Smiling Florals

Do you ever find a paper collection or an image that you love 99% of, but there’s just one tiny detail that makes you hesitate? That was exactly my experience with the new Smiling Florals Cardmaking Kit from LV Handcrafted. The colors are stunning, the patterns are right up my alley, and the sentiments are perfect. However, I have a quirky personal preference: while I adore kawaii critters, I’m not usually a fan of inanimate objects—like flowers—having little faces! 😂

Instead of letting that stop me, I decided to lean into what I loved and found a super easy fix to customize the images to my style.

I wanted to keep the focus on those gorgeous patterns while softening the "smiling" aspect of the florals. Here is how it all came together:

• The Layout: I used the EZ Wonder 1 dies (and add-ons) to create the focal circle and square elements. To add a bit of texture and framing, I tucked in some delicate scallop borders.

• The Focal Point: I fussy-cut the main floral image and gave the petals a little extra life by inking the edges with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink. To create depth, I used dimensional foam to pop the flower head up from the background.

• The Fix: Covering the eyes was as simple as layering! By using a circle die and the coordinating papers from the kit, I created a clean, floral-centric design that felt more "me."

• Finishing Touches: I selected a sentiment from the kit's sentiment sheet, cut it out using the Universal Sentiment Die, and added a few sparkling enamel dots for that essential bit of shimmer.

Whether you love the sweet little faces or prefer a more traditional floral look, this kit is incredibly versatile and easy to customize. It also coordinates beautifully with the new EZ Postage printables releasing on the 15th!

You can find the kit and more over at the LV Handcrafted Shop.

Use code VERVEGIRL at checkout to save 10% on printables!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Crafting with Not 2 Shabby Cut Aparts

Hey friends! If you’re like me, you probably get a little spark of joy when you flip through a new paper pad and find that dedicated sheet of cut-aparts. They are such a versatile extra, and today I’m showing you how to turn those darling illustrations from the Petals and Pals paper (part of the April Paper Pad Club) into a set of sweet, hello cards.

The Petals and Pals paper is full of whimsical critters and soft colors and I have a video on the Not 2 Shabby blog today. I’ll be walking you through one card design step-by-step, plus sharing two bonus ideas at the end to help you clear out those scraps! Watch it on the blog below or at this link: https://youtu.be/_7sJfbdlMGk

One of my favorite ways to craft is by mixing current kits with older stash favorites. Since the Petals and Pals paper has beautiful hints of lavender, I pulled out the Lavender Lane papers from a few months back.

To make everything pop, I chose Perfect Plum cardstock for matting. It provides a deep, rich contrast to the pastel prints.

For the main card, I cut my main floral print to 3" wide and my background lavender print to 4.25" wide. I added an icing border to the mat for the 3" panel. Next I created a sweet scene with the bear and turtle cut aparts. Then I pulled the older Woodland Buddies set from my stash and colored a wooden sign that says hello. I finished off with some glossy accents and glitter.

For this second card, I used a similar layout to the first card, but flipped the border. I used Copic markers to change the pink flowers on the cut-apart to purple so they matched my Lavender Lane paper perfectly and finished with a sentiment and a darling racoon critter.

For the final card, I used a panel of the Petals & Pals paper matted with plum. I added an embossed purple square in the center to highlight the scrap of lavendeer, then added the hello word die cut and the adorable goose and butterfly cut-aparts.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

On another note, I'm teaching a couple of cards at the Spring Paper Escape on Saturday, April 11! The event is FREE to register, but if you purchase a bonus ticket you'll get printable step by step instructions from all the instructors, plus a digital kit of printable papers, ephemera, and sentiments (I designed one of the sentiment printables!). Would love to see you there!

Register HERE

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