Watercolor Continuity Infinity Card + A Simple Salad Dressing

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I love that the modern stamping world has given me the ability not to feel like a half-wit when it comes to interactive cards.

I tried hard for many years to be that person that was competent at measuring and scoring and folding and blah blah blah.

I am not that person.

I finally came to my senses and stopped making them. Until interactive dies became a thing. HALF WIT BE GONE - I was free!

Now - confession time. I still don't understand how they work, and consider them the crafty version of witchcraft - but I also don't understand suspension bridge, and those work great. I don't need to understand something to love it. That's why I have cats.

So when I first spied, with my little eye, the new never-ending card die from my friends at Concord & 9th - I had no idea what awesome things it did. It's incredibly simple - one simple shape for cutting all four pieces, and four little dots of glue. And SHAZAM - you have a multi-shape, perfectly folding never-ending card! EVEN ME, THE HALF WIT.

They have this adorable stamp set that matches the die, and it comes with a die that cuts little side panels for the cross-shaped stage of the card, but I wanted to challenge myself to make a watercolor card that had continuity from one scene to another.

Since the card changes shape with each fold, and parts of the fold below the last three folds are visible, I knew I had to pick similar images that worked well together, so I grabbed my Fadeout ink, and stamped first the Painted Rose, then the Songbird, then the Grateful for Everything, and finally the poppy. You'll see what I mean in the video below.

But here are some still shots. First - the rose. I painted all these with Daniel Smith Watercolor on Fabriano Cold Press.

Using carryover colors from one image to the next is important - but if you look at the stamp set, you can see that those leaves and flowers and berries are actually from the image on the next layer of the card from this stamp set. I just continued them onto the songbird image for my continuity scheme. I like this particular shape in the process - it looks like a window to me. See the center panels with the bird? The other dies in this set cut those shapes for sentiment or image panels if you're using the new Turnabout Set or the matching Endless Birthday stamp set for background patterns. SO fun. 

I used SO much temporary adhesive trying to photograph the third fold, but I couldn't - watercolor paper makes that layer with the most folds more challenging than cardstock would, but you'll see it in the video. In the meantime - the last fold is probably my favorite. I stamped the poppy across the panels and you can see how the first, rose layer is peeking out from below, so I continued that onto the poppy panels for complete continuity of the final layer. I squealed.

I know it's hard to imagine how this works so I made a little video for you! Enjoy, and then come back below for a simple salad dressing recipe from my sister! I've been making this a lot, as the local lettuces are thriving this time of year. We have lovely local romaine and don't need no stinkin' Salinas lettuce! :)

Endless Birthday Infinity Dies [ C&9 ] Endless Birthday Stamps [ C&9 ] Everyday Purse Builder Dies [ C&9 ] Everyday Purse Stamps [ C&9 ] Hey Girl Dies [ C&9 ] Lovely Lattice Turnabout [ C&9 ] Tiny Tagalongs [ C&9 ] Tall Type Tagalong Dies [ C&9 ] Painted Rose BUNDLE - Concord & 9th [ C&9 ] Pretty Poppy BUNDLE - Concord & 9th [ C&9 ] Grateful For Everything BUNDLE -... [ C&9 ] Songbird [ C&9 ] January Full Release Bundle [ C&9 ] Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink [ INK ] VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne -... [ ELH | SSS ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Escoda Versatil Brushes | BLICK Art... [ BLIC | BLIC | INK ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... [ SSS ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] Sakura CLASSIC WHITE Fine Line 05... [ SSS ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Mermaid tidy towel case and glue... [ ETS ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS ]

Isn't that a hoot? I had so much fun making that. Yes me, the half wit. It's SO easy to put together, and then just an hour of relaxing painting.

So are you ready for the world's easiest and most delicious salad dressing? I had a salad for dinner last night and thought to myself - "self - you should share this recipe!" - so here I am. This is my sister's recipe - she brought this over at Christmas and I fell in love with it.

I use one of those teeny little mason jars - I like these vintage fruit ones I buy every year. Perfect for three or four salads. My favorite salad is just lettuces, hand torn, cucumbers, honey roasted peanuts and dried cranberries and this dressing. Just put in the jar and shake.

1/4 C. Olive Oil
1/4 C. Balsamic Glaze (I buy this one)
1/2 C. Evolution Fresh Defense Up Juice (or orange juice)
1 tsp. Redmond Real Salt
1 heaping tsp. of a simple mustard - I use Farmhouse Delivery's whole grain mustard
A few splashes of white balsamic vinegar

Shake and serve!

I'm guest designing for Concord & 9th this month, so I'll be back on the next three Fridays with more from today's release. You can see the rest of the full release here. Pay special attention to this awesome collaboration with Becky Roberts - this ADORABLE purse builder die and matching stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by. Loveyameanitbye.