Treasure Life

Well, here it is . . . Treasure Life . . . September's Stamp of the Month set. Silhouette stamps! I was/am so thrilled. It's a beautiful set - a great combination of both large and small flowers and sentiments.

My card designs are all simple, partially because I was so anxious to try them all that I wasn't willing to fuss around too much. I used Petal textured cardstock for this first card. I love that this paper reverses to a lighter shade. You'll note I bent a few stems. Having the ability to "adjust" them is one of the features of acrylic stamps that I love.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; Petal textured cardstock; Paper Garden paper packet; Petal ink pad; Treasure Life September SOTM set.

The stamp I used for my second card is a big tall one that I stamped over and over with second generation ink. Isn't this a nice sentiment? I love that it's tall!

Materials & Tools: Colonial white and Olive cardstock; Boom-Di-Ada paper packet; Olive ink pad; Treasure Life September SOTM set; Gold mini brads; Stampin' Up Word Window punch.

I thought my third card front was going to end up in the trash. Originally, I sponged layers of Baby Pink, Hollyhock, and Hydrangea ink on glossy cardstock. Once I was satisfied with the background, I stamped on my flowers and my sentiment. It was pretty. Then, while twisting the lid around on the Hydrangea pad to close it, the darned thing slipped out of my hand and land right smack dab in the middle of my stamped design. With a big purple blob looking up at me, I didn't have anything to lose, so I rubbed Hydrangea ink over the whole thing and then grabbed a tissue to wipe away the excess. What I ended up with was a background that was prettier than the original, and I probably couldn't duplicate it if I tried all day. It's probably kind of foolish for me to say that I like it when things turn out that way! I laughed out loud when I saw the glossy cardstock on Close To My Heart's list of retiring products. What I have is probably 10 years old, and sure enough, when I finally get around to learning how to use it, they discontinue it. I guess I'll have to stock up!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock: Glossy white cardstock; Baby Pink, Hollyhock, and Hydrangea (heavy on this one!) ink pads; Treasure Life September SOTM set.

I have a couple more techniques I want to try with this set, so I'll probably have at least a couple more to show you within the next couple of days. My workday started out a little rocky this morning, but things quickly resolved themselves, so the day, as a whole, was OK. Besides, I took a very long lunch break and went out with a friend from the newspaper where I worked. We had a great time. She still bowls with the team I used to bowl with in the league I'm going to be bowling in again, which means I'll get to see her a lot more often - a good thing. I hope you've had a good day, too. Later . . .