Greetings from Maine, the Pine Tree State! And welcome to Day Two of our Design Team Blog Blitz!!! We'll be focused this week on sharing our ideas for using the newest dies just released from Memory Box. Remember that leaving comments on the blog posts enters you to win some of the new fabulous goodies! Be sure to leave your comments by Sunday July 23 at 11:59 PM EST. We love to hear from you!
Because Maine's state flower is the pine cone and tassel, our state bird is the chickadee, and I live in the Pine Tree State, I just had to use some of the new dies to make a Maine-themed Christmas card. I used the PINECONE COLLAGE Die 99793, the SNOWY PINE Die 99835, the LARGE SENTIMENTAL MERRY CHRISTMAS Die 99804 and one of the birds from the BIRD SANCTUARY Clear Stamps Set CL5201 and the coordinating die from the BIRD SANCTUARY Die Set 32201.
To make this card, I began by cutting the Pinecone Collage into a piece of kraft cardstock and then backed it with a darker brown cardstock. I used one of the rectangles from the Rectangles Basic Set to cut out both layers before adhering this piece to a cream notecard. I then cut a Snowy Pine from dark green cardstock, painted it with diluted white Reeves watercolor paint, and lined it up along the side of the pinecone piece and glued it both to the pinecone piece and the notecard front. I then stamped the bird on the branch from the Bird Sanctuary stamp set using Archival Jet Black ink on watercolor paper. I colored the bird using very diluted Reeves watercolors and then cut it out using the coordinating die. I used foam dimensional dots to place the bird just above the pinecone tassel. I cut the Merry Christmas from the same dark green cardstock I used for the tree and glued it to the card front. I added a green enamel dot on the "i".
Because you know that I never just make one card, I decided to make a set of cards that I can package up as a gift for a friend. I used the TALL PINE die 99848 along with the Pinecone Collage, the same small bird from the Bird Sanctuary Clear Stamps set and the coordinating die from the Bird Sanctuary die set.
Card 1:
Here I used the same techniques as on the Christmas card, using the Tall Pine as the tree cut from dark green cardstock. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink to stamp the sentiment from the Bird Sanctuary stamp set.
Card 2:
For this card, I began by cutting the Pinecone Collage into the front of the notecard and then backed that with dark brown cardstock. I saved the tassel piece that punched out and watercolored it placing it behind the pop-dotted watercolored bird.
Card 3:
Here I die cut the Pinecone Collage from the same dark green paper as the Tall pine, cut it with one of the Stitched Ovals, leaving the green tassel in place and backed it with a textured brown paper cut with the same oval die. I used foam dots to pop it onto the card. One pop-dot behind the bird's wing and some glue behind his head kept him level.
Card 4:
For this last card, I stamped the bird onto the card front using Archival Jet Black Ink and colored it with Memento markers, Desert Sand and London Fog. I cut the Pinecone Collage twice, once in dark brown cardstock and once in dark green. I cut the Pinecone Collage and Kraft cardstock oval of the same size using one of the Stitched Ovals dies. I glued the two layers together a bit off and inlaid just the green tassel.
The more I look at these cards, the more ideas I get! I'm thinking about Dave's glitter technique and some sparkly copper glitter behind the pinecone cut-outs for my next card. What would you do with these dies?
Please leave comments for me below and you could win the Pinecone Collage die!!! Scroll down to see Laura's introductory post from Monday and check back each day for more from the Design Team. Happy Crafting!
Supplies
wow, this is so beautiful!
Posted by: tina z. (treebug) | 07/18/2017 at 02:01 AM
Hi Anne what a lovely friend you must be to have giving such pretty gifts as these in a set and love learning non crafty things too I didn't realise each state has it's own flower emblem. I live in Yorkshire and we have the white rose and Lancashire has the red rose but that dates back in history to the war of the roses not really to do with being a county emblem just something the county adopted since that time ,more to do with land owners and nobility than the roses growing here.
Anyway your cards are all so pretty and I will be looking up the differences between a chickadee and what I thought the birds were sparrows ,perhaps that's a language thing too.
I love your idea of copper glitter but for a snowy effect how about adding white glitter to the tips of the cone and making it 2 tone glitter or even just adding the glitter to the card like you have already put behind so you get the contrast between the plain card and glitter, I see now how the ideas flow once you are on a roll. Thank you for sharing your beautiful cards.
