Bordering Blooms

Happy Sunday!!!

OK, OK - I KNOW - it's been over a week - I hang my head in shame!  I was busy!  Relaxing!  Yes, bizarre behaviour for me, I know but stranger things HAVE happened!  Craig was off this week so we had a few family outings and generally putzed around doing a whole lot of nuthin' :)

So here I am ... avoiding my youngest and her latest tantrum.  Yes - you'd think at 8 1/2 years old she would be past them buuuuuuut no.  She is overtired (thanks to two late nights) despite sleeping 12 hours last night.  It is 2:23 pm and she's in tears because she's hungry and she doesn't like sandwiches.  Um.  Okayyyyyyyy.  I had to leave the room a) for my sanity and b) for her safety.  Seriously.  I know she's a mini-me but I swear I ws NEVER this much of a drama queen!!!

Right!  As the whimpering from the bedroom subsides I want to share with you my newest favorite stamp set and card!

First the card:

LOVE it!!!!!  The second one (in Rich Razzleberry) was my first attempt - which I loved - until I made the Cherry Cobbler card, which I love more.  The Cobbler one has a smaller whisper white front (4 1/2" x 3 1/4") and smaller Cobbler mat (4 1/2" plus 2 ticks x 3 1/4" plus 2 ticks).  The Razzleberry card is 1/2" larger.  I found the smaller layers really cut down on the white space and give the image more punch!

So!  Which stamp set did I use?  It's a new photopolymer set on page 162 - photopolymer means a) cheaper ($19.95) and b) easy to line up!  Here are the images in the set:

LOVE them!  There is a card on page 163 that I wanted to CASE so I ordered this set ... and I'm SO glad I did!  I love border stamps and this one is going to be very versatile.  The bottom image pits perfectly inside the 3rd image.  The third image ALSO exactly matches one of the flowers in the Flower Patch set on page 156 (*insert scrunchy excited face here!)

The sentiment I used is from Four You (Page 19 - a MUST HAVE set!).

I first stamped the image in Memento ink.  Since I didn't use the WHOLE image I had to flip the stamp face up and then apply the ink pad to the stamp to just where I wanted it ... a little fiddlier than just "stamp-and-go" but not too bad.  I also stamped the sentiment in Memento.  I then used my Blendabilities to color.  I used the darkest and lightest pens for both cards.  I didn't actually do any shading so I COULD have used my regular markers just as easily.  I also used my lightest Old Olive Blendability for the leaves.  I added some rhinestones but it needed just a LITTLE something more ... yep - Dazzling Diamonds!  My stampers all gasped when they saw we had the DD out - it's been DONKEYS YEARS since I've used that bad boy!  Everyone knows Craig's aversion to that glittery menace so I have avoided using it.  My gals were VERY responsible with it ... not a fleck was found on the table afterwards so you never know ... we just MAY have to crack it out more often *lol*

So that's it for today - I have a few other projects to share so pop back soon to see those.  Hopefully it won't take me 8 days to post them!  Until thedn - have a stampy day!


Tam