Introducing Floral Frenzy

Melissa Bickford is a self proclaimed floral junkie, along with many of our customers since all of our floral sets are some of our best sellers!  Melissa has designed a really great flower basics set with several clever design characteristics that you are sure to love.  I am still on a path to discovery with this set myself and I have already been playing with it for a few days!  SO many possibilities!

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For my project today I thought I would combine Melissa’s new Floral Frenzy set with our NEW Linen Vellum Cardstock (described in detail in the post above!).  I stamped one of the daisy images using Summer Sunrise ink, followed by the centers in Dark Chocolate.  These particular centers are one of my FAVORITE things about this set.  They are made out of a series of small dots.  The realism & texture that they add is just SO beautiful.   They would be well-suited for use with the rock-n-roll technique for sure!
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After completing the stamping I flipped the linen vellum over, preferring the more muted look.  I just LOVE the understated texture & softness of this linen vellum.  It is such an amazing product to work with!!!  And I love how it is stiff enough to use as a card base.  Can’t wait to get to play some more with it!

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After completing my pattern with the GORGEOUS daisies & their coordinating centers, I moved onto an accent strip for the cover of my card.  I really wanted to use polka dots, so I stamped Polka Dot Basics onto Vintage Cream cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink.  I didn’t feel that the finished piece had the same softness as the floral pattern, so I pulled out my favorite vintage pad, New Canvas Palette!  I added Frayed Burlap Distress ink to the edges of my strip first.  Then I pressed the entire New Canvas ink pad lightly onto the surface of the polka dot strip, picking it up and tapping it down the entire length.  The slight canvas texture of the pad is layered on top of the pattern, creating a muted version of the original look.  You can do this technique with pre-printed papers as well if you fell they need to be toned down a bit, too!  Love that New Canvas pad!

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After I was done with my accent strip, it was time to create a sentimental focal point.  Melissa has picked a beautiful font combination for Floral Frenzy.  I love a good script paired with clean font!  This sentiment in particular is so versatile.  It would be perfect to support a friend or family member going through a loss, death or any kind of difficult time.  It’s always hard to make cards for those types of occasions and I think this fits the bill perfectly. 

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To frame my chosen sentiment, I decided to use one of the dies included in the Ribbon Tags Trio from Spellbinders.  I am pleased to inform you that the night of our release we will begin carrying Tags Trio, Labels Trio and Double Ended Tags.  The Ribbon Tags Trio will not be here in time for this release, but we will be carrying it as soon as possible.  All of these dies were designed by our very own Debbie Olson and we are just THRILLED to be carrying them!

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One thing I discovered about these is that after you have die cut the cardstock and done the embossing, it is easiest to leave the die in place when adding a sentiment.  It gives you a smaller space to center your image in and makes it much
easier!  Try it and you will see how much you love the results!

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The final step was to put all of my bits and pieces together to create a card!   I was really happy with how well the different subtle design elements combined to create a really soothing porject, which is really what you want to communicate with a card of this type

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One last detail that I wanted to point out was the layered buttons I used.  Have you tried this before?  I have done it a few times and always love the results.  I threaded twine through both buttons to tie them together and then attache the *stack* to my project with a glue dot.  It is fun to mix and match different sizes, colors & textures with your buttons when you do something like this.

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Want to see even MORE of Floral Frenzy?

–Melissa has another amazing project to entice you.
–Lisa shows you how the set can be used on something OTHER than a card.

And don’t forget to see what else Alli has cooked up with Wise Owl!

One more little surprise.  Candice has been working on a little something that I think you will keep you buzzy!  An official announcement will come later on this weekend!

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Stamps: Floral Frenzy & Polka Dot Basics
Ink: New Canvas, Summer Sunrise & Dark Chocolate Palette, Frayed Burlap Distress from Ranger
Paper: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Linen Vellum from Papertrey
Other: Buttons from Foo-fa-la, hemp twine, scalloped scissors from SU!, Dark Chocolate Satin ribbon, Tag die from Spellbinders, sewing machine & thread.