Posted by: Julye Bott | 07/18/2017 at 06:14 AM
Hi Anne, well done with these card designs and lovely set for your friend! I love how you just get more ideas by "playing" with your supplies. I can see adding a background detail with the pinecone collage die by using it as a stencil and then layering the die itself and other elements or by creating an inlaid background as the focal image and adding a sentiment for a non bulky card to send in the mail! Ah, the possibilities are endless but would never occur without the inspiration from these dies or you the design team! Thank you
Posted by: Arlene Waddell | 07/18/2017 at 06:54 AM
What a great gift anyone would love to receive it so versatile.
Posted by: Joyce Rempe | 07/18/2017 at 07:07 AM
Thank You for showing varies way to use this collection of dies and stamps. It really help visual learners like me to think "outside the box"
Posted by: Lori Lien | 07/18/2017 at 07:30 AM
Omgoodness!! What beautiful cards! I love your variety of designs and those
dies are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful creativity! :)
Posted by: Mary Myers | 07/18/2017 at 07:55 AM
What a lovely card. I too live in Maine, and variations of this card would make lovely notes to include in a gift basket, when friends come from away.
Posted by: Cheryl Johnson | 07/18/2017 at 08:26 AM
I was looking at that die yesterday. Love your cards. Surprizing how much difference a little design change makes. Great set. Hugz
Posted by: ionabunny | 07/18/2017 at 09:08 AM
Love the tree and the Pinecone Collage dies! Lovely card!
Posted by: Denise Bryant | 07/18/2017 at 09:11 AM
Wonderful set of Maine themed cards!
Posted by: Sue LD | 07/18/2017 at 09:16 AM
Love these cards. We have LOTS of pines in NC so these are especially nice to me. Like using the same dies with different colors!
Posted by: Debbi Smith | 07/18/2017 at 10:45 AM
Love all your cards. So clever the way you used the same elements to make such beautiful and different cards. So fun. I am loving this new release!
Posted by: super stick chick | 07/18/2017 at 11:10 AM
What a great tribute to our beautiful state of Maine! I'm a maine gal as well and I know this lovely set of cards will be well received. Wonderful new dies!
Posted by: Birgit | 07/18/2017 at 11:11 AM
Growing up in the Evergreen State of Washington, I love pine trees.
Great variety of ideas using these dies and stamps, so cute.
I love it when one idea leads to the next, to the next, etc, great job!
TFS!
Blessings!
Posted by: Pam D | 07/18/2017 at 11:20 AM
I grew up in Wisconsin and we COULD have been the Pine Tree state too! My childhood home out in the country is so loaded with pretty pines that we used to cut our own Christmas tree! I will always think of pine trees and warm memories of my home state, and your pretty card took me right there! I love the masculine vibe to it too - -my Dad would love these cards! Thanks for the inspiration!
Michele
Posted by: Michele K. Henderson | 07/18/2017 at 11:31 AM
I love pinecones so the Pinecone Collage is going to be a big favorite of mine for Christmas cards!! Love it!!!!
Posted by: Suzy | 07/18/2017 at 11:48 AM
Thanks for the inspiration and the beautiful cards, Anne. Will be visiting a friend in Maine this summer and will carry your images in my mind's eye.
Posted by: Barbara-Jean | 07/18/2017 at 12:30 PM
Beautiful projects! I love pinecones for my fall projects.
Posted by: Amy Cooley | 07/18/2017 at 01:46 PM
Really nice cards,lots of options. The pinecone collage would be a
nice additon to my collection.
Posted by: Yolanda | 07/18/2017 at 02:32 PM
Lovely selection of beautiful cards! Some awesome dies too! Love them all! xxx
Posted by: Christine Smith | 07/18/2017 at 02:40 PM
Gorgeous card! I do like the blue that you used on the one tree. Different! The pinecone is awesome. Love that birdie too!
Posted by: Lynn Gauthier | 07/18/2017 at 03:18 PM
Thanks for all the good ideas.
Posted by: Sandra Williams | 07/18/2017 at 03:27 PM
Such beautiful cards! I love the pine cone collage but I'm especially happy to see that you used the chickadee stamp as well. That set caught my eye immediately. Thanks for the inspiration!
Posted by: Betty H. | 07/18/2017 at 04:00 PM
I adore chickadee's and this card is just so lovely. It would look nice on my mantel just for decoration. :) Job well done!
Posted by: Sara Tann | 07/18/2017 at 05:05 PM
These are lovely Anne and a great tutorial (very informative_! I think copper behind it would look stunning!
Posted by: Teresa Doyle | 07/18/2017 at 07:22 PM