I Love You

Simon Says Stamp is having a month-long celebration they call "STAMPtember." I believe this is their fifth year of doing this, and it is basically to promote & celebrate all things stamping. On their Monday challenge blog, the current theme is to encourage crafters to use SSS exclusive products. I ended up using 2 in this card.

I based my design on Operation Write Home's Sketch #230:

I didn't really adhere to the measurements, except for the 2.25" tall panel. Other than that, I let my elements lead the way.

I began by taping the Simon Says Stamp "Moroccan Stencil" to a piece of textured cream cardstock. (This was the first "Moroccan Stencil" they came out with. They have another, larger one available now.) I blended Distress inks in Picked Raspberry, Evergreen Bough, and Salty Ocean over it using my Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool. I spritzed it with a couple of sprays of water to add a bit more visual texture, since Distress inks react with water. Then I set that aside to dry.

For the background, I stamped the Stampabilities "Faded Text Background" onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I took 4 colors of gelatos--2 blues, a yellow, and a pink--and colored over the embossed area. Finally, I took a foam blending tool included in the gelatos kit I'd gotten and blended the colors on the cardstock. They ended up retaining their original colors pretty well, though there was some "contamination" between colors, since I did not clean my blending tool off as I worked. But I think it looks good. Finally, I cut that piece to 4x5". (I didn't realize, until I'd cut that panel to the 5" width, that I'd meant to cut it to 5.25"! So I just cut my A2-size card base 1/4" narrower. Problem solved!)

I die cut a doily from 90-lb. watercolor paper using this Lifestyle Crafts die. I pressed Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, & Evergreen Bough onto my non-stick craft mat, and sprayed the inks with water. Then I laid my doily on the ink, swooshing and tapping it into the puddles until I got the desired colors. I set that aside to dry.

I used one of the images from Simon Says Stamp's "Love Languages" stamp set for the smaller circle element. I stamped it in Hero Arts Red Royal mid-tone shadow ink onto a scrap of pink cardstock, and die cut it with one of Spellbinders' "Standard Circles SM" dies. I traced around that die onto another piece of textured cream cardstock, and cut it out to create the mat. I also die cut another circle from that same cardstock for the mat behind the doily. For the greeting, I used one from that same SSS stamp set, with the Red Royal ink on another piece of pink cardstock. I cut it into a narrow strip and rounded the corners on one end with my 1/4" Corner Chomper.

Finally it was time to put it all together. I ran the now-dry doily through my Xyron machine to apply adhesive to the back, then stuck it to the cream mat. I adhered my stenciled piece to the background, centered from top to bottom. Next I glued down my greeting, the doily piece, and the hearts circle piece. I blended Salty Ocean around the edges of a 4.25x5.25" card base on the front. I had originally intended to center my card front panel on the base, but decided to put it in the upper left corner instead. And that finishes this card, which I will now be sending to Operation Write Home.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Make Your Own Background"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday "Stamping"