holding hands

Happy Friday! It’s been a weird week here…how about you? But it’s Friday and I’m pretty excited about that! 🙂

I’m taking a turn for this week’s TGIF, which means I finally had an excuse to sit down and just have fun pulling together a few last minute holiday ideas that have been floating through my mind! I’ve been wanting to pull out my Holding Hands set and play with a few holiday ideas.

For this first card, I created a gift to place in the hands. I used a few different dies for this – one of the dotted rectangles from the Curio: Divider & Details II set, topped off with the puffy bow from the Fit to Be Tied set. I sponged the “box” with green ink and stamped some little sprigs onto it to create the “wrapping paper”.

I attached a tiny tag from the Sentiment Suite: Basics die set, stamped with a sentiment from the Sentiment Suite: Christmas set. I also tucked in some diecut Pine Bough sprigs, and Inside & Out Berry Branch sprigs, and glittered them up, along with the bow. For the hands, I sponged them with Fine Linen ink and stamped the detail layer. Then I added the sweater sleeves, cut from kraft cardstock and stamped with brown ink for the sweater detail.

For my second card, I wanted to create a pretty holiday bouquet for the hand to hold. I created my bouquet using several different elements…the berry branch from Winter Sketches, some BotaniCuts Pine Bough sprigs, and a few stems of Petite Eucalyptus. I tied them all together with some linen string, and attached another tiny tag from the Sentiment Suite stamps and dies.

I love embellishing these little hands with the jewelry that comes in the set. I cut the bracelet and ring from gold cardstock, and added a red gem to the ring.

For both cards, I attached a Nordic Frames diecut panel to a kraft card base and sponged just a bit of Tumbled Glass ink to the background. I also added lots of white ink splatters to give everything a snowy look.

Thanks so much for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed these projects! Have a lovely weekend…the last one before Christmas! Time to get those presents wrapped…or at least start shopping – lol!

Welcome to Day 2 of our second birthday celebration and full reveals of our newest collection! Today we’ll be showcasing the rest of the new products from our Spring Market collection before they go up in the shop tomorrow morning – April 28, at 10am EDT!

If you’d like to see all of the new products up close, Laurie will be hosting an Instagram Live presentation of all of the new products on Tuesday, April 27 at 11:00am CDT, (that’s today!) so tune in if you’d like to check it out!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Insta-live-with-laurie-new.jpg

Let’s check out today’s reveals!

Note: In an effort to simplify our release posts, all product details and descriptions will be viewable via the link below each product heading. Note that while the new products are viewable in the shop HERE, you will not be able tot add them to your cart or purchase them until Wednesday, April 28 at 10am EDT.

Holding Hands stamp set + die

Holding hands and holding hearts, this set is all about the details! From the three different sleeve options, to the objects to hold, or the itty bitty jewelry, this set will capture your creativity!

Click HERE for stamp set details & info
Click HERE for die details & info

Flower Market Bouquet stamp set + die

First stop at the flower market? The tulip bouquets! Fresh and springy, there’s no flower quite like it. Stamp this pretty multi-step bouquet for birthdays, anniversaries, springtime cards, and more. Create fuller, more dimensional bouquets by layering the individual blooms over the bouquet!

Click HER E for stamp set info & details
Click HERE for die info & details

BotaniCuts Tulips die

Our always-popular BotaniCuts series is off to tip-toe through the tulips! These gorgeous blooms are easy to put together, but create simply stunning projects. Assembly guide included!

Click HERE for full details & info

Market Baskets die + Market Basket Sentiments stamp set

Going to the market? Better bring your baskets! This fun set includes baskets in three sizes. Have fun creating patterned liners using the optional liner and ruffle dies. The coordinating mini sentiment set has lots of options for stamping sentiments onto the labels!

Click HERE for die details & info
Click HERE for stamp set info & details

Fond of Foliage Background Stamp

Are you fond of foliage? A lover of leaves? This background stamp is calling your name. Create quick and easy stamp-n-go backgrounds, or play around with your favorite techniques for lots of different looks!

