With 4 card classes, a wedding card consultation, another garage sale of retired products, my team shoebox swap and lots of Convention-prep all crammed into the first 2 weeks of July, it kinda seemed like most of this month's stamping had been for deadlines, rather than just for the fun of it. But in spite of that I *did* manage to get this one card made with this month's delightful "only-available-this-month" special stamp set: "Reason to Smile". And what a FUN set it is to work with!
Of course if you attend my classes or parties you already know how much I love Stampin' Up!'s 2-step stamps to begin with….. so this one automatically scores points with me there, lol. But it also seems to fit so comfortably with the various Framelits we're getting more and more of, too….. and just lends itself so beautifully to a warm & wonderful all-occasion card.
For this one I chose a Basic Gray base, laid down a torn strip of First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (LOVE that stuff!), and stamped with Raspberry Ripple*, and Garden Green onto Very Vanilla cardstock.
Because the flower and stem are actually on one stamp, I carefully inked up the flower part of the stamp with Raspberry Ripple (getting as little ink as possible onto the stem section), and then used a blender pen to remove any unwanted ink that did get onto the areas where I ultimately wanted green. Once that ink was removed, I then used the side of the brush tip of the green marker to lay in the green before stamping.
The "thank you" is from Curly Cute, currently one of my first "go to" choices for a general greeting these days.
The Framelit upon which the flower is stamped is from the Labels Collection, and the front edge of the card was cut with an Adorning Accents Edgelit. (And then pierced with a template from the new Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack.) Love, love, love THAT, too, btw! Finally, I highlighted the shaped edges with ink on a dauber to add to the visual dimension, and placed the Pearls onto the focal point layer.
* TIP: My experience so far has been that the new firm foam pads tend to come saturated with more ink than I prefer to work with. If you find that yours are the same, it's super easy to adjust; I just fold a paper towel into quarters and blot out the excess ink until it's not so juicy. This allows for more detail and definition when inking up a stamp. And remember, too, that with this new style of pad you only want to tap-tap-tap VERY gently so you don't get ink all over your stamp where you don't need it to be!
So I invite you to take advantage of the opportunity to get this wonderful, exclusive Reason to Smile stamp set …… for only $5 with a $50 order! Once July is over, the stamp set will be gone, but you've still got a few more days to claim yours. Contact me (info in the banner above), or place your order at my online store.
