Variations on a meadow

I am always intrigued by scene-building stamp sets, but sometimes I find that I have a hard time actually building a scene with them. That's what happened when I bought the stamp set My Meadow, which has a variety of watercolor-style elements that can be combined to make all kinds of scenes. I didn't immediately know what I wanted to make with this set, so I really just had to play with it in order to come up with a few layouts.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: My Meadow, Greetings Mix I (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz card stock; Spring Market 6" x 6" paper pad (Carta Bella)
Ink: Basic Gray, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight, Blueberry Bushel, Soft Sky
Accessories: Magnolia Lane ribbon combo pack, Subtles Candy Dots, foam tape (3M)

I love the wheelbarrow in the My Meadow stamp set, so that's what I used for these first two cards. It's less intimidating to focus on a few elements of a scene-builder set than to try using all the pieces on one card. I stamped the wheelbarrow, flowers, grass, and clouds on a panel of white card stock, added a sentiment at the bottom of each panel, and then matted them with a layer of Pear Pizzazz card stock. 

For the card bases, I used Crumb Cake card stock and added a piece of green-and-white gingham paper on the bottom half of the card. I adhered a piece of neutral ribbon along the top of the printed paper and used foam tape to add the focal panel to each card. I finished off with two light green Candy Dots in the bottom right corner of each card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: My Meadow, Snow Front, Four You
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake card stock
Ink: Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky; Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); journaling pen
Accessories: Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, linen thread, black/white twine, foam tape (3M)

For these two card I wanted a design that was a little more masculine; I was putting together a group of cards to send to a nursing home last spring and most of my "thinking of you" cards are flowery or feminine. I combined My Meadow with Snow Front, a similar style stamp set, to create the woodsy scene on the left and the monochromatic card on the left. These took a lot more "playing" to create than the first two cards, and I practiced several arrangements on scratch paper first.

Once everything was stamped, I mounted the woodsy panel on Early Espresso card stock, added Wink of Stella glitter to give it a little sparkle (see below), and then tied a piece of linen thread around the panel. For the monochromatic panel, I used a journaling pen to draw a frame and then added black-and-white twine and a bow. I used foam tape to adhere each panel to a card base and stamped "thinking of you" along the bottom of the card.

The last two cards have a little different style. I made them during a Face Time craft day challenge with a friend. She chose a few stamp sets, and I selected several color combinations -- without knowing what the other person had picked -- and then we had to make cards with those items. For the cards made with My Meadow we had to use black, white, and one other color (we could switch the color between cards). That was definitely a challenge! Here are the two I created:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: My Meadow, Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight card stock; Golden Honey Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Rectangle masking stencils (Taylored Expressions), Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Shapes and Layering Ovals dies, yellow enamel dots (Eyelet Outlet), Halloween Night enamel dots, black/white baker's twine, 1/8" Basic Black taffeta ribbon, Daffodil Delight stitched grosgrain ribbon, blender brushes (Taylored Expressions), foam tape (3M)

For my first card (on the left), I decided to use Pumpkin Pie for my color because I thought it might make a good autumn card. Using masking stencils, I ink blended an orange rectangle on white card stock, creating a slight ombre effect by apply more ink at the top of the rectangle. I stamped a few trees and a flock of birds using black ink and then cut out the panel with a stitched rectangle die. I matted it with black card stock and used foam tape to attach it to a Pumpkin Pie card base tied with black-and-white twine. I finished the card with two orange enamel dots in the upper left corner.

For my second card, I wanted to create the look of a black-and-white photo with one pop of color. I went back to the wheelbarrow scene I used previously, stamped most of it with black ink and used Daffodil Delight for just the flowers. I die cut the image with a stitched oval die and matted it with a yellow scalloped oval. For the background I adhered a piece of DSP to a layer of black card stock and wrapped two pieces of ribbon -- one black and one yellow -- around the panel vertically, securing the ends on the back. I adhered the panel to a Daffodil Delight card base and used foam tape to attach the oval. Three yellow enamel dots are the finishing touch.

I hope these cards gave you a little inspiration for similar stamp sets that you may have. Thanks for stopping by!