Click HERE for details & info

I can’t wait to share today’s projects! My first card uses the BotaniCuts Tulips along with the largest basket from the Market Baskets die set. THIS was the card I wanted to create as I was designing these dies, and I love how it came together.

[imagelinks id=”262″]

I cut the tulips from white cardstock and sponged the pieces with ink, then added some shading with colored pencils. They come together very easily. The large open bloom is just two pieces + the center stamen. I like to curl the edges with something round like a pencil to really bring these blooms to life. I included several wildflower stems from our BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix die from last release, leaving them white to just fill in and not distract from the tulips. For my basket, I diecut the largest basket from the Market Baskets set from gold metallic paper. I didn’t add the optional liner because I wanted my stems to show. I added the “thanks” sentiment using the Market Basket Sentiments stamp set. The slimline base was of course cut with our Crimped Slimline die.

For my next BotaniCuts Tulip card I wanted a much softer look. I once again diecut all of the flower parts from white cardstock. I very lightly sponged some Tattered Rose Distress Oxide to the centers/bases of the flowers and buds. I made the foliage very vibrant by sponging with Crushed Olive and Rustic Wilderness Oxides.

[imagelinks id=”263″]

For my background, I stamped our new Fond of Foliage Background onto a panel of gray/green cardstock using Weathered Wood, Rustic Wilderness, and Crushed Olive Oxides. I started inking my stamp in the lower left corner, and worked my way to the other corner, changing the ink colors as I went along to get a sort of tone-on-tone, yet gradient effect. I finished off the card by tucking in a few BotaniCuts Wildflower sprigs and a sentiment from our new Holding Hands set. I think it will be a beautiful sympathy card.

Next up is another card using our new Market Baskets die. This was another idea I couldn’t wait to put into action. I diecut the small and medium baskets from assorted cardstocks – white, black, and gold.

[imagelinks id=”264″]

To fill up my baskets, I pulled out my Macrame Fillers die and also once again my BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix die. I positioned my full baskets on a wood ledge created with our Shiplap Builder die. Take note of the shorter black basket – it’s easy to snip off a few of the bottom rungs if you want something shorter, or to add more variety to your sizes!

My next couple of projects use our new Flower Market Bouquet. This is such a fun one to stamp and watch come to life! So fun to play with different colors for the tulips and the small filler flowers. I used shades of pink and yellow here for the main bouquet – Spun Sugar, Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet, and Scattered Straw.

[imagelinks id=”265″]

Our new Holding Hands set is perfect for pairing with the Flower Market Bouquet – I used that here to hold this pretty bouquet. I also tucked in a few individual sprigs stamped with the Flower Market Bouquet and layered them over the top – oh, and I’m addicted to the Wildflower die, so there are a couple of those tucked in there, too! 😉 I dressed up that pretty hand with red nail polish (I used Nuvo Drops), a bracelet cut from gold metallic paper, and a pretty ring (cut from gold metallic paper and topped off with a rhinestone). The background is very subtle – I stamped the Fond of Foliage background in a very soft gray, and added the “for you mom” sentiment from the Holding Hands set.

Next I paired the Flower Market Bouquet with the largest basket from the Market Baskets die set to create a shaped card. To do this, I diecut the basket liner on the fold so that the top edge didn’t cut all the way — it cut in the very center where it is slightly curved, but not on the very edges. This created a slit where I could tuck my bouquet.

[imagelinks id=”266″]

This time I also used the ruffle liner for the basket- I stamped some dots onto it to create a fun pattern (it’s actually the flower centers from one of the flower clusters in the AlphaBuds Bold Floral set introduced yesterday). In addition to the large bouquet, I also tucked in two of the little individual flower sprigs from the Flower Market Bouquet set. This fun shaped card would also be so fun for place cards for a spring brunch or bridal shower!

This next card might be my favorite of the day! I combined the smallest Market Basket die with the Holding Hands set. I had so much fun creating with Holding Hands – so many options for creating pretty details. Here I diecut the “puffy” sleeve option from vellum, and heat embossed the detail layer with white embossing powder. It turned out so fun!

