Back to flowers, again

When all else fails, crafty-inspiration-wise, go back to flowers.

These flowers were created from My Favorite Things' Stitched Flowers Dies. The centers on most of the flowers are Nuvo drops.

The greenery is cut with Paper Smooches' Foliage 1 and 2 dies. The Darice embossing folder with the text has been in my stash for a while, and the lumpy embossing folder is from Sizzix. The sentiments have been in my desk cup for a while also.

So, over the weekend I ordered ANOTHER Christmas card kit.  While I was on the site I also ordered more embossing folders and a few small die sets.  One of the sets I ordered is for layered flowers, and since I can't wait for them I pulled out these cuties from MFT and started layering them up. I hope I don't burn out before the new set gets here.

The card kit was ordered because I couldn't figure out any other way to get the particular die that comes with it any other way. I'm a little obsessed, I think. I took a few minutes to finally put the parts of the "Merry Everything" kit back in it's box, where it can rest until next time I need to do a bunch of Christmas cards.  I have enough for the next 3 years already, but who's counting?

I couldn't do it -- a sheetload of cards.

I got this 12 x 12" Jen Hadfield Patio Party paper pad at Tuesday Morning a couple of weeks after Christmas.

I was going to do a "sheetload" of cards, using the instructions at Call Me Crafty Al's website.  The concept is great. Just cut your 12 x 12 papers per the instructions and assemble. Easy peasy, right? There was even a page of cut-apart tags that could be used for the focal element/sentiment.  Well, my paper selections weren't so appropriate for this style of layout.  I used solid card stock to layer some of the pieces, but I still wasn't happy with the results.

By this time I had started cutting into different papers for the background, looking for just the right balance of patterns.  Funny thing, that one green fern pattern looks exactly like sheets I had in the 70s and 80s.

After this I gave up and started just putting down paper as I liked, card sketch be darned.

On the last card I gave up using different papers from the set and just used one, cut with a wavy border die.  The gold birds are from Paper Smooches..

So, the cards on the navy card bases got tied together with their matching envelopes into a set I hope someone can use.  The others on white card bases, and the one pink one, got the envelopes fancied up with the rest of that last flowered paper. They too will be tied together into a gift bundle, as soon as I get more pink ribbon.  Who knew I'd run out of ribbon?

The part that has me laughing is that I bought that paper pad because I loved the sheet with the flamingos.  I'm hoarding it.  

Edited to add this last card which I missed in the last photo shoot. It belongs here, so here it is: