NC Demos June Blog Hop – Forever Greenery Ink Blending

Welcome to the NC Demos June Blog hop!  I hope you just came from Ariel Matera’s post and that you loved her project as much as I did!  Thank you so much for stopping by to see the card that I am going to share this month.

Our theme this month is a very fun and creative one – Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.  How fun is that!?  You’re going to need to give me a little leeway as far as how I interpreted the theme 🙂  Here goes –

  • Something old – The Stitched Rectangles dies and Stitched Shapes dies.  I love these sets so much!
  • Something new – Amazing products from the new Forever Greenery Suite.  The Forever Fern stamp set, Greenery Embossing Folders, Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty Paper, and the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper were used to make the card.
  • Something borrowedOkay, here’s where I used a slightly loose interpretation 🙂  You know that there are literally tons of ideas on Pinterest and other social media platforms that have fantastic examples for creating projects with the Forever Greenery Suite.  Well, I looked at many of the amazing projects that have been shared and used elements from several cards to make the design that I’m sharing.
  • Something blue – This one was easy since I used the gorgeous Pretty Peacock ink to stamp the foliage on the background and also the sentiment.

With that introduction, please take a look at the card below.

There are so many layers and textures that are involved in this card.  It is really fun to make.  Here are a few steps that you can consider if you want to make this card or something similar –

  • Start with a card base made with Whisper White cardstock cut to 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, scored at 4 1/4″ on the 8 1/2″ side.
  • The next layer is a piece of Pretty Peacock cardstock cut to 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″.  This piece will be the layer that you see around the Designer Series Paper (DSP).  It also will give you the die cut frame around the focal point piece.  Use the second largest die from the Stitched Rectangles die collection to die cut a stitched rectangle from the Pretty Peacock piece.  There will be a gaping hole in the middle of the Pretty Peacock piece behind the DSP, but nobody will know 🙂

  • Cut a piece of the Forever Greenery DSP to 4″ x 5 1/4″.  I really like the subtle pattern in the DSP that I chose and think it provides a really nice background for a busy design on the front of the card.
  • The focal point starts with a piece of Whisper White cardstock.  I used a piece that was about 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″.  This piece will be die cut before adding to the card front.
  • The background ink blending is done by masking two straight lines on the right and left vertical sides of the piece.  I used copy paper and attached the paper on top of the focal piece with washi tape.  The inks that were used for the ink blending are Just Jade (on the top) and Pear Pizzazz (on the bottom).  If you would like to see a very informal video that I did on ink blending, please click here.
  • After the ink blending is completed, cut the area you want to use as your focal point by die cutting a stitched rectangle with the third largest die from the Stitched Rectangles die collection.
  • Then, stamp two of the foliage pieces from the Forever Fern stamp set with Pretty Peacock ink.
  • The focal piece is then embossed with one of the embossing folders that is included in the Greenery Embossing Folders combinationThis textured background adds so much without being overpowering.

  • This is a great point to adhere your layers together.  Start with the large Pretty Peacock layer adhered directly to the card base.  Continue with the remaining layers adhering each directly to the prior layer of the card.
  • The pictures below show the three layers that provide the background for the focal piece.  When they are adhered together, the gaping hole in the larger frame is not visible 🙂
  • To finish the card, add some of the foliage that is included in the Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty Paper.  Remember – You have two options for colors on pieces in this collection.  One side is gold, and the other side is white.  Also, you can cut the pieces into sizes that work for your project.
  • The last touch on the card is the sentiment.  “HELLO” is from the Forever Fern stamp set.  It is stamped onto Whisper White cardstock with Pretty Peacock ink and then die cut with the smallest oval in the Stitched Shapes die collectionDimensionals help pop up the sentiment to give one more layer of depth.

I hope you enjoy making cards using this project as an inspiration.  Fair warning – You will definitely become addicted to the new Forever Greenery Suite the more you use it.

Now, hop on over to Amy Kinler’s post I know she is going to share something amazing with all of us.  Below is a list of everyone who is participating in this month’s NC Demos blog hop.  Be sure to visit everyone’s post!

NC June Blog Hoppers:

Tina Lesson
Toni Campana
Jo Anne Hewins
Ariel Matera
Laurie Meier <– YOU ARE HERE
Amy Kinler
Tracy Lewis
Sue Root
Tracie Evans Langley
Libby Foreman
Martinette Horner

The main products I used to make my card are shown below.  If you click on any picture, you’ll go directly to my on-line store.

Happy stamping!
Laurie