Valentine’s Day – Vicki Fedor

Hello ScrapbookPal friends! There was a saying when I grew up – “Reading is Fun*damental!” So is this set which includes Pinkfresh Studio – Dies – Floral Tale and Pinkfreah Studio – Stencils – Floral Tale! Just think of all the ways you can use it – books are everywhere and encompass all things, and of course can be very fun. They’re prevalent in schools and places of religion, and used for leisure activities. They can be used to represent comfort or knowledge, stories of our lives, stories of adventure, bedtime stories, or songs like Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page”. So many things! I plan to be using this die set over and over. To start, I wanted to make a card that had the look and feel of old… not super old, but maybe a card my mother would have saved. I wanted a soft, muted palette and intricate details. Pearls for sure.

I selected colors from the Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks. Old Paper, of course, then soft pinks and yellows. I chose my favorite good quality smooth white cardstock. The stencils made it so easy. One thing I had to get used to was that you don’t stamp anything first. There is no outline stamp to line up the stencils. You just begin coloring with the first stencil. You can see that there is a triangle at the top of the book, and two more in the middle of the stencils. These are the keys that you line up the other stencils with, and eventually the die. I used Old Paper, Aged Mahogany, and Lisa Horton Crafts Cloud 9 Metallic Solid Gold for the book. I thought of those old books that had gold on the edges of the pages. For the flowers, I added Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick, along with the Aged Mahogany. All three of these pinks are available in Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Mini Oxide Ink Pads – Kit 13. I finished the flowers and leaves with Squeezed Lemonade, Shabby Shutters, and Peeled Paint. A very smart and crafty woman once suggested to make more pieces than you think you need – “It’s only paper”. So I made another set of flowers with yellows, including Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber, and Dried Marigold. I then had plenty of pieces to choose from while arranging my final layout.

Thinking about the background, I used a piece of water color paper and the “ink smooshing” technique to create an old time none-the-worse-for-wear background. I embellished it with the lovely cover plate die, Pinkfresh Studios – Dies – Petal Trellis Coverplate. I wanted to bring out the gold edges on the book, so I layered this background over a gold piece of cardstock. I used the same gold cardstock to cut an oval frame from Spellbinders – Stylish Ovals Collection – Dies – Essential Stylish Ovals to use as an anchoring point for my book.

I applied Glossy Accents to the ribbon bookmark. It added shine and dimension, and a touch of sophistication. It’s all in the tiny details!

I chose a sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio – Clear Stamps – Heartfelt Chapters, stamped with Versamark Ink, embossed in gold, and then used the coordinating Pinkfresh Studio – Dies – Heartfelt Chapters.

I assembled the card using Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares Variety Pack, Scrapbook Adhesives Thin Foam Squares Variety Pack, and Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue to attach everything to my A2 white cardbase. A few pearls from Honey Bee Stamps – Pearl Stickers – Merry Moments were the perfect final addition.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I can’t wait to see how these sets are used by you! My supplies are listed below, and available at ScrapbookPal.com!

Products used in this project, available at ScrapbookPal.com:
Pinkfresh Studio – Dies – Floral Tale
Pinkfresh Studio – Stencils – Floral Tale
Pinkfresh Studio – Clear Stamps – Heartfelt Chapters
Pinkfresh Studio – Dies – Heartfelt Chapters
Pinkfresh Studios – Dies – Petal Trellis Coverplate
Spellbinders – Stylish Ovals Collection – Dies – Essential Stylish Ovals
Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Mini Oxide Ink Pads – Kit 13 (Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Aged Mahogany, Barn Door)
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad – Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber , Dried Marigold, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Old Paper
Lisa Horton Crafts – Cloud 9 Metallic Ink Pad – Limited Edition 3 Pack – Silver, Gold, Copper
Tsukineko – Versamark Watermark – Stamp Pad
Spellbinders Mini Blending Brush Set
Altenew – Micro Blending Brush Set
Ranger Ink – Mini Ink Blending Tool
WOW! – Embossing Powder – Super Fine – Metallic Gold Rich
Ranger Ink – Glossy Accents, 0.5 oz.
Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue – The Bundle (with precision tip)
Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares Variety Pack
Scrapbook Adhesives Thin Foam Squares Variety Pack
Honey Bee Stamps – Pearl Stickers – Merry Moments

