Studio Calico: Buttercup

Hello! I wanted to share some very clean and simple cards created with the Buttercup stamp set and matching dies available now at Studio Calico.  Clean and simple cards for me are all about embracing the space of your canvas.  All these cards have a simple gathering of elements as the focal point with some minimal embellishments scattered about the rest of the space.

I stamped the frame with the sentiment of my choice from the set and the moon and hearts in Versafine Black ink and then used clear embossing powder to heat emboss the images.  I like to use Versafine ink because it is an oil based ink and embossing powder sticks to it well.  I find that the black Versafine ink with clear embossing powder creates a cleaner black embossed image than when I use black embossing powder.  The elements could have been stamped on colored card stock but I decided to emboss my stamped images on white and use distress inks and a blending tool to color the paper.  I used distress inks in Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed and Festive Berries for my blending.

I placed my main elements on my card using foam adhesive squares to pop them up and define them more.  I used the star images in the stamp set and Color Theory ink in Sunny day to sprinkle around some stars around my main elements.  I finished it off with some Something Blue sequins and Platinum Status sequins in different sizes.

For the second card I used the same embossing and ink blending techniques for my sentiment shape and heart.  Rather than adding stamped elements to embellish around my main elements on this card I wanted to be more subtle.  I used the Wonky Diamond Background craft die to cut another piece of white card stock and then layered it over my white card base.

I actually left some of the diamond in the holes so that it would be a little more random.  This white on white die cut creates nice texture without being too busy.  I embellished with some simple sequins in Well Red and Blush Crush.

My third card is similar but rather than white I used kraft card stock instead.  I used the same idea of layering a die cut element in the same color but this time I was sure to punch out all the diamonds for a more uniform look.

I used pattern papers from the Clarabelle Card Add-on kit for my sentiment this time rather than inking papers to create solid elements.  The banner behind the sentiment is a label sticker from the Bluegrass Farm Card kit, however it was not quite long enough to stick out on each side as much as I liked.  So I cut the label in half, an easy way to get more from your supplies.  I finished off with a few sequins in Yes Peas green.

I hope you enjoyed these simple projects made with the Buttercup stamp set and matching dies.