The Power of Hope Bundle is among my top Sale-A-Bration freebies! I especially adore the Stone 3-D embossing folder which I’ve used on today’s projects to create some beautiful backgrounds.
The Power of Hope bundle also includes the Power of Hope Stamp Set, which I’ve used for today’s cards. You’ll find more details about all the perks and benefits available during the 2020 Sale-A-Bration promotion later in this post!
I’ve made five cards that are all variations on a theme.
These all use the Power of Hope Bundle but the fifth card also uses the Positive Thoughts Stamp Set and Natures Thoughts Dies. More on that later in this post!
These cards were inspired by a card made by Mary Dethridge. I had the pleasure of meeting Mary in April 2019 at the Charlotte, NC OnStage Local event. We were both presenters at this event. She was an awesome presenter and is a very talented creator! On Mary’s project, I especially loved how she used the Stone 3-D Embossed piece so I just had to play! Click HERE to see her original design.
This first card is the most like Mary’s design. Here are a few details about how the focal piece was created.
- The Geisha image was stamped on the Gray Granite cardstock and then stamped on two patterns of the Parisian Blossoms Specialty Designer Paper. One was cut to create the parasol and the other was cut to lay over the Geisha, to create the beautiful design on the kimono.
- I’ve added a Petal Pink Rhinestone Jewel to look like a cumberbund and some Petal Pink Metalic edge ribbon in behind the focal piece.
- The tree image in the Power of Hope stamp set was stamped around the outside edge in Versamark to create a subtle frame around the Geisha.
- Last but not least I used the Label Me Fancy punch for the sentiment. That said, I only used part of the punched shape for my sentiment piece below. If punched as designed you’d get a piece that is twice the size of the shape you see here.
Would you like to know how I created the punched sentiment piece?
Would you like to know how the flagstone is created?
The background piece here is simply dry embossed with the Stone 3-D embossing folder and then it’s simply colored with the Direct To Paper technique, in a variety of colors. It’s really the simplest possible technique out there and is exactly what it sound like. You simply rub your ink pads directly onto the cardstock!
Below is the piece before the card was assembled. Basic Gray cardstock was used and the colors used for this background piece include Pineapple Punch, Pumpkin Pie, Mossy Meadow, and Pretty Peacock.
I’ve also added some Wink of Stella around the edges. This same background was used for the next version of this card too!
For this next card, I just changed up a few elements.
- I used Soft Sea Foam for the focal piece and additional layer in behind the “flagstone”.
- The pagoda image was stamped in Early Espresso Ink and colored in with a Soft Sea Foam Blends Alcohol Marker and then a Clear Wink of Stella Brush.
- The Crinkled White Seam Binding was colored with the Soft Sea Foam Blends Alcohol Marker also.
You can really see the Wink of Stella in this next photo. It’s in two places, on the flagstone, and on the Pagoda.
This next background piece was created on Smoky Slate cardstock instead of on Basic Gray cardstock. The colors used for this background piece include Pineapple Punch, Grapefruit Grove, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, and Blackberry Bliss.
This was one of the flagstone images that I found for my inspiration.
For this next background, I used all the same colors as for the previous card but it’s done on the Basic Gray Cardstock and I added just two more colors, Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie.
This was the flagstone image that inspired this background.
Here are a few of the backgrounds created to make this flagstone look. The one in the center is the one used on the first two cards. I used the one on the left for my final card.
This next close up is the background on the right above. I was wanting to play with more browns. I haven’t yet created a card with this background. The colors used here are Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Basic Gray and Saddle Brown StazOn.
My next background was inspired by the following photo. I was going for a look of brown flagstone but as you’ll see when you look at the background I didn’t quite achieve that look. LOL!
Below is the background piece that was supposed to look like the brown and tan flagstone above.
I used pretty much all brown inks on the piece below and yet it still ended up looking greenish. I might just have to try the same ink colors with a gray granite or crumb cake base to see if I can get more of a brown flagstone look. More playing!!! OMG! So many possibilities!
So I ended up using this background for the following card. I was really anxious to use the Positive Thoughts Stamp Set, especially the fern image with the coordinating die cut.
The Nature’s Thoughts dies, that I used below are only available for a limited time and ONLY While Supplies Last, so don’t delay getting these if you love them!
I set out looking for flagstone images that also included fern images for inspiration and I found the following photo. Isn’t this a beautiful photo?
It was a challenging look to recreate! The fern images were stamped on the basic gray cardstock with Granny Apple Green ink. I wanted the brightness of the fern color but not so bright that it would look odd with the muted flagstone background.
For the die-cut fern, I started with a piece of the lime green Noble Peacock foil paper. I stamped the fern image onto the foil with White Craft Ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The craft ink literally does NOT dry, like ever, on the foil paper, so it had to be heat embossed to make it permanent.
Last but not least, the itty bitty sentiment was stamped on a piece of Basic Gray cardstock and then creatively punched using the Label Me Fancy punch. I used the same trick described above but just oriented my cardstock the long way. Here are a few graphics to better explain what I did.
Here’s my full set of 5 cards made with the Power of Hope Bundle, Positive Thoughts Stamp Set and Nature’s Thoughts Dies:
Now if you have to have the Power of Hope Bundle and need suggestions for what to buy, Stampin’ Up! is offering the Power of Hope Project Collection which includes all the products you see in the photo below. This collection is showing as a LOW INVENTORY ITEM on today’s Inventory Status report, so if you like what you see, you may want to consider ordering this collection soon!
With the Power of Hope Project Collection, you’ll be able to make the following gorgeous projects plus so much more!
If you’d like to recreate today’s projects, all the information you need is included at the end of this post.
There are project dimensions, a complete supply list with links to my online store, and a video tutorial just ahead.
Thanks for spending some time with me today. I hope you’ve enjoyed my project!
Happy Crafting!
Melissa 🙂
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MiniCutter and Designer Paper Sampler
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See the NEW Jan. to Jun. 2020 Mini-Catalog PDF below.
See the NEW 2020 Sale-A-Bration PDF below.
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Check out my Facebook Live and video tutorial here:
The project demonstration starts at around 5 minutes in case you want to skip ahead.
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Project Dimensions:
- Card Body: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″
- Layer #1 in Various Colors: 4″ x 5-1/4″
- “Flagstone” Backing: 3-5/8″ x 4-7/8″
- Basic Gray or Smoky Slate Dry Embossed Flagstone: 3-7/16″ x 4-11/16″
- Basic Gray Backing (for Fern Card Only): 2-1/4″ x 3-5/8″
- Whisper White or Very Vanilla Inside Layer: 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″
Project Supplies:
