Welcome Neighbor featuring Concord and 9th

Hello crafty friends! It's Ashlea and today I'm here showing off one of my most favorite stamp and die set as of late. The Laurel Frame stamp set is beautiful and versatile on its own, but when you add the coordinating dies? It becomes a set that you will use over and over and over again. Sometimes I ask if I *really* need the dies when I'm making a purchase and I just knew with this one, that I did. More on that in a bit.

First lets just talk about the beauty that is the stamp set. The wreath itself has two layers which creates interest and depth without being intimidating like some of the 3-4 layer sets that we love. I used Lime Rickey ink by Catherine Pooler for my base of the wreath and then Spruce also by Catherine Pooler for the second layer. The roses have three layers but, honestly, I found they look just a beautiful with just two as well. In fact, for this card I used Limoncello Ink by Catherine Pooler for the base and Tutti Frutti for both the second and third layers. This kept the shape and dimension in the roses but gave just the slightest shading to the final layer. I stamped the roses on a spare piece of card stock so that I could use the die to cut them out and place them into the correct spot with foam tape after I did all the die cutting to add dimension to the wreath.

This is where the die set really begins to shine. There is not only a coordinating die for the outside of the wreath but also one for the inside of the wreath. This leaves an actual wreath for your to add to your cards which creates lots of possibilities for sentiments or designs in the center of the wreath. I decided to score an A2 sized card front every half inch to add some interest to the design without adding color or distraction as I really wanted the wreath to be the star. 

The die set also offers a small sentiment banner, word dies, and leaf dies to add lots of interest to your wreath cards. It really stretches the use of this stamp set and I am always for that!

I hope that you have enjoyed learning a little bit about how I created this card and why I decided to splurge for the stamp AND die set. Concord and 9th always has such innovative designs and this is no different. I'll see you very soon!