Sunday, February 24, 2008

Edgy Basics

This assignment caused me to think back to the very first technique I learned when stamping. At the start of my hobby, I was a stay-at-home-wife caring for my stay-at-home-husband. I didn't know many people in this new town to which we'd moved. I saw a billboard for a stamp store and found my way there shortly thereafter. Am I ever glad I did... for this is where I met my friend and very first stamping teacher, Gwennie. Her cards seemed to have such depth and richness. I wanted to learn from her right away.

The trick to the dimension and depth, she said, was the brushing of the ink pad against the edges of the cardstock -- a technique known as edging. The technique is very flexible. Using different amounts of pressure when edging, you can control the amount of color that is imparted to the paper. You can also vary inkpad types to achieve different looks. My favorite ink pads for this technique are the very spongy ColorBox Chalk Cat's Eyes, and Gwennie used these too.

There are photos from three phases during the production of my project. The first photo shows another neat benefit from edging. The white flower-stamped panel is mounted onto a green panel, which is then mounted to the same color card. The edging technique helps define that green layer that would otherwise be almost invisible.

In the second photo, the card has a few more elements. Faux stitching was added using a white gel pen around the first green panel, as though it were sewn to the card. A layered flower and brad were also added.

Photo three shows the flower in a different position, added atop a band of coordinating ribbon with other matching colors of ribbon shown below. Which would you have chosen?

It's easy to imagine the next few photos of what this card could become. Perhaps photo four includes a pretty piercing pattern. And photo five? That might add brads at the corners of the stamped panel and some glitzy Stickles added to the flowers on the stamped panel. The possibilities are endless!

Supply List
Stamps: Fancy Florals Remixed, Thoughtful Florals and Fancy Florals (Verve Visual)
Paper: Wild Wasabi & Whisper White (SU!)
Ink: Blue Iris ColorBox Chalk (ClearSnap); Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Bayou Blue (SU!)
Accessories: White Glaze Pen (Sakura); Stitched Ribbon (SU!); Brad (Karen Foster Designs); Flowers (Prima Marketing)

As a reminder, the stamp sale continues only through this Friday. Save fifteen percent on all the yummy Verve Visual stamps! While you're browsing the store, be sure not to miss the two delightful new paper lines from Studio 8: Daydream and Blooming. Remember, the paper is guilt-free since you're saving so much on the stamps themselves. :)

Happy Stamping!