Beautifully Braided Friendship

Hello, welcome to the Pals Blog Hop! This month our theme is “Goodbye to January-June Mini and 2019-2020 Annual Catalogs and Hello to 2020-2021 Annual Catalog” where the Design Team is showcasing their favorites from the retiring catalogs or products in the new catalog! You’ll find the full line-up below to help you “hop” along from Pal to Pal.

I’ve pulled out my Beautifully Braided Stamp Set again, but this time to use the “braided” and flourish stamps in the set. Combined with birds from the Bird Ballad DSP, I give you Beautifully Braided Friendship. See how I used other stamps in this set by clicking here.

beautifully braided stamp set, bird ballad dsp, subtle embossing folder, seasonal layers dies, friendship card idea, stampin up, karen hallam, stampinup

Let me show you this stamp set once again. It is on the retiring list, so you may want to get one before they are gone!

beautifully braided stamp set, stampin up, karen hallam

Technique Tips:

I wanted to try the dotted braid stamp in the upper right, and I think it made a very interesting border for my card! Out came my Stamparatus to help me line it up. I stamped the Calypso Coral strip once at the top with Versamark Ink. Then without moving the paper, I moved the acrylic plate down two hinges and stamped again. One more time, two hinges down with Versamark Ink, then I sprinkled the strip with white embossing powder. I heat set it to achieve the shiny raised pattern, then stamped the long flourish stamp on either side with Early Espresso Ink. Striking, don’t you think?

beautifully braided stamp set, bird ballad dsp, subtle embossing folder, seasonal layers dies, friendship card idea, stampin up, karen hallam, stampinup

Next, I glued the 5-1/4″x 1-1/8″ strip to the left side of a piece of Whisper White that had been embossed with the Subtle Embossing Folder. The texture doesn’t show up very well in the photo, but is very pronounced in person. Then I glued that to an Early Espresso card base.

In order to get a nice dark, crisp stamp for the sentiment, I put the card back into the Stamparatus and inked it up twice.

Get out the Paper Snips

There is no other way to cut out these birds except to fussy cut them. Use your small precise scissors (and a sharp pair of reading glasses helps too!) I cropped and trimmed two branches from the Seasonal Layers Dies. Then I glued them with the birds straight to the paper. I love these birds. They are having their little social gathering on these branches!

beautifully braided stamp set, love what you do stamp set, bird ballad dsp, subtle embossing folder, seasonal layers dies, friendship card idea, stampin up, karen hallam, stampinup

I think this sentiment from Love What You Do (also on the retiring list) goes well with the stamp on the front. I brought the Braided flourish stamp to the inside and added some Calypso Coral DSP from Bird Ballad.

beautifully braided stamp set, bird ballad dsp, subtle embossing folder, seasonal layers dies, friendship card idea, stampin up, karen hallam, stampinup

The Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper is on the Last Chance Products List and is marked down to $8.05/pack! And that completes my walk back through the Annual Catalog and its DSP! Will I dip into the Mini Spring Catalog next to highlight the papers in it? I guess you’ll have to check back to see! 😉

Now Hopping Right Along…

More inspiration awaits! Use the Blog Hop Line-up below to visit the rest of this month’s Design Team. My fellow Pals are excited to show you what they’ve created! Mark your calendars for June 10th, with our theme “New 2020-2022 In Colors.” We can’t wait to show you the newest In Colors in the Stampin’ Up! color family. Don’t miss the fun! Until then, please stay safe and have fun in your craft room.

Pals Blog Hop Line-Up
  1. Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty
  2. Debra Simonis at Deb’s Stampin’ Grounds
  3. Rosanne Mulhern at Heartfelt Stamping
  4. Karen Hallam at Karen’s Stamping Habit
  5. Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
  6. Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
  7. Mary Hanson at Up North Stampin’
  8. Leah O’Brien at Ink, Paper, Stamps, Oh My!
  9. Debbie Mageed at Secrets to Stamping
  10. Lynn Kolcun at Avery’s Owlery
  11. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
  12. Su Mohr at Aromas And Art
  13. Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs
  14. Deb Walker at Deb Stamps Life
  15. Stesha Bloodhart at Stampin’ Hoot!
  16. Peggy Noe at Pretty Paper Cards
  17. Jeanie Stark at Just Stampin’
  18. Rae Harper Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
  19. Sara Stuart at Sentiments by Sara
  20. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin’
  21. Sue Jackson at Just Peachy Stamping
  22. Jen Roque at Stamp Camp with Jen
  23. Ann Murray at Murray Stamps, Ink
  24. Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
  25. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
  26. Diana Carr at The Secret Life of Paper
  27. Karen Buttery at Karen On The Lake Stamper
  28. Dacia Smith at My Creative Days

I hope you enjoyed our Pals Blog Hop today. I’m sure you found lots of inspiration! To get a closer look at the products that I used on my card, click on the photos below in the Product List. They are linked to my online store so you can get all the purchasing information. If you do order from my store, please use my Host Code that is listed on my sidebar. Plus, I would love it if you would sign up to follow my blog and also to receive my newsletter!

Have a wonderful day!

Product List

Stamparatus

$49.00

Paper Snips

$10.00

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25 Comments

  1. Stunning card Karen. The birds are striking on the branches and the inside is super cool. You knocked it out of the park.

  2. WOW! Great post and I soooo appreciate your detail on your instructions! I cannot believe you fussy cut those adorable birds…but I can see why you did it….it MAKES the card!

  3. LOVE the birds on limbs!! I didn’t realize they were fussy cut from paper!! ADORABLE!!

  4. Somehow I missed this stamp set! Beautiful sentiments! Love how you did the birds and branches!

  5. Melissa Seplowitz

    Beautiful card Karen! I love the Beautifully Braided set, and even more so, when the Bird Ballad DSP is involved.❤️

  6. Mary Anne Schnettgoecke

    Beautiful card Karen!!

  7. Thanks for the reminder on the braid. You inside sentiment layer is PERFECT. LOVE this beautiful card!

  8. Great to see how you put your own stamp on Bird Ballad! Love your tips!

  9. Chris from Pella

    So cool! I have this set but haven’t used it yet. I bought it for the glorious leaf. I knew it had a punch but didn’t order it. I did get a pack of the bird paper when I saw it was on sale. Thanks for details on how you made this. Someday I will tackle this. Looks amazing!

  10. Great card! You did an awesome job fussy cutting those birds.

  11. I love this with the words and birds. The stamp set was one I ignored. I need to take a second look.

  12. This card is so pretty, Karen. The combination of products work so beautifully together.

  13. The braiding is the star of the show! It really adds a great touch. You have a beautiful card!

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