Hello ScrapbookPal friends! Out with Christmas, in with Valentine’s Day! And what is more fitting than a new Lawn Fawn stamp set featuring …moles!? Well, probably lots of things, but these guys are pretty cute, and sure to be the most unique card your Valentine will receive! The Lawn Fawn – Clear Stamps – A Mole Lot of Love comes with coordinating dies (Lawn Fawn – Lawn Cuts – A Mole Lot of Love) and stencils (Lawn Fawn – Coloring Stencils – A Mole Lot of Love), and also an add-on stamp set that I did not use for this card. I have a ton of moles in my yard. They don’t seem to look anything like these guys up close, but they don’t really bother anything, (except my tulip bulbs) and I tell myself that they are providing underground aeration to my grass. Forget about that, let’s get into this adorable card!

I love all of the Lawn Fawn critters, but honestly did not think I needed the stencils, because I always thought of coloring them with Copic markers. Talk about a *real* game changer! Now that there are many brands with mini and micro blending brushes, the stencils are a “must have”. They make ink blending on these little guys so very easy. I also used some texture paste with them, and I love the effect! Since I wasn’t quite sure where I was going with this card initially, I started by stamping and ink blending. I used Distress ink in Brushed Corduroy and Tattered Rose for the moles, applied through the stencils with Spellbinders Mini Blending Brush Set and Altenew – Micro Blending Brush Set. The noses got a dab of Copic Sketch Marker E29, also through the stencil. I love all of these small brushes, but my go-to favorite seems to be the Altenew 7mm brush. The stencils gave me the idea of having the flowers coming up from snow, instead of dirt, which is what I think they intended with this tiny stamp. After I colored the flowers with the coloring stencils I added Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Grit Paste – Snowfall with a palette knife (or use your finger). I thought I should have die cut the flowers first before applying the snow grit paste, but as long as the paste is dry, it worked fine adding it on, and then running it through my Big Shot to cut it out. I also tried it by cutting out the die first. You’ll need to use a grip mat to hold it in place to apply the paste if you do cut it out first.

Initially, I thought of having my moles sitting under the Lawn Fawn – Lawn Cuts – Heart Blooms flower, but decided to have them snug and cozy underground, because there would be snow on the ground, after all. I used Spellbinders – Stylish Ovals Collection – Dies – Essential Stylish Ovals to make them a little burrow.

To go with my late winter theme, I applied Distress Oxide Ink in Stormy Sky with a blending brush for part of the background, and then used another new Lawn Fawn stencil, Lawn Fawn – Stencils – Outline Hearts, to add some interest to the tan (Spellbinders Fawn) background on the rest of the card. This was done with Distress Ink Antique Linen. I ended up covering up most of it, but I still think it added some texture instead of just having plain tan cardstock.

I assembled the Lawn Fawn – Lawn Cuts – Heart Blooms piece for the “above ground” focal point. At first I had selected Mint cardstock, but I ended up switching it out for Rainforest. The mint was too washed out against the sky. I used the smaller heart dies for the cardstock, and layered them on vellum hearts cut from the larger heart dies.

I also stamped and die cut a few of the dirt mounds without the flowers on brown paper, and used a thin layer of Ranger Ink – Texture Paste – Transparent Matte to give the dirt in their burrow some texture. I cut a piece of red (Wild Berry) cardstock for a frame, and used Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares Variety Pack, Scrapbook Adhesives Thin Foam Squares Variety Pack, and Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue to attach everything to my A2 white cardbase.