Sassy Peonies – Quick & Easy Card Set

Hey crafty friends, I’m back with a quick and easy set of cards today. These feature the Pretty in Peony floral stamps along the bottom in a tone-on-tone finish. The grey and black color scheme is modern and elegant, so the hilarious sayings from the Sassy Sentiments set are really unexpected. Who would think that cards this pretty would make you laugh out loud? I really love how these turned out and I was done with all five cards, and coordinating envelopes, in less than an hour. (Which is record time for me!)

So how did I come up with the idea? The other day I happened to find myself next to a Paper Source store (thank goodness they are all so far away from me or I’d be broke!). So of course I went in, looked at all of the fun goodies up front, sampled delicious gummy bears, and then went back to the wall of colorful paper (the real reason I love that store). I think they call it the paper bar; to me, it’s almost as much fun as a tiki bar (almost, kinda, sorta 😉 ). They have a whole rainbow of cards and matching envelopes, organized by size. I think half of the A2 row jumped into my basket when I wasn’t looking! I came home and was immediately inspired to create a set of matching cards that showcased the beauty of the paper. After all, when you start with good paper, it doesn’t take much to make a great card!

I thought it would be pretty to emboss the Pretty in Peony images in silver along the bottom of the gravel A2 card bases. I lined the flowers up in my Mini Misti, stamped them with Versamark ink, then embossed them with silver embossing powder. After the second one, I realized that I actually liked the Versamark ink alone, better than the silver embossing on this paper. (Versamark is also sometimes referred to as watermark ink, because it deepens up the color of the paper that it’s stamped onto, and almost looks like you got the paper wet. The image stays darker even after the ink is dry, giving you a tone-on-tone result.)

I stamped five card bases with the flowers, using just the Versamark ink. Then, I cut masks for the three flowers, placed them on the cards, and stamped the leaves on top. This process was really quick with the Misti and I transferred the masks from one card to the next, so I only had to cut one set. The hardest part was being careful not to accidentally transfer any Versamark ink from my fingers to the cards. (A sand eraser will help you fix any smudges; ask me how I know 😉 ) For a little more pizzazz, I splattered on some iridescent white watercolor. Then, I stamped one flower and leaf cluster onto five coordinating envelopes. (Don’t go crazy with the envelope; you want to hint at what’s inside, not give the whole card away.) 

While the card bases were drying, I laid five of the Sassy Sentiments onto black cardstock, leaving enough room around them for the banner die I would later cut them out with. I picked the sentiments up with the Misti, prepped the cardstock with a powder tool, then inked all of the sentiments with Versamark and stamped them at the same time. I sprinkled on silver embossing powder, tapped off the excess, and melted it with a heat gun. This time around, I liked the silver embossing. I cut them out with a fishtail banner. (To get the banners to the correct size, I first lined the die up with three sides where I wanted and cut. Then moved the banner over so the fourth side was lined up and cut again.) I added strips of foam tape behind the sentiment strips and popped them onto the dry card bases. As a final finishing touch, I glued on some black flat-backed gems. 

Easy peasy, right? Seriously, I was done in less than an hour, and that includes the time I spent changing my mind with the silver embossing. (Side note, now I have a pair of silver embossed card bases to play with later 🙂 ) These cards are great stash builders, or would make a lovely gift. I might have to make a few more sets like this and tuck them away for Christmas gifts… What tricks do you have for quick and easy cards? You can find the sister article to this post on The Rabbit Hole Designs’ blog. If you’d like to see more cards made using these stamps, check out this article.