Today my husband and I are taking a little car trip with our two grown daughters.  We heard about a store in Cantril, IA......"Dutchman's Store".  They heard about it from friends, so we are going to check it out.  You can check it out here.  Last summer we took them to the huge candy store in Minnesota.  Even though they are grown with families, it's fun to have the four of us together making these trips and the two girls spend a lot of time remembering years past and giggling.....which gets us in on it too.

For this first one, I cut off an edge of the front.

These two cards were made using dsp from a paper pad.

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Most of the papers that I have are from Stampin' Up! but when I was looking through my "stash" I found some other papers that I have had for a very long time.  It was time for them to "shine" on a card.  Much to my surprise the dsp went very well with SU's Pool Party card stock for the card base.  I also found that adding dsp to the envelope flap was a great way to get more of that paper used up. 

The card was put away with my huge supply of cards, but I think this is a Book Binder style.  I can't tell from the picture.

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Recently I had a lady contact me.  She sent me the picture of a graduation card and asked if I could make one like it for her.  The picture was a lot like the first one below so this is what I made for her.  I even had the exact "Graduate" stamp to use on the front.  It doesn't show but the gold paper is very shiny.

After it was finished I sent her a picture and she said she would rather have silver than gold and would like to have a touch of blue with it.  The one below if what I put together for her and she approved.  

I put the first card in my tote and will gladly use it sometime in the future for a local graduate.  Thanks for coming by today!

 

With beautiful designer papers, it doesn't take much to make a very pretty card if you just let the paper "do the talking".  

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I had posted a card earlier with this layout using Sun Prints dsp.  Half of the papers in the package are using the Gray Granite color instead of the Navy.  I really like this color.

Inside

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The card base is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".....scored at 1" and 5 1/4".  You choose to have the narrow flip on the left or the right.  Mine has the narrow panel on the right.  It is closed with a belly band.

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One more set of cards using Susan Campfield's layout.  

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I guess you can tell I love this layout for making cards.  It is such an easy way to use scraps of dsp and it's fun mixing and matching patterns while you doing it.  By adding the dsp to the flap of the envelope it also uses up more of that paper and really "dresses up" the presentation.

Card base: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4"

Mat for strips:  3" x 4 1/4", 

DSP strips:  1 1/4" x 4" 

                       3/4" x 4" 

                       1/2" x 4"

I've shown you several sets that I made.  Hope you will pull out some of your retired or current dsp and give it a try.

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Pull out some of those smaller pieces of dsp.  This is especially fun if you find a piece that you can use both sides.  If that is the case, place two pieces of the dsp on the trimmer and cut the strips at the same time, then reverse the placement of the strips.  For these two cards, I also embossed the "yellow" side to give some dimension.

I remember when I went to add the strip on the inside of the card, that I saw a smudge in the upper left corner.  I don't  usually add a strip of dsp on that side, but it worked out to add one there too and cover up my "oops".

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As you can see I made this card and the one below back in May.  I had seen Susan Campfield's video show this card using some of the new designer papers.  You can watch the video here to see the measurements.

I made several like this using various papers.  I really like this easy layout so I made more and added the dsp to the flap of the envelopes.

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A few days ago I posted a card using a flower like this but with different sheet from the Fine Art Floral  dsp collection.  I almost didn't post this one because I really think it is much "too busy"!  But........why not show you some "don't do this" cards.

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I got this idea from Rachel Tessman.  

I think this is a really pretty card, if I do say so myself.  I die cut flowers from one of the sheets of Hues of Happiness dsp.  I also used the Happiness Abounds stamps and Blossoming Happiness dies.

My husband drove a school bus for many years.  He retired after the 2020-2021 school year but one of the ladies he had worked with is retiring this year.  This is the card we sent her.

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For directions to make this card, you can watch Terri Gaines video.

I used more of the Sun Prints dsp.

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Two cards using a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Sun Prints dsp. Cut the piece at an angle and you have two pieces for two cards. This only works if you use non-directional papers.   I made similar focal points but slightly different.  Scroll down and you will see how I finished the inside.

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Using more of the Sun Prints dsp.  This is a fun layout.

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Rita Holmes had a Facebook video on May 7th making a card like this with different dsp.  I thought it would be fun to give it a try.  The middle flips up for a sentiment and a brief message.  Below is a picture of the card when it is open.  The dsp I used is from the retired Sun Prints collection.

 

I like the card but doubt I'll make more.  Thank you for coming by today!

The card base is Mossy Meadow with a 4" x 5 1/4" white piece of card stock that was embossed with the Painted Texture embossing folder. One more card using the Fine Art Floral dsp.  I had a leftover piece from another project so I cut it for the two flowers to be the focal point of the card.  I matted with Mossy Meadow.  

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My card base is Flirty Flamingo.  I've seen several demonstrations using this technique and it actually only uses a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of dsp.  Using another sheet of the Fine Art Floral paper, I cut a triangle out of the center of the dsp.  This piece was then matted with Merry Merlot card stock.  The section cut out is then matted and added back over the opening of the larger piece using dimensionals.  By doing it this way the pattern of the dsp on both pieces matches up perfectly.

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A few weeks ago I saw a video by Stamps-N-Lingers using the Art Gallery Stamp stamps and Fine Art Floral dsp. What I really liked about it was that she had stamped one of the images in several places around the card base either with VersaMark or like I did with the SoSaffron ink.  It gives a nice dimension to the background.  I added a piece of the dsp to a mat of Pretty Peacock before adding it to the card base.  The flower stamp was inked up and die cut. I added it with dimensionals.  The sentiment was also added with dimensionals over the stem but with no dimensional in the center since the flower was already raised.

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Susan Stampfield made a card pretty much like this one using "Side B" of one of the Fine Art Floral dsp sheets.  It's a pretty simple card but I thought it was fun to use the reverse side of some of the dsp.

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This is a second card I made using the "Fine Art Floral" retired dsp.  And once again I used some of the coordinating Golden Garden Designer Specialty paper.  You can see a closer look at the gold outlines below.

When my mother passed in April 2021, the care center had a memorial service a few months later for all who had passed during the previous year.  Each family was given a little rose bush to plant in memory of their loved one.  We babied it and made sure it was watered.  During the winter months my husband had it covered with a rubber tote.  Last year we had a few flowers and it had grown a bit.  We covered it again for a third winter and this year my little rose busy is flourishing.  I think my mother is definitely smiling.

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I used retired Fine Art Floral DSP for this card.  There was a coordinating Golden Garden Designer Specialty Paper that matched the design exactly.  I added some glue dots in areas around the dsp so that the layers could be adhered together.    Below you can see a close up of the gold layer.

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