I’ve been making the most of the recent bad weather and spending time in my studio planning for spring. I love the fresh look of pastel colours and the Subtles family of inks is perfect for this. But every now and then I like to step out of my comfort zone and attempt something a little different. So that’s how I ended up making this vintage style card.

VINTAGE COLLAGE

My project began when I decided to experiment with stamping a collage style background. I cheated a little by starting with the Petal Pink sheet from the Perennial Essence 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack as the base. This has a subtle ‘wash’ effect which I thought would create some nice variation for my collage. Thinking ahead I actually cut the DSP to 6″ x 8″ this would give me enough for the envelope and inside of my card too.

So with my DSP cut I then added some areas of Petal Pink ink using some Stampin’ Sponge. This was subtle but added random areas that were a little darker than the original DSP. Then I was ready to start stamping.

From the Very Versailles Stamp Set I began with the large script image. I stamped the image a couple of times onto the DSP using Smoky Slate ink. Then I stamped the image again but this time stamped off onto scrap paper before stamping on the DSP. This way I had lighter and darker versions of the same image.

Next I wiped the DSP with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static. I stamped the leafy image from Very Versailles Stamp Set several times using VersaMark ink. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder, tapped off the excess and melted the rest using my Heat Tool on 2 (high). With that done it was back to stamping with the Very Versailles Stamp Set.

STAGGERED LINES

This time I used the border image from the Very Versailles Stamp Set, stamping it in sets of two staggered lines using Rococo Rose ink. Rococo Rose always makes me think of vintage, with its dusky pink hue and pairs beautifully with Petal Pink.

More embossing came next, this time in gold using the oval frame image. I must admit that I neglected to use the Embossing Buddy this time and the embossing wasn’t as clean as I’d normally like. But you know what, those odd bits of gold embossing that stuck to the wet Rococo Rose ink, really added to the vintage feel.

Then just to finish off the collage I went back to the Smoky Slate ink pad. I pressed onto the top of the closed ink pad to transfer some ink to the inside of the lid. I opened it up and squeezed a drop of water from an Aqua Painter into the ink and mixed it in. Then I flicked the ink over the DSP to add some random dots of colour. Finally I pressed a piece of kitchen paper onto the DSP to remove any ink from the embossed areas.

Now I was ready to cut the large piece of DSP to fit the project. I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece from the top. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) attached it to the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. I cut the DSP to shape with my Paper Snips using the edge of the flap as a guide.

VINTAGE LAYERS

Next I cut a 3/4″ x 5-1/4″ piece from the side of the remaining DSP. This was glued to the right-hand edge of a layer of Very Vanilla Card. Then I fixed the assembled layer inside a card base made from Merry Merlot Card.

That just left the front of my vintage card to assemble. But not before I took the DSP I had left and screwed it up. Into a tight ball.

After I could squeeze the ball any tighter I opened it up and flattened out the paper out as best I could. As if that wasn’t enough I then tore a strip off each edge, was looking for, but it was white. That wasn’t very vintage and wouldn’t do at all. So I took some Stampin’ Sponge and sponged around the edge with a little Smoky Slate ink. Then I repeated the process with Rococo Rose ink. I even lightly sponged the surface of the DSP to add some ink to the tops of the creases to make them a little more visible. Much better!

Then while I had the sponge in my hand and the ink pad open I decided to sponge around the edge of a layer of Rococo Rose Card too. With my collage background complete I used liquid glue to mount it onto the Rococo Rose layer before adding that to a Very Vanilla layer. Then I wrapped some Petal Pink 5/8″ Organdy Striped Ribbon around the them. I secured the ends on the back with Tear & Tape Adhesive and used liquid glue to fix the whole thing to the card base.

TOGETHER

All that was left was my sentiment, “Together we can get through anything”, from the Perfectly Framed Stamp Set. To keep the vintage feel I first stamped the sentiment onto Very Vanilla Card with Rococo Rose ink.

The Perfectly Framed Stamp Set coordinates with the Ornate Frames Dies so that was where I turned next. I cut the sentiment using the coordinating die then cut the larger ornate piece from Merry Merlot Card. It was a simple task then to layer the two pieces using liquid glue.

As I laid the sentiment onto my card front I felt it still needed another layer. As if the seven layers I’d used so far wasn’t enough! So I went back to the Ornate Frames Dies, and the one I can only describe as shaped like a loaf of bread. Then using the ‘loaf’ die I cut two pieces from some Vellum Cardstock.

I turned over my layered sentiment and fixed the two pieces of Vellum to the back with liquid glue. Then finally using Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the completed sentiment to the card front and my project was finally complete.

So many steps, so many layers, but I love the result. Vintage certainly isn’t my style but stepping out of my comfort zone from time to time is good. It made me wonder, is there a style of project that you don’t feel as comfortable with?

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