Friday, April 12, 2013

Framed!




I've just recently become enamoured with frames - old frames, weathered and ornate frames, repainted and distressed frames.  Keep your eyes open for me because I have lots of plans for them especially now that I finally was able to buy the Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies!  So excited about all I'm going to be able to do with the letters.  Keep tuned for some great classes ahead!





We returned from visiting my daughter in Fort St. James today - brutal drive!  Eleven hours of sitting in the car!  Not my idea of fun, in fact I can hardly bear to be sitting here typing this blog post!  But it was worth it to spend some time with her and her family, including my grandson, Kesten!

I needed a creative fix when I got home, so I worked on a card idea I formulated in the car during those eleven interminable hours!  It involves a frame!  Guess where it's from:


Give up?  Okay, I'll tell you.  It's from the Papaya Collage stamp set.  It was one of the first stamp sets I purchased when the 2012/13 Catalogue came out, but after using it a few times, decided I didn't really like it, especially the frame, mostly because I always just stamped the frame, usually in black.  

But recently, I realized that it would perfectly frame some of the newer sentiments, like Feel Goods, shown here, and it would be great embossed in white or some other colour. ( It would work well with the Chalkboard Technique as well!)  So I decided to resurrect it and use it on a vintage-designed card like this one. 


I stamped some designs from the Established Elegance stamp set in StazOn Black on First Edition Specialty Designer Series paper.  I then punched out the bird, wing and branch shapes using the Bird Builder punch, and the large and small butterflies using the Elegant Butterfly and the Bitty Butterfly punches.  Then I sponged all the edges using Soft Suede Ink.  The card base and sentiment panel are Soft Suede, and the Very Vanilla back panel is embossed using the Lacy Brocade Embossing folder, held over from the Holiday Mini Catalogue, and available until May 31.  I used this method to tie a bow using Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon.  Then I added another bow, tying it onto the first one and trimming the ends.  The addition of a few Pearl Basic Jewels completed the look.

And MORE news from Stampin' Up:  They are changing the packaging for the wood mount stamps in a way I think you are all going to like!  Check it out here:



Did you catch some of those sneak peeks of the new catalogue as well?  No?  Better watch it again.

By the way, if some of you ordered Not Quite Navy card stock on the weekend, it is now completely out of stock, and they may not have been able to fill your order.  If this applies to you, Stampin' Up will be issuing refunds starting in a couple of weeks.  Boy, when they say "while supplies last", they mean it.  It's important to act quickly!

Have a great weekend, and we'll see you on Monday!

Stamps:  Papaya Collage (w126610; c126612); Established Elegance (w122530; c122532); Feel Goods (w129681; c129684)
Paper: First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (121878); Soft Suede (115318) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock
Ink:  StazOn Jet Black (101406); VersaMark (102283)
Accessories:  Stampin' Emboss Powder in White (109132); 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon in Crumb Cake (122332); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); Large Pearl Basic Jewels (125577)
Tools:  Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127819); Big Shot (113439); Bird Builder Punch (117191); Elegant Butterfly Punch (127526); Bitty Butterfly Punch (129406)
Established Elegance


Papaya Collage
Feel Goods
Bitty Butterfly Punch

Bird Builder Punch

Lacy Brocade TIEF
Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon



First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper

4 comments :

  1. What a beautiful card, Heather. It amazes me that you can just 'think it up' and then actually put it together. I really must work on my creative skills, I'm sure I have some somewhere.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Eunice! That ability came gradually. I started by CASING (Copy and Share Everything) other cards, then changing little things, then colours, then using different stamp sets. Then I started entering on-line challenges where they give you either a layout or a colour scheme to use, and finally I was confident to just come up with my own designs. I know you'll be able to do this, too, before long.

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    2. I tried to make a card on thurs using what I had here. I used that embossing folder I got with the tulip border, my new flower punch that has 3 settings, the leaf and stem stamps and a pre-made butterfly I had picked up somewhere. It turned out pretty good, except that the leaf stamp didn't 'cover up' the parts of the stems that I had intended to be covered. I sure hope I will eventually figure these things out.

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  2. What a beautifully remarkable card Heather. Thank you for the inspiration!

    ~Shawnie B.
    http://www.CardsByShawnie.com

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