CAGED

There are just so many things I love about the Stampin' Up! set, Nature Walk. The row of eggs and the bird (a robin?) especially appealed to me. All the images are so beautifully rendered.

One of the things I did when mounting the set (I own the wood mount set) is to cut the row of five eggs into individual eggs, and mounted them as individual stamps. While I did like the row of eggs -- so neat and orderly -- I decided that they would be much more versatile (to me) as separate images. As evidenced in this card.

By having them as separate entities, I was able to scatter them willy nilly around the edge 

of the card, creating a much less formal look.

While the foreign-looking words behind the cage is from a retired stamp set, there are other current sets that contain images that would work equally as well -- possibly even better! You 

could try Summer Silhouettes (page 82 of the big catalog), the large label turned on its side 

from Layered Labels (page 103 of the big catalog), The Open Sea (page 104 of the big catalog), Creative Elements (page 126 of the big catalog), Oh Hello (page 4 in the Spring Catalog), or Beyond Plaid (page 14 in the Spring Catalog). 

The technique used to get the effect on the center panel is referred to as masking. It is a ridiculously easy way of having one image appear to be behind the foreground image without covering up any of the main image.

To create a Caged card of your own:

Supplies:

Fresh Cuts stamp set (the sentiment)

Nature Walk stamp set

Rustic Rooster (the foreign words)

Soft Suede card stock

Bashful Blue card stock

Early Espresso card stock

Early Espresso ink

Soft Suede ink

Polka Dot Ribbon in Soft Suede (retired)

Slot Punch or Craft Knife

Word Window Punch

Modern Label Punch

Stampin' Dimensionals

Big Shot

Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Stamping Sponge

Post-It Notes

Instructions:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Soft Suede card stock in half, creasing well with a bone folder.

On a 4 1/4" x 5" piece of Bashful Blue card stock, stamp the eggs randomly all around the edges, making some of the eggs Soft Suede and the others Early Espresso.

After the eggs are stamped around the edges, run this piece through the Big Shot inside the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. Sponge all edges with Soft Suede ink, then pounce the sponge here and there softly on the rest of the background. Set aside.

On a 2 3/8" x 2 3/4" piece of Bashful Blue card stock, stamp the cage in Early Espresso in the center. Stamp the cage once more on a Post-It note, with the top of the cage extending onto where the sticky area is on the other side of the paper. Carefully cut out the image on the Post-It Note, cutting just INSIDE the stamped lines. Place the cut-out image on top of the cage you just stamped on the blue. Ink up the foreign words (or whatever you choose to use for your background) in Soft Suede. Stamp it directly over the Post-It Note. Remove the note. See how 

the writing surrounds the cage? This is called masking.

Adhere the cage piece to a 2 5/8" x 3" piece of Early Espresso card stock. Attach this to the embossed piece with a Stampin' Dimensional in each corner and one in the center.

On a scrap of Bashful Blue, stamp your sentiment in Early Espresso. (NOTE: I used two of the 

oval punches, but one is now retired. I would recommend using the Word Window Punch for this word.) From a scrap of Early Espresso, punch out an oval (or the Modern Label Punch). Adhere these pieces together. Tap the blue with the inky sponge. Cut a slit on both sides of this label. Slide a piece of ribbon through the slits, centering the sentiment. Attach the ends of the ribbon on the back of the background panel with Scotch Tape. 

Adhere finished panel to card front.

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REMEMBER Sale-A-Bration (until March 22)!! For every $50 you spend (before shipping and taxes), you can choose one of the items from the Sale-A-Bration brochure for FREE! There are 18 free things to choose from! Don't forget to name me as your demonstrator so you get the best possible prices!

Smiles.