Serene Sunflowers- "Thinking of You" card

I enjoyed making this card since my favorite flower is the sunflower. My friend Lisa showed me how to do the rock n' roll technique on the center of the flowers. It is a simple technique yet adds dimension to stamped images.

Here are the materials and instructions to recreate this card:

Card stock: Sage Shadow, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
Ink: More Mustard, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Sage Shadow, Basic Black
Stamps: Serene Sunflowers, Sincere Salutations, Weathered background
Accessories: Moss gingham ribbon, stampin' sponge, SNAIL, scissors, paper trimmer, Stamp-a-majig

The dimensions of the card base (Sage Shadow) is the standard 5.5" (wide) by 4.25" (long). The second layer, More Mustard, measures 5" (wide) by 4 & 7/8" (long). The top layer (Very Vanilla) measures 4 & 6/8" (wide) by 3 & 1/2" (long).

*Tip- My friend Alicia gave me this great thrifty tip: cut out the center of the card stock layer when the center is not visible on the rest of the card. You may use a square punch or paper trimmer to cut it. Then you have the option to use the cut out portion of the card stock for another project. How great is that? :)

If you plan to make several of the same card, you may want to hold off on cutting the Very Vanilla card stock, as it will save you time to stamp on the entire sheet instead of each piece.

Fold the Sage Shadow card stock in half. This is your card base. Then, ink up the Weathered background stamp in Sage Shadow. To get an even coverage of ink on your card stock, lay your card stock on top of the stamp and rub the card stock into the ink, or press down on it, being sure to touch the entire surface to the inked stamp, without moving the paper. Lay the Sage Shadow card stock aside for now.

On the Very Vanilla card stock, stamp the images from the stamp set, Serene Sunflowers. This is a two-step stamp set, which means that you will be layering images one on top of the other. This gives a dimensional look and provides additional color when you use a different color for each layer. For two-step stamping, you want to stamp the lighter color first, and then stamp the darker color on top of the lighter color. So with this stamp set, you will want to stamp the larger sunflower petal image in So Saffron, and then stamp the smaller petal image in More Mustard, stamping directly onto the So Saffron image. If you have trouble lining up the two images, use the stamp-a-majig, a great tool for positioning your stamps. After you have stamped your flower images, ink up the center image with More Mustard. Then, using the rock n' roll technique, roll and rock the stamp edges in Close to Cocoa ink, and stamp in the center of your flower images. Next, using Sage Shadow ink, stamp the leaf image of your choice on or near the flowers.

After your sunflowers are complete, ink your stampin' sponge in creamy caramel and sponge a light layer on the blank spots between the sunflowers. Be sure to turn your sponge in various directions frequently to avoid sponge marks. If you haven't cut the Very Vanilla card stock to the appropriate measurements, now is the time to do so. Then, ink your greeting stamp in Basic Black and stamp the greeting on each stamped piece of Very Vanilla.

Before you adhere the three card stock layers together, you will want to attach your ribbon to the stamped Very Vanilla card stock. I tied the ribbon around the card stock and double knotted it on the front of the card. To keep the ribbon in place, add a bit of SNAIL to the ribbon on the back of the card stock. Then, adhere all three layers together. Your card is now complete!

If you have any questions, please post them and I will do my best to answer them.

Have fun stampin' and creatin'!

Note: All supplies are from Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted.

Alterable Lunch Tin

This is a lunch tin I altered at a fellow demonstrator’s stamp class last week (thanks, Christine!). It is very easy to decorate and fun to see how a plain white tin can be transformed into a work of art.

Here are the instructions for altering this particular size and style lunch tin:

Lunch Tin (can be purchased at Michael’s, Joann Fabrics on-line only, Archiver’s, on-line craft supply stores)
Designer Paper- Holiday Harmony (from SU!’s Holiday 2007 mini catalog)
Cardstock- here I used River Rock and Whisper White (from SU!’s Fall & Winter 2007 Catalog)
Classic Ink- Mellow Moss (or Always Artichoke)
Stamp set: Letterpress Alphabet
Grosgrain ribbon- Always Artichoke
Assorted pieces of ribbon and fibers (Wal-Mart and JoAnn Fabrics)
1 1/4” circle punch
ModPodge
Foam brush
Sticky Strip
Stamp-a-majig

If you have touched the tin with your fingers a lot, you may want to take a clean, damp cloth and wipe the tin. This way any oils that were transferred on to the tin will not prevent the glue from adhering to the tin.

You will want 4 pieces of Designer paper- 2 strips of 2 designs. Cut each piece at 12” long by 2.5 inches wide. On one strip, line up your 1 1/4” circle punch at the top of the paper, in the middle. Make sure that only half of the circle will punch the paper out as you do not want to punch the entire 1 1/4” circle out of the paper. When you have punched this piece, lay it aside. Take another strip of paper, and turn it over so the design you want is facing down, apply ModPodge in a thick layer across one of the four pieces of paper. When the paper is covered well, turn it over (without laying it back down) and line it up on the front bottom of the tin with the ends lining up evenly on the sides of the tin. Adhere strip to tin. Turn the tin around so that the back is facing you, and repeat with the second strip which matches the first. Turn the tin back around so that the front is facing you. This time, adhere the strip of paper with the half circle to the front of the tin, with the circle going around the latch. Then turn the tin again and add the fourth strip. When all four strips are in place, brush a very thin coat of ModPodge on to the paper to seal it.

While the paper is drying (takes only 5 minutes or less to dry), cut a piece of grosgrain ribbon 22.5 “ long. Apply sticky strip to the back of the ribbon. When the paper on your tin is dry, adhere the ribbon to the tin where the two different patterns of paper meet.

Using River Rock card stock, cut 5 squares measuring 1.25 inches wide by 2.25 inches long. Cut the Whisper White card stock to measure 1 inch wide by 2 inches long. Using Mellow Moss or Always Artichoke classic ink, stamp a letter on each piece of Whisper White card stock to spell the word “cards”. To be sure you stamp the letters straight, use the stamp-a-majig for this step.
Adhere the stamped Whisper White pieces onto the River Rock paper using sticky strip or SNAIL. Then, adhere each letter onto the tin with ModPodge or sticky strip. Start from one edge of the tin to the other to be sure all your letters fit. Then, using several different types of ribbon and fibers, tie them onto your handle.

Your project is now complete! If you have any questions, please contact me. I apologize that pictures do not accompany these instructions. I don’t have a lunch tin or the same paper to duplicate this project in a picture tutorial for you.

Have fun stampin' and creatin'!

*Note: All supplies are from Stampin' Up!, unless otherwise noted.