BEST CATCH SERIES - Part 1 - Hand Stamped or Colored Backgrounds with Die Cuts

These A2 size cards feature the Best Catch Stamp Set and coordinating Catch of the Day Dies from Stampin' Up!

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This was my favorite set from the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog for two reasons.  First because the men (and some of the women) in my family are pretty much all fishermen and secondly because it is great to have another masculine stamping set.

When I got the set I began by stamping probably a dozen of each of the Fish, Fisherman, Baskets, Hats, Grasses, and Hooks in Memento Ink on pieces of Whisper White CS.  And then proceeded to color the fish with my Stampin' Blend Sets. Once I had the fish colored I used the same basic colors on the other pieces.

The pieces on this first card were colored with Marina Mist, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, and Night of Navy Stampin' Blend Sets.  The top Whisper White CS mat was stamped using the Crackle Paint Stamp and Marina Mist Ink.  The sentiment is from the Best Catch stamp set and was stamped using Marina Mist Ink on a scrap of Whisper White CS, cut with the Layering Circles Framelits and mounted on another circle cut with the same framelit set from Dapper Denim CS.  The fish and the sentiment were popped up using Dimensionals.  The other pieces were attached with Tape Runner. The bottom mat was cut from Marina Mist CS.

The pieces on this second card were colored with Mint Macaron, Pool Party, Balmy Blue and Soft Suede Stampin' Blend Sets. The top mat was water colored with Coastal Cabana & Always Artichoke Inks on Whisper White CS.  The sentiment is from the May Good Things Grow PP March 2018 stamp set and was stamped in Coastal Cabana ink on a scrap of Whisper White CS. The right end was flag cut with the Triple Banner Punch.  The fish was popped up with Dimensionals.  The other pieces were attached with Tape Runner.  The bottom mat was cut from Coastal Cabana CS.  Lastly I added a few Sequins using Tombow Glue.

The pieces on this third card were colored with Balmy Blue, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, and Soft Suede Stampin' Blend Sets.  The top mat was stamped with a texture stamp from the Artisan Textures Stamp Set using Old Olive and Dapper Denim inks (1st & 2nd Generation Stamping). The sentiment is from the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and was stamped and edged with Dapper Denim Ink and cut with one of the Petals & More Thinlits Die frames.  The fish was glued to a circle cut from Old Olive CS using one of the circle Stitched Shape Framelits Dies. I wrapped some clear fishing line around my fingers and then attached it to the back of the Hook using Tape Runner, and  attached to the card with Tombow Glue. The grasses were also glued directly to the top mat.  The bottom mat was cut from Dapper Denim CS.  This card was CASEd from one I saw on Pinterest.

The pieces on this fourth card were colored with Calypso Coral, Smoky Slate, Old Olive, and Mango Melody Stampin' Blend Sets.  The top Whisper White CS mat was stamped with Calypso Coral ink using the Crackled Paint Stamp.  The center diamond shape and strip were both cut from Calypso Coral 6x6 pieces in one of the Subtles DSP CS sets. The sentiment is from Best Catch and was stamped in Calypso Coral Ink on a scrap of Whisper White CS and layered on Cajun Craze CS (the circles were cut using dies from the Layering Circle Framelits).  All of the die cuts were popped up with Dimensionals.  The bottom mat was cut from Basic Gray CS.  This card was inspired by a card by Julie Gibson.

This card features the Heirloom Frames Dies and coordinating 3D Heirloom Frame Embossing Folders by Stampin' Up!

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I used one of the Heirloom Frame Dies and the coordinating Embossing Folder to cut out and emboss a piece of Balmy Blue CS.

Then I cut a scrap piece of Whisper White CS to fit behind the center of the die cut piece and attached some Old Olive CS stems and Elegant Eggplant CS flowers (cut with a die from Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies) with some Balmy Blue CS flowers (cut with a die from Lovely Flowers Edgelits Dies) using Tape Runner and Tombow Glue, and then attached the white piece to the back of the frame.

I cut a bottom mat (5-3/8" x 4-1/8") from Elegant Eggplant CS and then a standard top mat (5" x  3-3/4") from a 6"x 6" piece of Balmy Blue in a set of Subtles DSP.  The pieces were all attached using Tape Runner and Tombow Glue to each other and then to a White Card Base.

Lastly I added a few Rhinestones to the center of the blue flowers, and a small White Organza Ribbon bow to the stems of the flowers.

This A2 size card features the Good Morning Magnolia Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!

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I pulled the water-colored top piece with tones of Bermuda Bay and Pool Party Inks from one of my "stashes" and began by stamping  the single magnolia bud randomly as shown using Versamark Ink.   Then I sprinkled White Embossing Powder, flicked off the excess, and used my Heat Tool to melt the powder.

I colored the flower petals with Pool Party and Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blend Sets and then trimmed the piece with one of the Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies.

