Simon Says Stamp has a brand new release! Be Bold is available now for shopping, and has a really good mix of product! Lots of spring, some good birthday greetings (which we always can use more of) and some dies for some Tim Holtz stamp sets, new colors, and always more.

This card - and the posts before and after this one - features one of the stamp sets, combined with some other products from a previous release of theirs.

This card focuses on the new Splendid Sentiments stamp set. I created an arch-shaped top folding card, because I though the curve of the arch played was a good fit with the curves in the “Splendid” stamp.

After cutting out the arched notecard (I did this by making sure the top of the arched die was beyond the top fold of the notecard, so that piece didn’t cut off.) I love this Whirl flower die with the great linear detailing, so cut that out of a few warm and happy colors of cardstock. I also used a couple of other leaf dies and cut those out of the same colors. I gave the three larger flowers from the Whirl die a generous spritz with shimmer spray so they’d shine and sparkle.

As I arranged the flowers to plan that out, I made sure to space and balance out the orangey Sorbet and the pinks, with some bright pops of white that connect it with the background. After I cut out flowers I thought it would be great to add some splatter to the background behind the flowers, so I tried that, but then realized I didn’t like it. It became more busy and with the big bold combination of flowers I felt the clean white background was better, so I cut out a fresh card base the same way and stamped it in black.

I glued all the flowers on with Gina K Connect Glue, and added squins to the center of flowers.

Some design principles used in this card include:

Repetition: You can see this in the shapes - the way the arch of the card top (even though it is hidden a bit in the photos) flows with the shapes of the letterforms, and the white flowers and the rounded set of leaves.

Contrast: The high contrast between the stamped greeting and the background (classic black on white, and also the bright white flowers on top of the colors. That pop you notice? That’s contrast.

Balance: Balance doesn’t always mean equal. Visual balance considers visual weight, and often repetition comes into play with this also. On this card, there is balance between the top and bottom even though there are two large flowers at the top and only a half of one at the bottom. The same colors are used, and same shapes and elements, but since things to the bottom often have a perceived greater weight, this lesser amount is just right. (If we put the exact same number, sizes, and colors of elements on the bottom of this card, it would feel too much.) There’s also balance left and right, and the triangle formed by the three white flowers is a strong balancing element on this card.

You can find more in this card, but I’m going to try to start pointing out a couple in each card for those of you who want to learn more.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you get some time to create something soon.

And go check out this good release at Simon Says Stamp! Here’s a link to make it easy.
Links are below if you’re interested in any of the products I used.

Supply list*:

(Listed by company, with links to Simon Says Stamp)

Concord & 9th -

• cardstock: Dragonfruit, Sweet Pea, Sorbet

Gina K Designs -

• Connect glue

Simon Says Stamp -

• Splendid Sentiments Stamp & Die

• Nested Domed Arches Wafer Dies

• Whirl Flower Wafer Die

• Fine Floral Stem Wafer Dies

• Detail Elm Leaves Wafer Die

• Simple Stem Wafer Die

• Tropical Sequins

Tsukineko -

• SPARKLE Sheer Shimmer Spritz

• VersaFine Onyx Black Ink Pad

*Affiliate links have been used with no cost difference for you.