Strong & Beautiful (and unstoppable)

One of the problems with greetings cards is, what happens to them after the occasion has ended? I mean, you can only keep a birthday card on display for so long, no matter how nice it is. That’s why sometimes what starts out as a card ends up being something else entirely. Like this decorated notepad with an altered sentiment from the Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set.

Decorated 5" x 8" notepad with altered unstoppable sentiment from the Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set, and die-cut pieces from the Wonderful Floral Framelits from Stampin' Up!

SIMPLE START

I began this project very simply with a 5″ x 8″ notepad and a piece from the Nature’s Poem 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. Using my Stampin’ Trimmer I cut the paper to 5-1/8″ x 9″ and then placed it on top of the pad with about 1/16″ extending past the bottom edge.

Next I folded the DSP around the top of the pad and over the back pressing my fingers to accentuate the folds. Then I took the paper off and sharpened the creases with a Bone Folder. With that done I placed the cover back on the pad and attached it at the back using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

With the cover in place I took a strip of Blackberry Bliss Card and cut it to 5-1/8″. Then I wrapped a piece of Whisper White 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon around the strip, securing it on the back with Tear & Tape Adhesive. The wrapped piece was then fixed to the notepad cover with liquid glue.

STRONG & BEAUTIFUL

The Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set is full of inspirational sentiments. Many of the sentiments include ‘mother’ or ‘woman’ but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a set you could for the guys as well. Take today’s sentiment ‘You have what it takes to be unstoppable & I couldn’t be more proud’. This could be for anyone, and there are many more like it, so do check it out.

Anyway, I liked my chosen sentiment but only wanted the first part. So I inked it up with Blackberry Bliss ink, carefully avoiding the parts of the sentiment I didn’t want. Then I stamped it onto some Petal Pink Card.

Next I went over to my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform to cut it out using the label die from the Wonderful Floral Framelits.

Finally I cut a couple of embossed leafy branches from Tranquil Tide Card, and berry branches from Gold Foil Sheet. Both these dies are also from the Wonderful Floral Framelits.

Close up of decorated notepad with altered unstoppable sentiment from the Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set, and die-cut pieces from the Wonderful Floral Framelits from Stampin' Up!

All I had left to do was attach the branches to the back of the sentiment with liquid glue. Then I fixed the assembled piece to the notepad with more liquid glue and I was done.

This design would definitely make a great card, but now it’s a longer term source of encouragement. What do you think?

COLOUR INSPIRATION

I’ve decided that from time-to-time I’ll create a graphic showing the colour palette used on my project. These will be combinations that particularly appeal to me and might inspire you too.

Do let me know if you’d like to see more of these.

Graphic showing the colours used for the decorated notepad project in my blog post Strong & Beautiful (and Unstoppable) - Whisper White, Petal Pink, Tranquil Tide, Blackberry Bliss and Gold Foil.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – The Wonderful Floral Framelits Dies can be purchased by themselves or in a bundle with the coordinating Wonderful Romance Stamp Set. I didn’t use the stamp set today, but if you want both items you’ll save 10% if you order them using the bundle item number. For that reason you’ll find a link to the bundle in my product list.