I knew it wouldn’t take long for me to pull out my July Card kit from Simon Says Stamp again. The bee’s bring me joy, and hopefully they will do the same for those I send my cards to!
I started with a mat cut from light blue cardstock, then added an accent piece of patterned cardstock cut 1.5” wide. I die cut a few honeycombs from the yellow cardstock and a few more from patterned cardstock. All patterned paper used today came from The Bee’s Knees pack included in the kit. I wanted to add more oomph to the card, which I achieved by using the yellow honeycomb outline, and filled it with the patterned paper honeycombs.
I used Thin 3D Foam Squares to add a couple bee’s I had left over from working with the kit last week (colored with Copic Markers). I stamped a sentiment with Hero Arts Shadow Ink in Soft Granite. I also stamped some honeycombs on the inside of the card, just to continue the theme inside. The Soft Granite is a fantastic neutral grey. It pairs will with both warm and cool toned colors. With this, my first card of the day was complete.
I wanted a little more boldness for my next card, so I started with a black mat (3 7/8” x 5 1/8”), followed by a patterned cardstock mat (3 1/2” x 4 3/4”). I pulled out my last bee and, using the guidelines from my Tonic Studios Glass Media Mat, lined it up with my sentiment stamps. Once I had the spacing where I wanted it, I transferred the stack to my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform. After removing the bee and treating the cardstock with my anti-static pouch, I stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink then embossed using Ranger White Embossing Powder.
Trimming the sentiment down to size, I adhered it to the bottom corner of my card, then added the bee with Thin 3D Foam Squares. Some groupings of sequins around the card finished this card.
My final card today also utilized a black mat, but not quite as bold this time. At 5” x 3 3/4”, this mat allows a bit more white space from the card base to show. My second mat of 4 3/4” x 3 1/2” leaves only a 1/8” boarder of black displayed (half the size of the above card). This allows the black of the sentiment and stamped images to pop, but not be too overpowering. The lighter color of the patterned cardstock used as the second mat also help tone down the color scheme.
I used a left over yellow honeycomb outline as a guide to glue honeycomb hexagons directly to the patterned cardstock. I created a pattern of hexagons that moved across the card, continually moving around my guide as needed.
I left enough room to stamp a bee with trail and a sentiment. Both were stamped using Hero Arts Intense Black. I didn’t want the bee trail to extend beyond the top mat, so when stamping I placed a scrap of cardstock to protect the card base. And my final card was complete!
I love the simplicity of these cards, yet how fun and full they all are. Card kits are fun for both novice and expert alike, and there are many companies out there who create monthly kits for us to enjoy. Whether you subscribe to a membership, or purchase them occasionally, they can provide an endless supply of inspiration. This July kit from Simon Says Stamp will keep me full of inspiration much longer than July is long! What kits have you purchased in the past? Do you have a favorite kit? Let me know in the comments, I would love to check them out!
Until next time, Keep Calm and Craft On!