Next I cut a piece of Coastal Cabana CS (standard top mat size 5"x 3-3/4") and a piece of Bermuda Bay CS (standard bottom mat size 5-1/4" x 4").  I embossed the Coastal Cabana mat using the Quilted Top Embossing Folder. I attached the 3 colored pieces together using Tape Runner and wrapped a piece of White Woven Ribbon around the 3 pieces.  Then I attached all the pieces using Tape Runner to a White Card Base.

The sentiment is from the By The Bay Stamp Set and was stamped in Bermuda Bay Ink on a srcrap of Whisper White CS, cut out with a die from the Smooth Sailing Die Set, and popped up with Dimensionals as shown.

Here's another A2 size card featuring the Humming Along Stamp Set and the coordinating Hummingbird Framelits by Stampin' Up!

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I began by stamping 2 of the flowers, 2 of the individual leaves , and 1 hummingbird from the Humming Along Stamp Set onto Whisper White CS and colored them as shown using Rococo Rose, Pool Party, Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce, Cherry Cobbler and Mango Melody Stampin' Blend Sets.

I cut out all of the colored pieces using the coordinating Hummingbird Framelits and then trimmed the stems off of the 2 flowers.

I cut the top mat (4" x 5-1/4") from Rose Red CS, and the bottom mat (4-1/8"x5-3/8") from Tranquil Tide CS.  I used a die from the coordinating Hummingbird Framelits to cut out the Whisper White piece that I used for behind the flowers and bird.

I attached all of the finished pieces to the Rose Red piece with Tape Runner and/or Tombow Glue, except the hummingbird and the left bottom flower were popped up with Dimensionals.

The top mat was attached to the bottom mat, the completed piece then attached to a White Card Base with Tape Runner.

Lastly I added a few Pearl embellishments to the front of the card.

I will add a sentiment at a later date, when needed.

This A2 size card features the Humming Along Stamp Set and coordinating Hummingbird Framelits by Stampin' Up!

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I began by lightly sponging a standard size top mat piece of Whisper White CS with Pool Party Ink.

Then I stamped the flower stamp (as shown) onto the piece using Versamark Ink, sprinkled it with Copper Embossing Powder and used my Heat Tool to melt the embossing powder.

I stamped the hummingbird stamp onto a scrap of Whisper White CS and used the same heat embossing process above for the Hummingbird.

The flower was colored with Calypso Coral, Mango Melody, and Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blend Sets.

The hummingbird was colored with Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody and Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blend Sets.

I cut out the hummingbird using the die from the Hummingbird Framelits and popped it up with Dimensionals in the upper left corner of the cards (as shown).

I mounted the piece above onto a standard size bottom mat of Pool Party CS and then the attached pieces onto a White Card Base.

I added a few coordinating colored Enamel Shapes to the card front.

I usually keep several cards without any sentiment on them which is what I am doing with this card.  I will add a sentiment at a later date, when needed.

This A2 size card features the Magnolia Blooms Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!

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The top mat for this card was cut from Perfect Plum CS.  I randomly stamped the flower from the Magnolia Blooms stamp set in Versamark ink, sprinkled Silver Embossing Powder on it, and then used my Heat Gun to melt the powder.

Using my Aqua Pens and Whisper White Ink, I colored the flower petals, then daubed in the center of each flower.

The sentiment from the Good Morning Magnolia Stamp Set, was stamped in Perfect Plum ink on  Whisper White CS, and then cut out with one of the label dies from the Stitched Lace Framelits die set.

I wove White Organza Ribbon thru the die cut, attached it with to the lower part of the card mat, and mounted it on a bottom mat of Blackberry Bliss CS using Tape Runner.

Here's another A2 size card featuring the Free As A Bird Stamp Set from Stampin' Up!.

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I started by cutting a piece of Crumb Cake CS and then stamped the small flower and leaf stamps from the Free As A Bird Stamp Set randomly on the cut piece using Crumb Cake Ink (2nd generation stamping) to create a background.

Then I stamped the bird stamp from Free As A Bird onto a piece of Whisper White CS using Memento Ink.  I colored the image with Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Mango Melody & Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends.  Then I cut out the piece using the large die from the Stitched Labels Framelits.   

Then I crisscrossed 2 pieces of  Terracotta Tile Scalloped Linen Ribbon around the Crumb Cake Background.

And popped up the stamped piece with Dimensionals as shown.

The sentiment is from the Detailed with Love Stamp Set and was cut with one of the Stitched Label Framelits.  This was also popped up in the lower corner.

This card was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest by Amanda Mertz.

These two A2 Size Cards feature the Free As A Bird Stamp Set from Stampin' Up!

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I posted the first car I made with the Free As A Bird Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! yesterday - here are a couple more with some slight variations.

For this first card, the birds and flower and leaf pieces were stamped on Whisper White CS using Memento Ink and colored with Rococo Rose, Mossy Meadow, Smoky Slate and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends as shown.

