I suppose it’s inevitable that when looking at a stamp set the first thing I see are the larger stamps. And even then it tends to be the images that catch my eye before the sentiments. It’s only later if I end up buying it that I notice other things. This was precisely what happened with the Prince & Princess Stamp Set that I got with some Stampin’ Rewards that I earned.

The first thing I saw was the large frog and swan images, and only later was my eye drawn to the pretty spray of roses. Then I took time to properly read the various sentiments. The set is primarily designed as a ‘baby’ set, but as well as the references to “prince” and “princess” there are sentiments for more grown up cards too. So that’s what I set out to make today, without a prince or princess in sight.

CUSTOM BACKGROUND

I began the project with the pretty roses image and a Pale Papaya ink pad.

First I stamped the image in the centre of the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Then I stamped it in the centre near the top of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card.

Next I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score a piece of Cinnamon Cider Card. After folding it along the scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the Very Vanilla layer on the inside.

With that done I was ready to create a simple custom stamped background on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Pale Papaya Card. Still using the Pale Papaya ink, I stamped the roses image in a wide border around the edge. The tone-on-tone look was pretty but subtle, and exactly what I was looking for. So when that was done I fixed the layer to the front of my card base with liquid glue.

Now I needed to create another layer to hide the centre of the stamped background where I hadn’t stamped. For this I cut a 2-1/2″ x 3-3/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card.

From the pack of two Greenery Embossing Folders I chose one with an all over chevron leaf design and placed the card inside. Then I embossed it using my Mini Cut & Emboss Machine.

Finally, using liquid glue I mounted the embossed layer onto a 2-3/4″ x 4″ piece of Cinnamon Cider Card before adding it to the card front.

ONE OF A KIND

It hand`t taken me long to create the card base and background layers and I was ready for the focal point.

Picking up the roses image once again, I stamped it onto a scrap of Very Vanilla Card using Pale Papaya ink. Then I coloured it in using Stampin`Blends alcohol markers; Pale Papaya for the flowers and Soft Succulent for the leaves.

Once I`d finished the colouring I cut out the image using Paper Snips and set it aside for a moment.

Now I went back to the Prince & Princess Stamp Set for my sentiment. I chose “You’re one of a kind” and stamped it onto a 1/2″ x 2-1/2″ strip of Very Vanilla Card using Cinnamon Cider ink.

With a tiny bit of liquid glue I fixed the top of the fussy-cut roses to the bottom of the sentiment strip. Then I flipped the pieces over and added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back of the sentiment and image. After removing the backing from the Stampin’ Dimensionals I then attached the assembled piece to the card front.

To finish, I added three different sizes of self-adhesive Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels around the sentiment and my project was complete.

I have to say this card turned out even better than I’d hoped. Everything just works so well together and you’d never think this all started with a ‘baby-themed’ stamp set. What do you think?

PRINCE & PRINCESS FOR HOSTS

One of the most overlooked parts of Stampin’ Up! catalogues has to be the Host section at the back. Lots of people think that you have to host an in-home party to be able to benefit but that’s not entirely true. Anyone can earn Stampin’ Rewards (Host benefits) if their order meets the $200CAD threshold. That includes Stampin’ Up Demonstrators.

Stampin’ Rewards are great because you can spend the ‘dollars’ on anything. But for me the best part is it allows me to get exclusive products that are not available any other way like the Prince & Princess Stamp Set I used today.

For more information about how to earn Stampin’ Rewards, along with more exclusive Host stamp sets and paper, see page 170 and 171 of the 2021/2022 Annual Catalogue. You’ll also find two extra host stamp sets on page 78 of the July to December 2021 Mini Catalogue.

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