The first stamp takes the common 'keep calm' message an appropriately advises us to keep stamping. Just like 'just keep swimming', you should 'just keep stamping'. Stamp on It used to sell a shirt that read 'to stamp or not to stamp, that's a stupid question'.
This uses some SU designer paper series prints with a black ribbon and jeweled brad. The phrase is stamped with whisper white on black paper. The middle solid is not quite navy to tie in the blue pattern and the green jewel helps tie in the bottom pattern.
This card has almost no stamping. I adore the designer paper series Sunshine and Sprinkles. I used it for two cards here and I'm going to have to order more. The cloud paper and the dotted dress paper are both from that series. The dress, frame and sweater are cut with the Dress Up framelits dies. The belt is a piece of ribbon and the pin is two tiny SU punches with a little bling. The phrase is from the All Dressed Up stamp set.
This is the second card with the Sunshine and Sprinkles paper, the umbrella paper. The cloud is cut from a piece of paper embossed with the Cloudy Day embossing folder. The rainy chick is from Million Dollar Moments. I've been wanting to use Goosebumps texture spray since I bought it last August.......and finally used it on this card. I sprayed what I hope looks like rain drops on the stamped image piece and added some yellow ink with a sponge to resist the goosebumps.
Finally, what looks like the most simple card is actually the most complicated. This uses the Just Believe stamp set. The person that posted this card on Splitcoast said she used the stamp positioner to make this card. She stamped the circle to line up side by side then stamped the floral image once in blue then again on top with versamark to add clear embossing. I probably stamped this 12 times and wasn't happy with the results.
My final version below shows the brown circle stamped without a positioner, slightly overlapping which I'm OK with, then the floral image stamped in blue dye based ink and the whole thing covered with clear embossing powder and heat set. No pigment ink used at all.
I think it's helpful to see what doesn't work as well as the final result so here's some other options. The second picture shows an attempt to emboss the circles first then stamp and emboss the floral piece. You can see that the blue ink resisted where the embossed circle is so you get an incomplete image. I was so sure the dye based image wouldn't stay wet long enough to stamp everything then cover with powder, but I was wrong. I think that's in part because I used the natural paper which seem to dry slower than the regular card stock.
The next picture shows my attempt to stamp as the original artist described. I was never able to get the versamark image to stamp exactly on top even with the positioner so I always got a shadowed image. I actually like this but it wasn't what I was trying to do. For me, this 'wrong' outcome looks fine. I like asymmetrical art and less than perfect images. But not everyone does and since it's for a class, I wanted to get the technique right. Many options, different outcomes.
These cards will be on display at Art Smart and you can register directly to me or purchase a kit to assemble the cards. Images are prestamped in kits. Please call or email me if you have any questions.
