Bright, bold botanicals

We are definitely having a fall day today. It's been cool, dreary, and rainy, and while I don't mind the weather, it does seem to be affecting my mood a bit. So I'm going to create a little sunshine by sharing a few of those summery cards I mentioned in my last post. Here are some bright and bold botanicals:

Supplies:
Stamps: Rustic Botanicals (Essentials by Ellen), Tiny Words Birthday (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Poppy Parade, textured Bermuda Bay card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!); Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Rustic Botanicals dies (Essentials by Ellen), Stitched Rectangles Thinlits (Sizzix), sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

I think the Rustical Botanicals stamp set is one of my favorite sets. I love the different styles of flowers and leaves. But even more, I love that I can create a bright, colorful card just by stamping; I don't need fancy techniques or a lot of coloring. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those things, too, but I love good old stamping.

I used the same basic supplies for all of these cards, so I'll just give a brief rundown of each style. I started by selecting which images I wanted to use from the set and then choosing one ink color for each image. For this first card, I stamped the images on white card stock and cut them out with the coordinating dies. Using foam tape, I adhered the pieces to a panel of white card stock I had cut out with a stitched rectangle die. I adhered the whole panel to a white card base and added a twine bow for a simple embellishment.

For these cards and the ones below, I randomly stamped the botanical images all over a full sheet of white card stock. Then using a stitched rectangle die, I cut out four panels, one for each card. For these two cards, I mounted the panels on neutral card bases (one black, one white). I cut smaller stitched rectangles out of white card stock, stamped a birthday sentiment on each and then added a few die-cut images around the sentiments. I adhered each of those panels to a card base and added a bunch of clear sequins.

For these two cards, I mounted the background panels on black card stock to create a narrow border and then adhered them to bright card bases (one Poppy Parade, one textured Bermuda Bay). I finished the cards in the same way as the previous two: sentiment on smaller rectangle surrounded by die-cut images and sparkly sequins.

I hope these bright botanicals brought a little sunshine into your day! Thanks for stopping by!