Magnolia Gap Card

The large magnolia branch is perfect for bridging the space on the front of a gap card. The flower and the long sentiment I added, hold the two sides of the card together so that it opens as one piece.

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Tutorial - Stamping A Forest Canopy

Have you ever taken the time to look up through a forest, big trees all around you, and a sliver of sky above? Today I want to share a fun and easy tutorial for stamping a canopy scene using the tall pine tree images from the new Treeline set of stamps.

1. You'll need a piece of smooth cardstock that fits the front of your card blank, the Treeline and Basic Sentiments sets of clear stamps, two green ink pads - one light and one dark, some Versamark ink, and gold embossing powder. Grab a sheet of scrap paper or a non-stick mat to protect your work surface while you stamp.

2. Stamp and emboss a sentiment in the centre of your cardstock. Opt for a stamp that is compact rather than long as it works better with the canopy effect.

3. Place one of the tall trees on your acrylic block and add some light green ink with a few touches of the darker green for interest. Start stamping around the cardstock, positioning the tip of the tree so that it points to the centre of your sentiment. I chose the "o" as a point to aim for.

4. Work your way around the cardstock keeping the trees unevenly spaced. Vary the heights a little bit, but most of the images should be almost touching the sentiment.

5. Switch stamps so you don't end up with a tiled effect. Stamp around again using the light green ink with touches of dark, and keep the trees pointing to the centre of the cardstock. Repeat the process with the third tall tree image.

6. Time to change the inks. This time, load your stamp with the light green ink then apply more dark green over the top. It's okay to have a few places with just the light green showing, but you want to have more dark than the previous round of stamping. The tops of your trees should end lower than the light green layer. This adds perspective.

7. Continue stamping with the other two tall trees and the darker ink mix.

8. For the final layer, add only the dark green ink and stamp just the tips of the trees, filling in any obvious gaps. Remember to vary the height and spacing of the trees so you don't end up with a tiled-look.

9. Use a brush and the dark green ink to add some extra colour around the outside of the cardstock. This will help brighten the sky and give the effect of looking up through a dark forest.

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Magnolias Cut Sheets

Gorgeous magnolia flowers, in shades of pink or yellow, to grace the front of your hand made cards, layouts and journal pages. Use the coordinating stamps to add embossed borders and the matching cutting dies for precise and easy cutting.

Treeline

Everyone needs a few versatile tree stamps in their collection. They're perfect for beautiful Christmas cards, masculine birthday greetings, sympathy cards and nature-themed layouts.

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Sleigh Bells

Bring some traditional Christmas festivity to your

holiday cards with our classic sleigh bells stamps and dies!

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New Releases

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"Sleigh Bells" clear stamps and cutting dies

"Treeline" clear stamps

"Magnolias" cut sheets

White and Gold

I like to use lots of texture and dimension on white cards to help distinguish between the layers and elements of the design. A little touch of gold doesn't hurt either, and helps to elevate the card even more.

 

For You

I thought I was being rather clever by creating "bones" with white Nuvo drops. Although they started out quite promising, they were rather sad looking once they'd fully dried. Next time, I'll create them in stages and leave each part to dry before adding more.

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A Touch of Gold

I've been into the scrap drawer again, and this time I've upped my game with a little bit of gold cardstock between each of the patterned paper strips. The most difficult part was the thin gold border around the outside. It would have been far simpler to use a large piece of gold card, but I really wanted to do it all with off cuts.

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Old Boy

A fun card for a family member with a great sense of humour!

Hound Dog

Just an old hound dog stopping by to say "happy birthday!"

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Simply Circles

I've been wanting to try this technique for ages, but always forget about it when I sit at my craft table. It's a simple matter of punching circles of various sizes, cutting them in half, layering them together, and arranging them on either side of a cardstock strip. You can get different effects by altering the positions of the top circles relative to those on the bottom. It's a great way to use up scraps too!

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