Whimsy Stamps ~ Vintage Spring Cards

Hey crafty friends, I'm sharing a few quick cards today, created with the loveliest set of Quick Card Fronts from Whimsy Stamps. This set is called Vintage Spring and has some really sweet imagery. I've used some cohesive elements which go across the set I created. I've used the same Quick Strip Die Set to diecut the sentiment strips, this one is the Quick Strips 3 Die Set. There are several in this range now and I've got them all, because it's so fun to have some options to cut our sentiments with! I like this set particularly, as it has some quite elegant detailing on the dies. But the other sets are fab too.

Aren't the ends on the sentiment strips pretty? I really like how they look on these cards and the sentiments themselves are from the same Quick Card Fronts set. There are two colour options in the set, I chose to use the mushroom grey for these makes. They're very quick and easy designs but I did want to add a little more interest to the panels, so I chose some dies that would step up the designs a little.

The first design I made, I used a lovely but very simple stitched border to diecut the panel for a bit of extra interest. This stitched border die is actually part of the Honeycomb Die Set from Whimsy Stamps. It's such a lovely set, the honeycomb die itself is fab and Whimsy, rather than making the stitched edge integral to the honeycomb pattern, added value to this die set by manufacturing these elements as stand alone dies. They can be used together, but the plain stitched edge can also be used on its own. So fabulous! 

I did note when I cut this panel, that having put it in the diecutting machine at a slight angle, it pushed against the left hand side as it was going through and bowed the side a little. Next time, I'll ensure the panel is taped at those points, to avoid the bowing of the sides. It wasn't enough to feel I needed to ditch the panel, but worth mentioning if you choose to try a similar die. 

There are so many lovely hues in these images, you could pick out any one of them as your accent colour. Having chosen the grey sentiment strips, I chose a lovely blue grey Steele cardstock from Simon Says Stamp, to matt the panel, before mounting it to a side folding card base. I usually prefer top folding card bases, but had a few side folding ones on my table, so worked with what was handy. I added the sentiment popped up on some 2mm loft foam, for a bit of interest on this very plain card.

This second panel has the prettiest purple hues through it and I had some Eggplant cardstock on my desk from Simon Says Stamp which made a lovely matt for this card. It was already trimmed to A2 size, so quick and easy to add to the top folding card base for this one. I diecut the lovely image panel with the largest scalloped frame die from the Mix and Match Scallop Rectangles Die Set. This is such a great set and I really like the stitched edge to the deep scallops. I really like that there is a mix of straight and scalloped layers in this set too. Whimsy are wonderful at providing options and adding value to their die sets. I didn't add any bling to any of the cards, because I felt there was enough going on in the Quick Card Fronts themselves. So other than the diecutting, I kept each design very simple. That is, until this last one...

I was thinking of ways I could add some interest to these card fronts and having just used the Honeycomb Die Set frame, I was looking at the more decorative element, which wasn't right for these panels, but did spark an idea! I pulled out some of my die sets which have some decorative elements for a full A2 panel. There were some texturising cover plates, which would be quite cool on these panels I'm sure. I didn't think the Floating Hearts Cover Plate Die was quite right for these, but the Tweed Cover Plate Die would have added some lovely texture and I will try this out on a future make. But I had another die which caught my eye when I was rifling through my die stash and I really wanted to see what this would do used on one of these panels!

This Checkerboard Die is so fun and makes wonderful, interesting backgrounds used with plain papers etc. I thought it would be fun to see what the effect was like used with this Quick Card Front. A sort of 3D puzzle feel I thought. Looking from different angles altering the way you interpret the piece. I was very careful with my diecutting process, not to disturb the diecut pieces and returned to the frame any that fell out during the diecutting process. 

I worked from the back of the panel with the frame section in place, adding 2mm loft foam mounts to each little diecut square. I pulled off all the backers, grabbed a 12 inch T Square ruler to show the edge lined up, so I could add the Steele grey cardstock base as straight as possible. I was off a little but not badly and all it needed was a trim down two of the sides. When I turned over the adhered piece, the outer frame was of course still loose, so I lifted this off carefully over all the little raised squares and added liquid adhesive to the exposed areas around the popped up squares, then placed the larger diecut back in place, shifting into place more easily, thanks to the liquid glue. I used Gina K Designs glue for this, as it has a little more 'slip time' than my usual go to Glitter Art Glue. It worked a treat and I managed to square up the layers really nicely. Straight on, it's got fun dimension but the image is easily visible, from the sides, it's a fun textural conundrum! A really fun piece to have created and possibly my favourite from this set. I added extra foam behind the open bits of the sentiment and liquid glue to the areas that would make contact with the popped up elements, so there was support and good adhesion. 

In case you missed my previous post, we've just had a fun release at Whimsy with some very beautiful stamp and die sets in it. Those beautiful Easter Quick Card Fronts have really caught my eye. So very lovely for Easter.  I'm still trying to catch up a few posts here, I've been making, which is fab, as the mojo is slowly returning. Burnout and overwhelm is not fun and there's no forcing things. Life just got a little full and my energies were needed elsewhere for a while so I just had not creative inclinations, but happily, it's returning. So there'll be more from me very soon. Hugs and happy crafting, Wends xoxo

(I share thumbnails to the elements I design with, in order to make your search for them easier, in case you like something I've used. I do use affiliate links where possible, and so appreciate if you use these when shopping. They cost you no extra whatsoever. I am proud to design for the companies I do and always feel happy to share where my inspiration and where my crafty stash comes from. I am occasionally gifted products to use, but I only design for companies whose products I absolutely love and buy for myself. My opinions are always my own.)

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