Best Of | Part 2

Good morning! Erin here. For my final Great Impressions Stamps post, I have five more cards that use some of my favorite Great Impressions Stamps. And like last week, I will link to the original blog post and stamp set(s) used.

The first card combines so many of my favorite elements: Kraft, buttons, pink, gems, hexagons, a fun swirly stamp... into one very colorful birthday card! The stamp I used was Simple Elegance, and here is the original blog post.

Butterflies are another favorite of mine (I own too many butterfly stamps to count!), and the GI Tiger Swallowtail stamp is just lovely. Here is a link to the original post.  

This watering can of flowers was one of the first stamps I picked out from Great Impressions. The various blooms in the sweet little can make for a lovely sympathy card. Here is the stamp and you can find the original post here.

Autumn is my favorite season, and I couldn't resist this beautiful fall themed stamp. You can find the stamp here, and the original post here.

The final card I have to share features this lovely Flower Bouquet stamp. The red and black color combo really pops on kraft cardstock. You can find the stamp here and the original post here.

That wraps up my final post for Great Impressions Stamps. I am going to miss the wonderful women I have had the pleasure of working with this past year. Thanks for everything! 

xoxo,
Erin.

Wildflower Silhouette

Good morning! My poor blog has been neglected this past week due to the move, but my new desks are installed in my office and I'm hoping to have some creative time today (and continue to unpack my office!). I get a little cranky when I can't sit down and make something. :-)

I have a very sparkly card to share today for Great Impressions Stamps, but it was not an easy card to make! I worked on the floor in the family room yesterday afternoon and I had such a hard time finding inspiration. After stamping and re-stamping, moving elements around, and finally finding the perfect border (hello silver glitter!), it all came together. 

I stamped the Wildflower Silhouette stamp in soft stone ink onto Rustic White cardstock. I stamped the Tiger Swallowtail stamp onto the same cardstock, careful to place the feet on one of the branches of the Wildflower Silhouette image. I stamped the Swallowtail again and adhered the image over the top of the first image. The silver border is from Teresa Collins and the enamel dots and blue letter stickers are Studio Calico. I finished off my card with some twin and white silk ribbon.

Usually after I sketch out a card the elements come together easily, but that was not the case last night! Do you struggle to get from blank cardstock to a completed project? Or is it easy from the beginning? I have found that settling on a basic design first helps me out tremendously. I can always tweak my design while I'm working on the card, but usually the structure stays true to the sketch. 

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with a couple of digital layouts and an exciting announcement. See you then! 

Erin

Hello Butterfly

Happy New Year! Welcome to my first post of 2013 for Great Impressions Stamps. I am delighted to be here for another 6 month term. 

This week I pulled out Great Impressions Stamps Tiger Swallowtail. And what a beautiful stamp to work with. I used Copic markers and a touch of Stickles, cut out the image, and popped it up with pop dots to create dimension. Although I had a hard time getting this card from a single stamped image to the finish product. I initially stamped the butterfly three times onto white cardstock, colored each one a different color, then tried to make the three butterflies work on this card. I moved them around, arranged them differently, then finally got frustrated and took the pink and blue ones off... then my "ah-ha" moment came: one is better than three. The single butterfly looks great and the other two butterflies landed in my scraps pile. And that is how my 20 minute card turned into a 90 minute card. :-)

Anywho, I think it turned out pretty darn cute:

   (Supplies - Stamps: (Great Impressions Stamps) Tiger Swallowtail. Cardstock: (Hero Arts) Pool, (Avery Elle) Kraft. Patterned Paper: (My Mind's Eye.... I think. It was a mixed manufacturer pack). Washi Tape: (October Afternoon) Witch Hazel. Letter Stickers: (BasicGrey). Ribbon: (Stampin' Up!) Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding. Gems: Hero Arts.)

Seam binding might be my favorite ribbon to work with. It is so light and doesn't weigh the card down. I like that it adds softness to a card with a lot of harsh points (the patterned paper) and colors (black washi tape & gems).

Make sure to check back here on the 6th for our new challenge! 

Have a great week! 

Erin.