More new stuff!

More playing with my new shipment of Stampin' Up! stuff. This one uses more of the Outlaw Designer Series papers...I thought it went really well with our Kraft card stock. I like the subtle patterns of the DS paper in that they provide a nice canvas for other layers without overwhelming them.

The popped-up image was punched with the new SU scallop punch from the reverse side of the main DS paper. The image fit almost perfectly into the scallop opening!

I used the SU Word Window punch as a - word window! Someone on SCS mentioned our Word Window punch fit perfectly over the words that come with this stamp, and this allows you to put in whatever word YOU want. Too cool! I thought the word 'friend' looked a bit lonesome, so I added the brads.

The double-stitched gg ribbon is SU's new River Rock. I like how it 'goes' with other colors.

Recipe (all products from SU): Stamps - Bronc Buster; Card stock - Kraft, Very Vanilla; Ink - Choc Chip; Paper - Outlaw DS paper; Accessories - Scallop punch, Word WIndow punch, Ticket corner punch, River Rock double-stitched gg ribbon, brads.



These two cards are the same except for two things. (1) One uses Real Red and one uses Ruby Red, and (2) The one on the left has a flower stamped on it to cover up a background schmear boo-boo.

This one started out as an opportunity to showcase our new Cerise Designer Series papers. When I cut the panels, I had a 2-inch piece left over, and it accidentally flipped over to reveal the red dotted side. I really liked the look, so I cut it in half and made it look like I'd planned it all along!

I had originally used Cream gg ribbon on the dotted part, but it went a little too well - to the point where it was almost a yawner. That is when I lost control of the project and delved into the land of Basic Gray.

It all started innocently enough. I had always planned to use the 'find joy' stamped in red on Very Vanilla, and layer it on red horizontally. But then I got the idea that the Going Gray would look FABulous with the red, so I punched out the sentiment with the scallop punch (it just fit) and tried the Gray square under it. That was when I decided the Gray ribbon would look better than the Cream, as it would tie it all together.

THEN, the background was boring - it needed something. Instead of a few brads or eyelets, I went for a bold background. This bg was just sitting on my craft table (aka: Dining Room table), waiting for Tuesday's workshop, so I looked at it and thought, "Hmmm, I think those circles match the dotted circles in this paper.", and I think they do! The rest, as they say, was history.

Recipe (All products by Stampin' Up!): Stamps - On the Spot bg, Polka Dots & Paisley; Card Stock - Real Red, Ruby Red, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla; Ink - Basic Gray, Real Red, Ruby Red; Accessories - Scallop punch, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon.

The idea for this last card was triggered by a recent SCS challenge to use reverse masking. I tried that first, and cut out the oval frame. It was too much work, and I would never ask anyone to duplicate it, so I went to Plan B.

First I stamped the oval on the Vanilla strip of card stock, then I covered the stamped image with another piece that I had labored to cut out earlier, then I stamped the Linen background over it all. Next, I placed a mask over everything but the center of the frame (another previously-stamped frame with just the middle cut out of it) and stamped the flower image.

I had made markers in the new In Colors with Blender Pens and re-inkers, and that's what I used to color the parts of the flowers before they were stamped.

Since I am good at getting part way through a card and then getting stuck, I got stuck. It needed something, but what that something was, I could not figure out. The Vanilla panel originally fit the short 4 1/4 inch side of the card. I thought to layer it on Wasabi, but then that was boring, too. Such a 'me' card.

Soooo, I thought to add the layered punched ovals. This not only added a bit of pop to the card, but I think it also pulled the three colors together. I decided to just hack them off at the end of the vanilla instead of folding them to the back side. The layers are much smoother this way. I did find, however, that the brads were not holding it in place any more (I had spinning oval parts!), so I un-did the brads and put some snail under them to hold the little buggers in place.

Now that the piece was too big to fit the shorter side of the card, I turned it and was then faced with how to fill the gap between the oval and the edge of the card. I forced myself to cut into my new Wild Wasabi double-stitched grosgrain ribbon. I just used a little piece on each side and cut it off at the edge of the card.

Lastly (if you are still reading, thank you!), I broke open my new All Holidays sentiments and used the 'thank you' to finish the card.

Recipe (All products form Stampin' Up!): Stamps - Label Classics, Garden Silhouettes, All Holidays, Linen bg; Card stock - Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla; Ink - Sahara Sand, Basic Gray; Accessories - In Color 'markers' (blender pens + reinkers), sm & lg oval punches, brads, Wild Wasabi double-stitched grosgrain ribbon.

Phew! Off to play with the Happiness background stamp. I have a theory that I can color it with many markers, or stamp it in multiple colors, and by cutting it into strips, get a whole workshop out of one stamp! My Customers like the idea, and they have been asking for an All White Card Base workshop, so I'll let you know how well this works. ;-)