Blame it on the walls

Yes, the walls...it is all the walls' fault. Well, it is really the fault of the person who bought the walls, then decided it would be a good idea to use them for her Open House. That would be me.

As a crafter, I sometimes do shows that want you to set up a 10x10 booth, so I have grid walls for that purpose. And because when I display my cards in card racks on those walls they need to be at or just above eye level (think mini-card-store and you'll do fine), the bottom of the walls are never used. SO, when I purchased them, I opted for taller bases (feet) so my 6'-high walls would be 7' high. Perfect for craft shows, but not so perfect when they are in my Dining Room and I have to FILL THEM WITH CARD SAMPLES! What was I thinking?!!?!?

But, it is all I have, so I am determined to complete the task before people start arriving Sunday morning.

This evening, I decided to put the fish episode behind me and move on to some of my un-used new sets. Following is what I ended up with. All of these use Stampin' Up!-only supplies.


This one uses the Brocade Designer paper on River Rock textured card stock. I really liked the two together, but it needed a little something for contrast, so I layered the Elegant Eggplant under the tag.

Aaaaaaand, in a totally not-me moment, didja notice this one is square? Don't know what came over me....

Recipe: Stamps - Block Party; Card stock/paper - River Rock textured, Brocade DS paper, Elegant Eggplant, Wisper White; Ink - River Rock; Accessories - Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon,Hodgepodge Hardware, River Rock Double-stitched ribbon.


This next one is also square...hmmmm.....

Still playing with the Brocade Designer paper, I decided to keep this one simple, too.

Recipe: Stamps - Sweet Sampler; Card stock/paper - Old Olive textures, Brocade DS paper; Ink - in Basic Gray; Accessories - Basic Gray taffeta ribbon.




For this one I wanted to use the lower case 't' Monogram. I bought it in a Good Demo moment because I thought I should have at least one, and naturally it works with the word 'thanks'. Too easy.

But, like the big monogram stamps, when you remove the die-cut part, you are left with the negative image. With my large monograms, I mounted the negative on the reverse side of the wood block. For this one, though, I actually mounted the sticker on the block, but I did keep the negative around.

So, for this card, instead of using the stamp itself, I had the idea to use the negative like a stencil, and I traced it on the back side of the paper I wanted to use, then cut it out. I then decided to mount THAT onto a piece of scrap card stock to give it some body. I kept the rest of it pertty plain, partly because I hit a creative block, but I also decided I liked it that way. ;-) (Plain, not the creative block.)

Recipe: Stamps - Monogram 't' Lower, Three Thoughts (Simply Sent Kit); Card stock/paper - Whisper White textured, Blue Bayou Designer paper; Ink - Blue Bayou "marker"; Accessories - White taffeta ribbon, Pomegranate from the Sherbet Ribbon Originals.

Moving on, I decided to see what I could do with the Neighborhood Jumbo Wheel. I make note cards for my Farmers Market, and I originally bought it with that in mind. But my Customers don't do that, so I tried to think of some other way to use it.

By the way, I actually have two of these wheels. I was so excited to own it, I bought one, then got a second one with my Hostess bucks. I really should pay more attention...

Anyway, even though I may have a black inked cartridge for the Jumbo handle, I instead prefer to ink up my wheels directly on the ink pads. Not always the best coverage, so when I inked and rolled, naturally there were some 'misses'. Could be Operator Error, too (ya think?) ... sometimes it works better than others.

Never fear!!! I cut the image apart and used two of the best-inked parts to make two cards. Clever, non? I think it gives you a lot more options than the usual wheeling across a single card.

Recipe: Stamps - Neighborhood Jumbo Wheel, Warm Words; Card stock - River Rock, River Rock Designer paper, Cameo Coral and Garden Green textured c/s; Ink - Basic Gray; Accessories - River Rock stitched ribbon.

I seem to be using Basic Gray a lot since I've gotten it. Thinking back to my cross-stitching days, when I could still see the teeny tiny symbols in the little squares in the design instructions, I used a charcoal-colored floss instead of black to outline shapes. Same idea here - less of a contrast than Black. I am sooo glad Stampin' Up! decided to offer this color!

Tomorrow I have the Farmers Market in the morning, then I have to clean. I think I will set a personal goal to clean before I can play any more. Yes, I have more samples to make, but I need to make sure people will fit in to this tiny condo on Sunday, so clean I must.

I just realized what time it is, which explains why I cannot type any more - you have no idea how much re-typing I have been doing!!! G'night!