Gone Fishing

I didn't jump on the Best Catch bandwagon right away when the set came out. Don't get me wrong, I really liked it and know some people who fish but I wasn't sure if I would end up using it as much as perhaps I thought I should.  As you can see though, I did break down and buy it.  The dies that coordinate with the stamp set certainly help make the card creation process so much easier. 

As I often do with other coordinating sets, I stamp, colour and die cut several images. From there I will design and build a card.

If you don't already own any of the Stampin' Blends, I highly recommend them.  The more you work with them the better you will get at blending, shading and simply colouring overall :D

As I am not always confident in my colour choices I did the one thing many of us do....I googled images of fish and other peoples creations to see how some of the fish looked.   I love using lots of colour as I find it brings the fish to life!!!

Now I truly appreciate the Copper Trim as this ribbon adds a perfect shimmering touch to just about any design.  When using it on a fish card such as, by simply stretching the ribbon out it looks a bit like a fish net. A simple yet cool technique.

Since this card says "For You, Dad" you could use if for any occasion really - birthday, fathers day, just because!! <3

Do you own this set already? Have you taken the time to sit down and create with it?

Until next time!
Margaret 

Friendship....A Million Little Things

Throughout life we make friends all the time and while some friendships are fleeting for whatever reason, others last a lifetime even when you don't get to chat or visit as much as you'd like.  My friendship with Angela is one of the latter.

I met Angela October 2008. She had responded to a newspaper ad I ran about a World Cardmaking Day event I was hosting. She was relatively new to the 'area' (she lives 45 minutes away from me) and was thrilled to find a Stampin' Up! demonstrator close by.  The moment I met Angela in person I knew I had found a new friend for life.  Her presence alone and beautiful smile just draw you in and you feel God's love emanating from her.

It has been a bit since I have had a chance to visit with Angela and being the bad friend that I am, I failed to send her a birthday card yet again this year, even after I promised myself I would make sure she received one this time!

I knew it was time to make her a very special card to let her know what her friendship means to me. While I typically struggle with creating a watercolour wash background, I gave it yet another whirl and was thrilled with the result.

Now if you haven't seen the Butterfly Beauty dies in the Occasions Catalogue, they are absolutely beautiful and while I could have die cut two different images that layer over top of each other, I wanted to create a 'shadow image' instead by die cutting in black only.

The card needed some texture and a bit of bedazzle, so I pulled out the Shimmer Embossing Paste and the handy dandy masks that allow you to add designs to your cardfront and added just a bit. I wrapped Whisper White Bakers Twine around the cardfront several times and tied in a simple bow. I stamped my sentiment "Our friendship isn't one big thing" in Memento Black ink and die cut using Stitched Shapes dies.

The top layer is attached to a black matte which in turn has then been adhered to my Old Olive base.  I added a layer of Whisper White cardstock on the inside to make it easier to write on. I also stamped the latter half of the cards sentiment which was "it's a million little things".

I mailed the card off and while Angela doesn't live all that far away it took nearly 2 weeks before she received it.  I was itching to post the card but didn't want to do that until I knew she had it.
 
Until next time.
Margaret