The sentiment is from the Home to Roost Stamp Set and stamped with Rococo Rose Ink.

The bottom mat was cut from Rococo Rose CS, the top mat was a  piece of dotted vellum which I cut at 4-3'4"x3-1/2" and was attached with tape runner.

I popped up the bird piece with Dimensionals - slightly askew.

I fussy cut the colored flowers and leaves, glued the leaves to the mats and then popped up the flowers with Dimensionals and added Rhinestones.

For this second card, I started by sponging a piece of Whisper White CS with  Balmy Blue Ink.  The birds, flowers and leaf pieces were all stamped as above and then colored with Night of Navy, Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green, Smoky Slate, and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Sets. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Sheltering Tree Stamp Set with Marina Mist Ink.

The bird piece was cut using one of the Rectangle Stitched Dies - the finished size is about 4-1/4"x3", and was attached with Tape Runner to a Whisper White CS Mat (4-1/2"x3-1/2") that I embossed using the Subtle Embossing Folder and then attached to a standard bottom mat of Dapper Denim CS.

The leaves were glued.  The flowers were popped up with Dimensionals and Rhinestones added.

This A2 size card features the Free As A Bird Stamp Set from Stampin' Up!

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 This is one of my favorite stamp sets from this year's 2019-20 Annual Catalog.

For this first card I used Sponge Daubers to lightly color a piece of Whisper White CS with Seaside Spray Ink.  Then I stamped the bird image with Memento Ink and colored it with Seaside Spray, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends sets.

I cut out the piece with one of the Stitched Nested Label Dies and then cut a piece of Seaside Spray CS using the next largest die from the same set. I used tape runner to attach the two pieces.

I cut a standard top mat (5"x3-3/4") out of one of the Seaside Spray patterns from the 2019-2021 In Color Designer Series Paper Pack.  And cut a standard bottom mat (5-1/4"X4") of Seaside Spray CS.   I attached these 2 pieces together using tape runner. And then popped up the completed piece above using Dimensionals.

I stamped the 2 flower pieces with Memento Ink onto Whisper White CS, colored them with Poppy Parade and Old Olive Stampin' Blend sets, fussy cut them out, and popped them up with Dimensionals in the two opposite corners.

The sentiment is from the same stamp set and was stamped on Whisper White CS using Poppy Parade Ink and glued to  the bottom center of the piece.

And lastly added a Rhinestone to the center of each of the two flowers.

I did 2 very similar cards in different colors and will add them to my next blog.

This A2 size card features the Waterfront Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!.

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This is a great scene-building stamp set.  I began by coloring the sky with Balmy Blue Ink.  Instead of using a typical dauber I used my Sponge Brayer to color the sky.  I start at the top and make my way about half-way down the top Whisper White CS mat.  That way the top is a little darker and the sky gets progressively lighter as you move down the page.  I repeat the process until I am happy with the results.

Then I stamped the "mountain" stamp using Elegant Eggplant Ink using 1st and 2nd generation stamping.

The "water" was stamped next with Marina Mist Ink.

Then the "trees" (1st and 2nd generation stamping) and "grass" were stamped with Wild Wasabi Ink.  The "grass" stamp was from the High Tide Stamp Set.

I also decided to stamp the "Seagulls" from the High Tide Stamp Set in the sky using Early Espresso Ink.

I finished the bottom by lightly daubing the Wild Wasabi Ink on the bottom of the card to fill in any white areas.

The sentiment is from the Home to Roost Stamp Set and was stamped in Elegant Eggplant Ink onto Whisper White CS.  The ends of the CS were flagged using the Triple Banner Punch and then popped up with Dimensionals toward the bottom of the mat.

Then I mounted the completed top mat onto a bottom mat of Elegant Eggplant CS, and both pieces were mounted onto a White Card Base using Tape Runner.

Hopefully I can get back on track for my Blog.  Sorry for my absence the past few months. Lots of changes on the Homefront.

Also just updated my Paper Pumpkin alternative pages on my website.  Here is a link if you would like to check them out:
Sandy's Paper Pumpkin Web Page


This A2 size card features flowers from Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Bouquet combined with a Hero Art leaf background stamp.

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I used Tranquil Tide ink to stamp the Hero Arts background stamp on a top mat of  Whisper White Cardstock.

The flowers are from the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set. They were stamped in Berry Burst ink on Whisper White CS and cut out with the coordinating Bouquet Bunch Framelits dies, and then popped up with Dimensionals onto the stamped background.

The sentiment is from the Birthday Banners stamp set and was stamped in Tranquil Tide ink on Whisper White CS and cut with the Bunch of Banners Framelits dies. The outline from the die was cut using the same die from Berry Burst CS.  The pieces were glued to the top mat.

The finished top mat was attached to a bottom mat of Berry Burst CS and then attached to a white card base using tape runner.