Monday, April 13, 2009

Fabulous Friend

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend with family and friends. Mine was quiet, but I did have dinner with my Mom, my sister and her family on Sunday evening.

I worked on several card projects this weekend as well. I also started a new list of items I want to order on my next Stampin' Up! order. Apparently, the madness never ends.



Today's card project uses the following materials list:

--Stampin' Up! Oval All Stamp Set (#113790)
--Stampin' Up! Large Oval Punch (#107305)
--Stampin' Up! Scallop Oval Punch (#114889)
--Stampin' Up! Classic Stampin' Pad in Garden Green (#102272
--Stampin' Up! 8 1/2" x 11" Cardstock in Kiwi Kiss (#111353)
--Stampin' Up! 8 1/2" x 11" Cardstock in Whisper White (#100730)
--7 Gypsies Decorative Paper; Nottinghill Collection
--Stampin' Up! Simple Flower Embosslit Die (#114514)
--Stampin' Dimensionals (2)
--Stardream Mica Fuse Cardstock in Serpentine
--Prima Center Kiss Jewel in Deep Emerald
--Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen in Clear
--Scotch ATG714 Gold adhesive



For this card project, I tried out some new toys from the new Occasions mini-catalog from Stampin' Up! Specifically I used the stamp set called "Oval All" which was designed to work with the large oval punch and the new scallop oval punch. For the card base I chose a piece of Stampin' Up! cardstock in Kiwi Kiss and cut it down to a standard A2 size, 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I chose the stamp that said "Fabulous Friend" on it and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock with Garden Green Ink. I then used the large oval punch to punch out the sentiment. For the backing scalloped oval, I used a small piece of mica cardstock in a light green color with an exquisite shimmer to it called Serpentine. As I have lamented in the past, this beautiful cardstock from Italy does NOT photograph well, but it is a must-see in person. I purchase my mica cardstock from California Paper Goods.




As a Cuttlebug fan, I've never really played with any Sizzix products. However, there is a set of exclusive to Stampin' Up! embosslits dies that are made for use in the Big Shot in the current catalog. I ordered a couple of them in hopes that they would work with my trusty Cuttlebug--and they do work beautifully. These dies are small hinged rounded squares that cut and emboss the design at the same time. I simply put the paper (in this case more Stardream mica cardstock in several colors) and placed the die between the two B plates and ran it through the Cuttlebug. I used both dies I have currently and numerous color shades and played way too much as evidenced by my virtual flower garden.




Needless to say, I'll save all my flowers for various projects. I chose to use one cut from the Simple Flower die in the Serpentine mica cardstock for this project. I also chose a piece of decorative paper from the 7 Gypsies Nottinghill Collection cut to 3" x 5 1/2". I adhered to decorative paper off center to my base cardstock with my ATG714 adhesive gun. I also adhered the oval sentiment to the scallop base. I adhered the scalloped sentiment to the card front using Stampin' Dimensionals to give it lift away from the cardbase and create more visual interest. For my flower embellishment, I adhered a small Prima Center Kiss blossom to the flower's center for just a pop of darker color. I then adhered the flower to the card. For a final touch, I used a clear Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen to outline the flower and the edges of the decorative paper (which again does not photograph well).





Well, I hope you get a bit of inspiration to surprise one of your fabulous friends with a card when they least expect it. Every now and again, we can all use a bit of pick-me-up when it's least expected.

Have a great Monday--and Keep Crafting!