Mono Monday

Due to a sleepless Sunday, this is going to be a one-card Monday. Staring at the clock, willing yourself to go sleep at 4 a.m. is not a great way to start out the week. If I was yawning at this time last night, I'm too tired to yawn tonight.

UPS brought three sets of stamps today, special because they were free. Close To My Heart has a Rewards Your Way program for its consultants with points based on sales, and I finally accumulated enough points for three free stamp sets. My selections were Playful Flourishes, Ledgendary Moments, and Nature's Vein. My initial reaction when I saw the new Nature's Vein was that I did not need one more set of leaf stamps. However, I love leaves and realized in short order that I did need this set. Of course, I love these stamps, and because of it, this set was the one I chose to use first for the one card I managed enough energy for this evening. It's also the perfect set for the Tissue Inking technique. The directions for the technique are as follows:

1. Choose two or more ink colors that you want to use on your stamp.
2. Ink up your stamp as usual with the lightest of your chosen colors.
3. Before stamping, add additional ink by blotting a crinkled facial tissue on a coordinating ink pad and then dabbing it gently on your inked stamp.
4. Repeat with additional color(s).
5. Stamp your image.

I used Goldrush, Cranberry, and Vineyard Berry ink pads for the maple leaves. To finish off the card, I stamped the veins with Chocolate ink, added a little texture with Desert Sand Ink and my Speckled Background stamp, lightly distressed the edges with my Bamboo ink pad, added a Goldrush bow and the sentiment piece, and mounted the design on Chocolate cardstock. The sentiment - stamped with Chocolate ink, specked with Desert Sand, distressed with Bamboo ink, and mounted on Chocolate cardstock - is another favorite from the Treasures of the Heart set.

It's bedtime. While I don't know the reason for last night's insomnia, I'm relatively certain that I won't be affected two nights in a row. Until next time . . .