All Italian XII

Hello everyone,

Today I’m posting the last of the Italian card series I've been working on for the past week.

The background image is Stampin’ Up You’ve Got This stamped in Altenew Frayed Leaf.  The images are Altenew Painted Flowers stamped on Recollections White with Altenew Coral Berry, Forest Glades, Frayed Leaf, Frosty Pink, Jet Black, Moss and Ruby Red.  The images were cut with the coordinating Altenew die.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on Bazzill Black.  The embellishment is Marianne Design Butterflies.

A few weeks back I order the coordinating die cut for the Altenew Painted Flowers stamp set and I thought this was the perfect time to play.  I'm thrilled with this card.  I love the hints of black in the flowers and layering the sentiment with more black just adds more pop.  I really love these painted flowers.  They are multi-step but really don't have to be perfectly stamped to get a great result.  Having the ability to die cut just adds more layout options.  One of my favourite cards in this series.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

All Italian XI

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is as different from yesterday’s Italian card as I could possibly imagine.

The printed papers are Stampin’ Up Birds of a Feather.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on Stampin’ Up Crumbcake.  The banners are punched from Recollections White that was stamped with Close To My Heart Brushstrokes stamped in Altenew Dusk and Ruby Red, and Stampin’ Up Crushed Curry.  The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles. 

I think one of the things that makes this card so very interesting is the layers of patterns.  It's subtle, but still visible enough to add interest.  I didn't originally intend to add banners but had planned a stamped background for the sentiment.  I just couldn't get it to work so punched the banner from the stamped background.  The colours of the banners are meant to replicate the colours of the birds.  It's a little strong for the subtle colours of the paper but I can live with it.  A pretty decent card given I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

All Italian X

Hello everyone,

Today’s Italian card post is a little different that my usual.

The printed paper is Kaisercraft Elegance ‘Boho’ layered on Close To My Heart Juniper and Recollections White.  The images are Stampin’ Up Four Feathers, Close To My Heart gold heat embossed, and die cut with Sizzix Feathers Framelits.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Juniper.

I've always loved feather cards even though I resisted the stamps and dies for quite a while.  I really wanted to use this unusual feather paper and thought gold embossed feathers would be the perfect combination.  It's not exactly as I'd hoped.  I think it may be too much of a good thing.  The other issue I had was finding coordinating paper.  The Juniper works pretty good but I would have loved to have a dark teal as I think the entire card would have popped just that little bit more.  It's not a terrible card but I don't think it's necessarily my best either.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

All Italian VII

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is another Italian card in the hostess gift series I’ve been crafting.

The patterned paper is Stampin’ Up Shades of Spring layered on So Saffron and Pretty In Pink.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font.  The butterfly is Joy Crafts Vintage Flourishes die 6003/0023 cut from So Saffron.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Strips.

I really love pink and yellow together which is probably what drew me to this paper in the first place.  Unfortunately the scale of these flowers is quite large for cards.  I had to try a few different butterfly dies to find one which I liked.  This flourished one is maybe a little over the top but it's not too bad overall.  I'm happy with the final result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle