Friday, April 3, 2009

Garden Greetings

Well, hello there!

I bet you thought I'd finally been confined to that psychiatric hospital for the craftily insane hung up my ATG714 adhesive gun and called it quits. It's been so long since I've posted that I forgot my own password! I really have no excuse for my absence other than laziness--and a period of lack of inspiration.

The good (?) news is that I've found my mojo again. I'm really going to make a concerted effort to post more of my projects and keep the blog fresh. So, I hope you will bear with me.

Recently, I finally succumbed to the temptation (after spending the equivalent of the GNP of a small developing country) and became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I know, I know... It seems like everyone and there mother is a demonstrator these days. But, give me a bit of credit--I'm a MALE Stampin' Up demonstrator (lol). Seriously, I've been so impressed with the products and company that it is an honor to be a demonstrator. I know you have many options when looking for your Stampin' Up! products, but I hope to provide great service, perks and fun along the way. So if you are in the market for something, please keep me in mind. But enough about that. Let's make something.

I was itching to try a project with one of my new stamp sets--and yet wanting to do something "different". So, this is the card I came up with:

Materials List:

--Stampin' Up! Garden Greetings Set (#113716)
--Stampin' Up! Stamp Pad in Basic Black (#101179)
--clear transparency sheet
--mica cardstock
--decorative paper
--brads (4)
--adhesive
--EK Success corner rounder punch
--Tim Holtz piercing tool

To begin the process, I choose a lovely and large bloom stamp from the Stampin' Up! Garden Greetings set. Using the Basic Black Stampin' Pad, I cut a piece of clear transparency into a 3" x 4 1/4" block.



I then stamped the image several times in random places on the transparency and allowed it to dry completely.



The base of my card is going to be a standard A2 size. Therefore you need a piece of cardstock measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". I chose to use a beautiful piece of mica cardstock that has an incredible sheen to it (that unfortunately does NOT photograph well). For the element pieces of my card, I needed a decorative paper measuring 3" x 4 1/4" (to mount my transparency stamping on). The paper I chose was from the Basic Grey Two Scoops collection. It has lovely pinks in it that compliment the base cardstock and the swirls provide a great backdrop to my blossoms.



To attach the transparency film to my decorative paper block, I decided to use brads--in this case four (4) Doodlebug Sugared brads (two pink, two white). Not only will the brads hold my elements together, they'll do double duty as stamen in my flowers. For easy attachment, I used my Tim Holtz piercing tool to make holes through the transparency and decorative paper where I wanted my brads to attach.



Once all four brads are in place, the element is ready to be adhered to the card base.



As a final decorative touch for my card, I decided to round the corners of my card using an EK Success punch.



Here's a look at the final card and a close-up of the detail.




Well, I hope this inspires you to think Spring! I know the weather is not cooperating in many parts of the country, but it's definitely time for us to put some flowers into our lives!

See you soon...and keep crafting!