[imagelinks id=”267″]

A note about the dies that match the Holding Hands set – several of the dies in the set are a bit different from our usual format in that they are exactly the same size as the stamps, without the typical border around the edges. The hands and sleeves are done this way so that none of the pretty detail is lost, and the result is something so delicate and detailed! This also gives you the option of stamping just the detail layer, like I did here on the vellum sleeves. I also found that when using the dies, I liked to sponge my first layer of color and then just stamp the knuckle/shading detail.

I filled my wire basket with two of the small bouquets from the Holding Hands set. The sentiment was done with a combination of the PreText Sentiments stamp set and the new Let’s Have a Word: Birthday die. The jewelry details really make this extra special! They were diecut from metallic gold paper, and a tiny pink pearl was added to the ring.

While the card above uses two hands done in the same skin tone to depict one person holding the flower bouquet, you can also create two different hands to look like two people exchanging a gift or a note! For this card I used the small envelope from the set (it’s a tiny version of our Signed & Sealed envelope!)

[imagelinks id=”268″]

Inside the envelope I tucked the bouquet from the Holding Hands set, along with a tiny tag that was cut using the Sentiment Suite Basics die, stamped with the birthday sentiment from the new Market Basket Sentiments set. To assemble the card, I layered a Crimped Circle over a background stamped with the new Fond of Foliage background.

My next card again uses Holding Hands. I loved experimenting with different objects for the hands to hold. Here I used the BotaniCuts Forget-Me-Nots and a couple of other scraps from my desk – a small bit of a BotaniCuts Carrot top and a stem from Wildflower Mix. What do you envision creating for the hand to hold? 🙂

[imagelinks id=”269″]

This time I used the bell sleeve option, and embellished it with a small flower from the AlphaBuds Bold Floral set introduced yesterday, along with some white pen dots. I gave her a gold bracelet embellished with a purple gemstone. For the background, I stamped the Fond of Foliage background onto watercolor paper using Oxide inks. Then I used the watercolor technique I shared HERE several months ago to give it a watercolored look. To finish it off, I diecut a frame using the Nordic Frames die and backed it with vellum so my pretty pattern would show through just a bit, but not distract too much from that pretty hand-held bouquet.

My last and final card today uses the Holding Hands set, this time stamped directly onto my card font, instead of using the dies. That puff sleeve stamped over the top of the arm? Perfect for creating a sheer look!

[imagelinks id=”270″]

I did use the coordinating hand die to do some masking. Since the dies are the exact size of the hand stamps, this works wonderfully. I layered a hand, cut from a post-it note, over top of my stamped image before stamping the bouquet. I trimmed the thumb from the mask so that my bouquet would look like it goes behind the hand, but over top of the thumb. I stamped and heat embossed the ring, and added a rhinestone for the perfect finishing touch. It would be perfect for a bridal shower card! I trimmed down my stamped panel, and also diecut a border using the Macrame Openwork Base die, then layered it over a panel that I had sponged and stamped with the Fond of Foliage background and Tumbled Glass ink – something borrowed, something blue! I also heat embossed the “congratulations” sentiment from the Holding Hands set.

Now that you’ve gotten to meet all of today’s new products and see them in action, you can “greet” them for a chance to win a special prize! Today’s prize is a bundle that includes ALL of the items from our Spring Market collection – a $392 value! We’ll be giving away TWO bundles – one here on the blog, and one via our Day 2 giveaway post on Instagram.

Read on for details…

Comment here on the blog for one entry (one comment per person).
Comment on our Inspiration Team Members’ blogs for more entries (linked below – one comment per person, per blog)
Comment on our Instagram Day 2 giveaway post
Comments close at 11:59pm EST on Tuesday night, April 27
Winners will be posted at 7am EDT on Wednesday, April 28, here on the blog

The inspiration team has been busy creating lots of beautiful things with these new stamps and dies! Hop along to see what they’ve been up to (click HERE if viewing via email)