Essence of Love

Good morning! This is a stamp set from Stampin' Up's current Occasion Mini Collection. For me, it was love at first sight. I have seen so many gorgeous cards made with it - everything from black and white silhouettes to multi-colored chalked images. It's a set I will be playing with, I'm sure, for weeks to come. The thing I'd forgotten about Stampin' Up's mini collections - the best thing - is that the stamps are cut out for you. All you have to do is punch them out from the rubber sheet and mount them on the wood blocks. That's so much nicer than having to cut them out yourself. The background paper is from Stampin' Up, too - Porcelain Prints from its Designer Series. I fell in love with it immediately as well. SU's Designer Series paper is heavy patterned paper with designs on the backside as pretty as those on the front. The reverse side of this print, in fact, was so beautiful that it was difficult to put adhesive on it!

This particular card is a simple design. The focal point image is 2-1/2 by 3 inches so it was easy to cut it into three 1 by 2-1/2 inch pieces. Mounting the focal point image to the card with 3M foam mounting tape gave it a little added interest.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Twilight, and Bamboo cardstock; Twilight ink pad; Stampin' Up Porcelain Prints designer paper; Stampin' Up Essence of Love stamp set; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

I guess I'm going to venture out of the house today. My sister-in-law's boyfriend called a bit ago and invited me to join them for burgers at noon at the American Legion. I have some errands to run, too, so I'll get my weekend gallivanting out of the way all at once. Marv is with "the boys" today, laying pipe so that the slab for the new hunting cabin can be poured next week. He went out the door with strict orders not to "overdo." I'll be back later. Once I'm in my corner again, my plan is to stay there for a while.