THISTLE THOUGHTS

I love it when Paper Pumpkin delivers extras in the kits that were completely unexpected. The background of my card was created with one of these surprises. Of course, most normal people would have tossed it in the garbage without giving it a single thought.

But then, whoever said I was normal? I never throw away ANYthing that could maybe be further used in a creative pursuit.

After I punched out the frothy fronds, the leftover negative space begged to be used as a stencil. So, that's just what I did to create this fanciful background.

Because the stenciling was fairly subtle, I was able to use a strong stamp image such as this beautiful thistle right on top of it. I stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black ink so I could use Stampin' Blends to color it.

I sincerely wish this stamp set was not retired. Nevertheless, I plan on using it forever.

To color the thistle, I used Stampin' Blends in Light Old Olive and Dark Fresh Freesia.

With the exception of a few purple gems 

and the Stampin' Dimensionals I used to pop up my sentiment, 

the card is fairly flat. 

That's always a plus for mailing.

Just a reminder: Give all your garbage a careful second look before tossing it. Always. You don't want to throw away any potential art supplies! Now, do you? 

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It is easier to prevent thistles and habits than to uproot them.

- Austin O'Malley -

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Stenciled

Smiles.