Hi, crafty friends! Today, I’m stretching my supplies today, using a Christmas die set for a non holiday card. When we invest in die sets, we want to get a lot of use out of them, right? I’ve used the die set on Christmas cards in the past (here, here and here), but this time I felt like doing something else. We’ve officially survived winter and reached spring, we can certainly make springtime floral cards instead of holiday floral cards, right?

I started by choosing a color palette, this time opting for one that Concord & 9th put together. They have lots of color resources on their website, and even a color club. This is the Spring Meadow palette: Ballet Slipper, Briar Rose, Starfruit, Sea Glass and Juniper. I die cut the pieces and ink blended on top with the same color ink to create additional interest on the die cuts. I actually used Briar Rose on the Ballet Slipper for a cohesive look on the flower, but the rest of the die cuts are inked with the same color ink as the cardstock color. I love that the C9 ink colors match the cardstock colors so well.

I used the Triangle Piercing die from C9 to cut into the card base. I then used Sulky metallic sewing thread in color 7003 and a size 26 tapestry needle for my stitching. I was initially planning on having the floral swag span the width of the card and adhering it directly to the stitched background with a sentiment below, but somehow it evolved into something else, I was just along for the ride. I trimmed a piece of Sea Glass cardstock to cover the bottom two rows of rectangles and adhered this to the card base, planning on adhering the flower where the panel ends. Then I found an already die cut frame (I realize now that this is the Classic Rectangle Frames die set from My Favorite Things) in my stash cut from Champagne cardstock from C9, which was the perfect size to add to the card.

I adhered the Juniper die cuts directly to the line that separates the Sea Glass from the card base, then mounted the Sea Glass ones on top, before finishing off with the flower on another layer of foam squares.

I die cut the word celebrate from Champagne cardstock from C9 using the Sweet Sentiments die set from Altenew. I die cut the shadow from white and mounted it on foam squares to make it float across the frame. I usually stack die cut words, but this gives a different look and worked better for this card. I finished very simply with a few champagne glitter drops from Pinkfresh Studio.