Since discovering Stampin’ Up! I’ve changed the way I look at things.  It wasn’t a deliberate decision, but rather crept up on me somewhat.  I no longer see in colour, or even ‘glorious technicolor’, no I see in Stampin’ Up! colour!  It’s not a bad thing by any means, as a piece of knitwear in a store provided the inspiration for today’s project.  It certainly brings new meaning to the phrase crafting forever.

CRAFTING FOREVER

I decided to try out my new colour combination using the three pens image from the Crafting Forever Stamp Set.  I stamped the image onto a piece of Whisper White Card using StazOn Jet Black Ink.  I’d already decided that the pens would be the coordinating element for this project so it made sense to stamp the others at the same time.

I wanted the base for the project to be one of the small Whisper White Memories & More Cards and Envelopes.  The set of three pens would be far too big to use on the inside of the card, it would need a little adjustment.

I inked up the flowery pen with Jet Black ink and put some sellotape on the stamp to cover the other pens.  Then I stamped the image on the inside of the card coming in from the right-hand edge.

I removed the sellotape from the stamp and inked up the same image then replaced the sellotape.  This time I stamped the single pen coming in from the right-hand edge on the front of the envelope.

COLOUR INSPIRATION

The colours I wanted to use were Bermuda Bay, Berry Burst and Highland Heather.  On the knitwear I’d seen, these three colours were used in a series of stripes.  I’d use one colour on each of the three pens., then for a little contrast I’d add some Smoky Slate ink.

Whisper White cards and envelopes are not designed to be wet so I needed to work quickly.  I also emptied the water from my Aqua Painter and would use it with the tip barely damp.

I began by squeezing each of my closed ink pads to transfer some ink from the pad to the inside of the lid.  Then I dipped my Aqua Painter into some clean water and wiped it on a paper towel.  The brush would be just damp enough to loosen the ink a little for painting while not ruining the cardstock.

Once all the images were painted I chose the ‘just a note’ sentiment from the Flourishing Phrases Stamp Set.  This was stamped below the set of three pens with Jet Black ink.

FINISHING TOUCHES

When I went to put the stamped and coloured panel onto the front of the card, I was a bit disappointed.  I still loved the colours but it was lost on the card base.  That’s no mean feat considering it’s only 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″, but it needed a little something ‘extra’.

I would emboss the front of the card, using my current embossing folder obsession from Stampin’ Up!, Subtle.

I spritzed the front of the card very lightly with clean water then placed it inside the embossing folder.  I lined up the fold in the card with the edge of the embossing folder and placed it directly onto the multipurpose platform.  Then I placed a cutting pad on top.  Finally, with the hinge of the folder leading the way, I ran the folder through the Big Shot and back again.

I loved the look of the embossing, but not that the card had slipped.  There was a little area towards the top of the crease that wasn’t embossed.  Arghhh!  What to do?

In the end I decided to pull out my Bermuda Bay and Berry Burst card scraps and found some narrow strips.  So using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached one of each colour to the left side of the card base.  Finally with more liquid glue I added the stamped panel over the top and was done.

So what do you think?  It didn’t occur to me at the time to take a photo of the knitwear that inspired me.  I wish I had.  Next time I’m out that way I might pop into the store to see if it’s still there.

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