Severnista

Last summer Ellen Hutson released new products exclusively on Amazon after having closed her store of 17 years in 2023 and beginning a new phase of retirement or semi-retirement.

This release includes three stamp and die sets, an olive branch die, a set of mosaic tiles in three sizes giving the crafter greater versatility, plus a background stamp. The theme is Mediterranean inspired and when I saw it I knew that it had great potential in my crafting! So I wrapped it up and gifted it to myself for Christmas.

After many months I am happy to finally get working with these sets. Usually when I acquire a new stamp or die set, I try to re-create cards that the seller has made and showcased on their blog using the same products. This gives me clear focus for a design, a near replica, while I’m trying to figure the in’s and out’s of the set and how to use the supplies that I already have with it.

Of course none of my cards are exactly the same but the inspiration is clear.

These cards feature the Mondo Orange Blossom Stamp and Die Set Combo. My various backgrounds are produced using Altenew’s stencils, Beveled Squares and Mighty Corners. I have found that starting with a background in mind can be very helpful with card designing.

I stenciled color with Concord & 9th’s Buttercup and Clementine, keeping the feel bright and fresh like citrus in a grove. I next stamped the speckled, rustic background stamp that comes in the Mediterranean Breeze Stamp Set Combo in C9’s Mushroom.

Finally I stamped over the background with stamps from the Mondo Orange Blossom set using Versamark Onyx ink on all three cards. For one of the cards I decided to die cut the orange blossom from one inked background, line it up and affix it to another inked background to give it a little dimension.

I then added various sequins from Simon Says Stamp Champagne Sequins mix and Heffy Doodle Designs, Enchanted Moss Sparkle. The “big hugs” stamped and die cut sentiment is from Altenew’s Sunshine Flowers craft kit. “One Day at a Time” sentiment is from the Hello My Friend Stamp and Die Set Combo by Ellen and crew.

I stamped “big hugs” in both Versamark Onyx and Mushroom comparing the two side by side, finding they both work well for these cards.

---

The following cards are my attempts at replicating more of the designs put forth in the product profile and description of the Mediterranean inspired collection. I also purchased a set of arched dies because I needed something different from the rectangular frames that I keep using over and over again but, of course, still love. I like how the arch becomes an inviting focal point. It’s as if it’s drawing you in to a different space. And that is the feeling you get when you look at these card designs.

The tile stamping is lovely. I chose to use Altenew’s Misty Morning and Dark Night for the contrasting tints of blue. I further cut up the die cut of the orange blossom and arranged it in the ‘window’ of the arch. I love the warm colors of the citrus with the cool greens and blue. The sentiment is from this same release. The die that matches the sentiment is arched so you can see why a set of arch frames was practical and complimentary with this release. There are two arched sentiments in the set and the other is ‘Thank You for Being You’ which I can definitely see using.

Using the largest two stamp tile designs in the set, I stamped another background for the arch in Pinkfresh’s Peach Fuzz and Sage, a combo that I often use and was inspired by another designer (I can’t now remember which). I stamped the orange blossom in Versamark Ink on clear vellum and heat embossed with SSS Fine White Detail Embossing Powder. I ‘painted in’ this stain glass affect with my Tombow markers.

I ran this image with coordinating die through my die cut machine. I glued it to the face of the card by carefully applying the glue behind the thickest parts of the embossed detail. I have a new die cut machine and am still learning the pressure situation for all types of media. I may have used a shim that I didnt need and it was rough on the vellum and the embossing. My white embossing started to come off in places after handling it a few times. This was disappointing especially when I didn’t notice it coming off until after I glued it onto the card front.

The fix: I needed something to fill in opaque fine white detail, preferably something with the right tip for application and quick drying. I came up with Bic Wite-out correction fluid and it worked great for a quick, simple fix on vellum.

For the background I used C9’s Aqua Sky card stock that I embossed with Spellbinder’s Optical Arches embossing folder and then cut out an internal arch frame to showcase the beautiful colors of the tile and the pretty pink blossoms and green leaves of the orange tree.

The last of the cards that I recreated uses a die from the same Essential Arches nesting die collection. I used a different sized arch for each card and the set comes with 15 sizes total. Lots of potential, great value and they don’t give or warp after running through the machine as thinner dies can.

Another part of this release is the Olive Branch Designer Die Set which I did not purchase. The designer card features this pretty stem with lots of olive and leaf dies in addition to the main stem. To replace this I used a leafy stem from my Papertry Ink Into the Blooms: Christmas Sprigs die set. I used die cuts in matte gold, C9’s Mushroom, a shade of green and white. I cut leaf pieces and glued various color on the matte gold base.

The cardstock color is C9’s Nectar with a matte gold inside trim piece to further frame the wondow. The background is the speckled stamp from this release also stamped in Mushroom.

Sure, I didn’t come up with any original designs of my own but I did create multiple stamped, embossed images of the orange blossom die set in both white and gold, stamped on white card stock and vellum, so that I would have them on hand for future use.

I discovered in this card workshopping three things: 1) Mushroom, a dark brown, grey color, works out as a good alternative to the bold crisp black ink that I always use, 2) Wite-out can fill in white embossing mistakes, and 3) I may need to fix my embossing machine sandwich so that I don’t crush the vellum and embossed powder lines when I cut.

And now I have six finished cards to send along to friends 🙂

Check out Ellen Hutson’s blog, what you can find in this release and the designs that inspired me here.