel down, I matted it with a 1/16" black mat, and attached it to the white card base.

The sentiment is from the You Are Everything Sentiments set from Spellbinders, popped up with 3D foam adhesive.

I am playing along with the April Pinkfresh Studio Challenge - Floral theme!

Beautiful Blooms

As ever, I'm on a quest to use up the extra bits and pieces that are sitting around my craft room.  I've had these die cut pieces from Pinkfresh Studio's Beautiful Blooms coloured up for a few months, so I am happy to get them put onto a card!

The blooms were all inked with Pinkfresh Studio inks, and I paired them with a sentiment from a different PFS set, Charming Floral Border - that I white embossed onto some black cardstock.

I mounted the blooms on some patterned paper from my stash, and then onto some pale green cardstock.  A few black jewels finished it off.

I am playing along with the Pinkfresh Studio April challenge - which is Floral Frenzy!

PCW Sketch Challenge

The Papercrafter's Workshop has a monthly sketch challenge, so I am playing along with April's sketch today.  I am in 'use up' mode lately, so I pulled out these floral bits (Citrus Bloom by Pinkfresh Studio), that I had inked up a few months ago, and used them up!

I cut my oval out of some linen textured white cardstock, and inked up the top edge in pale yellow, and the bottom in pale green to coordinate with the flowers.  The sentiment is the Serenade Sentiments die set from Spellbinders, cut in a pale green cardstock that I did an ombre ink effect on, and layered it with a second die cut for some added height.

I am using the Inspirational Easter paper pack from Art Impressions, and I added a few irridescent jewels for some added sparkle.

Bloom with Happiness

The February Betterpress Society plates are Bloom with Happiness.  I made my first card as another Pocket Shaker!  

I noticed that the flowers were mostly on the inner edge of the plate, and the foliage mostly on the outside.  So I decided to do some ink blending with Distress Oxide inks, using Wilted Violet on the center of the plate, then did a row of Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn around the outside - in a sort of circular pattern.  I darkened the edges with some Rustic Wilderness, and wasn't loving the Salty Ocean, so I covered most of it lightly with Blueprint Sketch - and love the final effect.  I used the coordinating die to cut out the center portion of the image, and pressed one of the plates from the Sentiment add-on set in the same inks.

To assemble my shaker, I pressed a piece of white cardstock with a pierced plate from Altenew, and attached my sentiment to it before placing it face down in a A2 Shaker Cover from Pink & Main.  I sealed three sides of the cover, leaving the top edge open, and added Diamond Confetti (also Pink & Main) and some micro glass beads from my stash.  I don't put a ton in my shakers - as long as they move well and make noise, I'm happy.  I sealed the top edge, and adhered my pressed panel to the front, after fussy cutting around the outside of it.

I used a sturdy double sided adhesive to attach my shaker to a card base.  All supplies and a Betterpress Society subscription can be obtained through the Papercrafter's Workshop!

Folk Floral Stem Wedding Card

I am in need of a wedding card, so I pulled out the Folk Floral Stem set from Pinkfresh Studio.

I stamped the image in Lisa Horton Crafts Copper Pot ink (lovely metallic shimmer!), then used the coordinating stencil to shade it in using 3 Pinkfresh Studio ink colours.  It was cut out with the coordinating die, and layered with another white die cut to give it some extra stability.

For the background, I ink blended the same three colours onto some white cardstock, then ran it through my die cut machine with the Dotted Tile Debossing Cover Plate from Altenew - which gives it the pierced design.  I spattered it with some Frayed Burlap Distress Spray and some of the matching inks.  To complement the warm colours, I mounted it onto a panel of rose gold metallic cardstock, that also shows through the tiny perforations on the panel.  I used the same cardstock to cut out the Scripty Sentiment dies from Spellbinders, and added two layers of cardstock to bulk them up a bit.

After adhering everything, I added a few champagne pearls from Pinkfresh Studio to finish it off.