Kind People

I just love this stamp set, Fifth Avenue Floral from SU. It is SO pretty!

To make this card, you will need to create a mask. My favorite tool for masking is Eclipse masking tape. It is a thin adhesive paper, but the adhesive is similar to post-it-note sticky stuff. VERY light so it won't rip your paper when trying to remove it, but sticky enough to stay. Don't you love it, when things are "just right"? LOL To use Eclipse masking tape, all you need to do is stamp your image on it and then cut it out. You then can keep it with your stamp set so that you have it when you need it. There are other ways to mask, including actually using post it notes, but this method is BY FAR the easiest (and most effective) in my opinion.

To start, I stamped the largest flower on my white card stock as well as the Eclipse masking tape. Then, I placed the trimmed mask over my stamped flower on my card stock. I then stamped the flowers to the left and right of the large flower. This prevents you from "over-stamping" your images. You are left with clean, flowing lines. I also had to create a mask for the flower to the left of the largest flower. By doing this, you create the illusion that the flowers are at various depths.

The image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I have given my Copics the week off! They will be missed, but I had been itching to use my colored pencils. :) When choosing my layout and layers, I had zeroed in on this basic gray patterned paper from SU. I needed to be creative to make it work, because I had already matted my flowers using Basic Gray card stock. I have a rule to stick with the same color of mats for my layers. It helps create a more cohesive look. It would have been silly to mat Basic Gray patterned paper with Basic Gray card stock, so I decided to break up the "line" between the 2 by sponging the edges with white craft paint. Why paint? Pigment ink wasn't giving it enough POP, so I went with something that would offer a more opaque coverage. In addition to swiping the edges of the patterned paper with paint, I also swiped the patterned paper itself with paint. To do this, I grabbed a baby wipe (was sitting on my desk and was mostly dry) and squirted a little paint on it. Then, I swiped. How is THAT for technical. LOL Feel free to use a napkin, Kleenex, or paper towel. Anything goes. :) The paint helped to differentiate between the card stock and the patterned paper and lent itself well to the dusty feel of the card. I used a Quickie Glue pen and some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add some sparkle to a couple of the flowers.

I used my Janome sewing machine and some thick gray thread to stitch on the layers of the card. See that ribbon tab to the right? That was the invention of necessity. The thick thread, made my machine VERY jumpy and I had a little sewing mishap in that area. Instead of starting over (or worse yet, letting it slide), I added the little tab to cover it up. :) YAY for that. This card's size is nothing "normal". LOL I let the image be the guide and rolled with it.

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Soft Summer

Ink: Black

Paper: going grey, basic grey, white, pretty in pink, basic gray patterned paper

Accessories: Janome sew mini, scalloped oval punch, oval punch, red line dimensionals, pink ribbon, Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits, craft paint, pink brads, baby wipe, quickie glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter