If you are even a little bit familiar with the world of Stampin' Up! lately you have maybe heard of #simplestamping. Sara, Stampin' Up!'s CEO, introduced it during our gathering last November as a way to help make stamping and papercrafting accessible to beginners. I do think of this often as I look at the supplies I use to make a card. It doesn't occur to me while I'm making the card because some of those supplies have been in my craft room for a very long time. After all, I'm going on 22 years as a stamper and demonstrator for Stampin' Up! When I go to create the project list though I'm often amazed at all the things I've used. So today I'm showing a few cards with fewer supplies, relatively speaking...
When we say #simplestamping though, it doesn't mean making such a card isn't a creative process. It can be simple and quick or maybe it can be something that we make with very few supplies but we still might be using them in a creative way. Follow me a bit on this, OK?
This is classic #simplestamping. I took out the beautiful new brushstroke set, Let It Ride, inked it up with Early Espresso ink and stamped the large horse and a greeting on a Very Vanilla note card. For a little extra fun I added another horse image to the envelope flap.
Next I decided to step it up just a notch by revisiting a popular sketch that I used for a Holy Tryptich card several years ago.
This is an easy step up to do since the measurements of the decorative paper aren't fussy as long as one measurement is 4 1/4" which is the height of this card.
Since the horse needed almost 1/2 the width of the "white" space I decided to change it up a bit since I tend to avoid 1/2 card portions. PLUS, I had all of these Wood Textures strips left over from swaps I made last fall, in other words I'm using scraps.
- The card base for this style of card is a side fold landscape oriented card. Measurement is 4 1/4" x 11". Score and fold at 5 1/2". This makes it easy to tie some sort of ribbon or twine around the card. Plus it's a twist on more traditional cards.
- Once again, the measurement of the decorative paper isn't fussy as long as it covers the 4 1/4" height of the card. For new stampers it is important to note that while I've shown this with wood tone paper and twine that Stampin' Up! carries you could certainly look around your home for something else that would work.
Here are a couple of other cards that use this sketch or layout with another popular stamp set, Wishing You Well.
- The bouquet is stamped full strength with Mint Macaron ink.
- The bow is also stamped with Mint Macaron and trimmed by hand.
- I used a little pearl on it but this is certainly optional.
- I extended the decorative paper (from the Subtles 6" x 6" stack) to the corner as in the original inspiration card and trimmed it with a skinny strip of solid Mint Macaron. Once again, while it is easy for those of us with coordinated collections to come up with a paper. But what if all you had was white card stock and your ink pad. How about inking up some bubble wrap and "stamping" it on your paper? Other ideas - please leave a comment!
Just a little twist on the previous card:
- This bouquet was stamped right after the bouquet on the first card without reinking, giving it a softer look.
- Instead of using another stamped bow I used a scrap of Whisper White Polka Dot Tulle.
- I used a torn edge instead the skinny cut edge for the Mint Macaron.
- The Tranquil Tide Artisan Pearls are a good match with Mint Macaron, but white pearls or even nothing would still be pretty.
See! Same basic card with little changes. Use the supplies or scraps you find around your home to make it your own.
I will put the supplies for the cards in separate product lists so that you can see that each card doesn't use too many supplies. All of these could use the adhesive you have on hand, if needed.
I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world. Let me know what you think and come back again soon!
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Chris
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