Thoughtful Branches-Fix it Friday

 Simple is good right?  I like this card because there is not a lot too it, but it is still eye catching.  So, how could I fix it to make it a little bit more eye catching?

 You can see that I kept the same colors, Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze, and Delightful Dijon.  I also kept the Woodgrain embossing folder and the styles of the leaves.

To make it a little more eye catching, I took a piece of water color paper and made my own background paper by painting a little of each one of the colors on the paper.  Then I cut out the leaves.  I stamped the solid leaf in Delightful Dijon ink and arranged the leaves around the saying.

Which card do you like the best?  I personally like both of them.  

Here is what the Thoughtful Branches cards looked like this week.  What great fun I have had with a stamp set that will be ready for anyone to purchase in August.

Come back next week to see what I will do with the Swirly Bird stamp set and matching thinlit.  They were featured in a class I had on Monday so I wanted to share them with all of you.

Don't forget to follow me if you have been enjoying my blog, and share this blog with your friends.  Have a great weekend and try to stay cool.  Here in Illinois the temp could get to be over 100 and the heat index as high as 115.  

Thoughtful Branches-Template Thursday

Summer with some yummy looking apples

  I saw a card on the Stampin'Up! blog page with a card similar to this.  The template is......
    The bare tree
     Some flowers or leaves
     Some grass

The creator of this card is on the Artisan team at Stampin'Up! and went on to create 4 cards similar to this one to resemble the 4 seasons.  I am all about the seasons so I put my own twist on to her cards.

  The artist cleverly cut come of the leaves off and placed them on the ground.  So now you can see some of the branch and notice the leaves that have fallen off the tree.  I colored the ground first with crumb cake to resemble the grass that dries out in the fall, with a little touch of green for the grass that still is that color.

 Next is a winter tree with no leaves and some snow on the ground and of course the Illinois State bird a cardinal.

Finally a spring tree most likely a cherry tree with its beautiful blossoms.  Are you liking this set as much as I am?  It will be available as a bundle for $52 during the month of August only.  And if you make a purchase of $50 this month you can earn a discount of $5.00 off that bundle.  Just go to the store at the top of this page and place an order.

Come back tomorrow to see the final card I will post using this set.  See how I fix up a simple card to make it stunning.

Thoughtful Branches-Wednesday Wow

When I saw the pine trees in Thoughtful Branches, I thought there would be a way to make a Christmas card.  I saw a card like this one on Pinterest, but added my own twist to the card.

Designer paper is This Christmas
Doily is the new doily
Merry is from the thinlits called Christmas Greetings
Birds are from this set

I think this card will be featured in one of my Christmas Around the Year classes.  

Come back tomorrow to see how to use this set to feature the 4 seasons.

Thoughtful Branches-Technique Tuesday

Here is another card I made using this great stamp set.  I stamped the flowers in Marina Mist on Marina Mist cardstock and cut them out with one of the Beautiful Branches thinlits.  I liked how it turned out.

BUT........

I had this piece leftover and wanted to try and find a way to use it.
So........

I stamped the flower image on a piece of white cardstock and attached it underneath the hole.  I added a little bit of night of navy ink to the flowers.  Then I stamped the leaves, and cut them out using the matching thinlit.  No waste.

Come back tomorrow to see how I made a Christmas card from another image in this stamp set.

Thoughtful Branches-Miscellaneous Monday

     A new stamp set for a short period of time!  As a demonstrator for Stampin'Up! I was able to purchase this great stamp set in July, make some samples to show customers who then can purchase the stamp set in August.  Here are some facts about this set.

There are 23 stamps in this set

There are 9 matching framelits that cut out 9 images from this set

They can be purchased as a bundle for $52

Once you purchase the bundle you qualify for a bonus of $5 to be cashed in during August.

The stamp set is versatile and has many different looks.

   For today I make a simple card that features the blossom with matching thinlit, and the leaves.  Come back tomorrow and see what I do with some leftover parts.