PRETTY THINGS

In preparing for my February Stamp-In Workshop, since it was scheduled for February 10, I had created a Valentine-flavored project for my girls to make. However, the week prior to that, I ended up spending a night in the hospital. The experts at the hospital decided that I wouldn't be up to holding the workshop on the 10th, and advised me to push it back a week, until the 17th.

Well, the 17th is AFTER Valentine's Day, so I would look a little foolish having them do a Valentine. So, at the last minute, once I felt up to it, I needed to come up with another project to replace it. I was lucky that my muse was on the job that day, when I needed her so desperately. Because, between the two of us, we came up with a really good project. And ONE THAT USES UP SCRAPS! Yay.

The card uses leftover scraps of Designer Series Paper I had on hand. I created a card in all black and white so that whatever DSP the girls chose, it would work well with the rest of the card. They were given my box of DSP scraps and told to come up with their own combo, whether they were all the same, complementary colors, whatever they choose -- to make it their own. 

Notice the black dots surrounding the DSP circles? It is from a very old Paper Pumpkin kit. 

At this point, I'd like to talk a bit about the exclusive stamp sets that arrive in each and every Paper Pumpkin kit. Once you are finished with your kit, don't just forget about those awesome stamps!!

I have something of a system to ensure that I do get use out of the stamps that come with the Paper Pumpkin kits. 

The first thing I do is I stamp the images, one by one, onto white cardstock, always in a blue ink. I have one section in a binder that is for images and another for words and/or sentiments. 

I remove all the stamps from their little acetate carriers and stamp each one in its proper place. I draw a box around the set of stamps I'd just stamped so I know that they all belong to the same set. After replacing the stamps, I then slip it into plastic sleeves that I have in another set of binders. 

When I want something a little different, it is easy to leaf quickly through the pages in my binder that contain the pictures of the images or sentiments, depending on what I need. And, even though I've been a subscriber to Paper Pumpkin almost from the start (seven years next month!) and I have A LOT of the stamps, it takes little time to flip through the plastic pages to locate the stamp I need.

After I'd finished my sample card, I realized a little boo boo that forced me to warn the girls that, if they decide to use a design with hearts on it, to have it face the right side up on their card. Unless, of course, you want your hearts to be upside down. Oh well. I like it anyway.

I'd like to share the tutorial I had on hand for my girls when the Stamp-In finally arrived on the 17th.

SUPPLIES:

Whisper White cardstock

Basic Black cardstock

Designer Series Paper selection

Black ink

Dotted Circles (Paper Pumpkin kit)

Everything Is Rosy (it is on the CLEARANCE RACK right now!)

Ornate Frames Dies (Item #150664)

Stylish Scroll Embossing Folder (Item #150665)

1 3/8" Circle Punch

Stampin' Dimensionals

Big Shot

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Whisper White cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Run a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock through the Big Shot inside the Stylish Scroll embossing folder. Adhere this to the card base.

Using the dotted circle stamp from Paper Pumpkin, stamp in black the circles onto a 2" x 5 1/4" strip of Whisper White cardstock, staggering the circles, making sure they nearly touch each other, but not quite. Fill in any white spaces along the edges with portions of more stamped circles.

From the scraps of Designer Series Papers, choose a combination of designs/colors so you have five -- either the same, similar or totally different. (PLEASE NOTE: If you choose a DSP with hearts on it, be sure to mount it on your card facing the correct direction. Experience is the best teacher.) Using the 1 3/8" Circle Punch, punch out five circles from your chosen DSP. In a pleasing manner, adhere the circles inside the stamped dotty circles. If any extend beyond the edge, trim them off flush with the edges.

Once finished adding the DSP circles, adhere this strip to a 2 1/4" x 5 1/4" piece of black cardstock.

Attach this strip to the embossed piece about 1/2" - 3/4" from the left embossed edge.

On a scrap of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the sentiment in black ink.

From black cardstock, use the appropriate die to cut out a frilly frame. Using the circle die that measures 1 3/4", cut out the sentiment. Adhere the sentiment to the frilly frame.

With a few Stampin' Dimensionals, add the sentiment to the card front.

Scrappy

Smiles.