One of the best parts of being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator is the friendships I’ve made in Canada and across the world. When I’m in the UK I am grateful to be able to link up with Amanda Fowler (one of the top UK Demonstrators) and her team of Inspiring Inkees. They’re a great team and always make me feel so welcome. Amanda is known for her love of all things blue and so I designed this simple card with her in mind using the Encircled in Friendship Stamp Set.

ENCIRCLED IN FRIENDSHIP

As well as the sentiments I love the pretty Peruvian lily images in the Encircled in Friendship Stamp Set. Today I chose the single lily image and small “you’re the best” sentiment.

Using Night of Navy ink I first stamped the flower on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Then I stamped it in the bottom right corner on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Finally I stamped it in the bottom right of a 2-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ piece of Basic White Card.

While I planned to leave the lilies on the envelope and inside the card as outline images, I wanted to add colour to the one on the front of the card. So I pressed onto the lids of the closed Mossy Meadow and Night of Navy ink pads. Then when I opened them there was a little ink transferred to the inside of the lid. Next, using a damp Water Painter I quickly painted the ink onto the image on the smallest piece. Then I set it aside to dry.

UNUSUAL CARD BASE

My plan for this project was to use my Paper Trimmer to cut and score a standard A2 card base. However when I pulled out my pack of Night of Navy Card I discovered a card base with part of one side cut off. I suspect that it was a cutting or scoring ‘mistake’ and I’d kept the card to cut up for other projects.

Today however I had another idea. The Night of Navy Card I had in my hand was 5-1/2″ x 6″, scored on the long side at 4-1/4″. So I cut a 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Basic White Card and used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to glue it inside the front flap of the card base.

Next I took the stamped 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of card and added that to the inside of the card base.

At last I was ready to get start work on the front of the card. So I took the “you’re the best” sentiment and stamped beside the lily on the small painted panel. Then using more liquid glue I mounted it onto a 2-5/8″ x 2-5/8″ layer of Night of Navy Card.

Next I found a 1/8″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Basic White Card and glued it to the card front about 1/8″ from the right edge of the blue layer. This added extra interest to the simple navy and white background. Finally using Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the assembled sentiment piece in the centre of the card and my project was complete.

There’s something really classic about a navy and white colour scheme that never fails to impress. I love the way the card front turned out too, especially since the idea came as a result of a previous mistake. I must try this idea again sometime. What do you think?

For another project using the larger lily image from the Encircled in Friendship Stamp Set see my earlier blog post Friendship blooms are Peruvian lilies.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Encircled in Friendship Stamp Set in a bundle with the Encircled in Beauty Dies (not used today) using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore this option.