Something a bit different

Hi Bloggers.

First, thank you for your lovely comments about the shows on Saturday. Sometimes I worry that I'm having a bit too much fun and not getting on with the demos but they do wind me up a bit especially the chap upstairs who kept putting music on every time I used the Grand Calibur in the 7pm show. And I did have to use it a lot as the show (well, actually all the shows) were heavy on demos rather than looking at all the products on sale. He did that last week too. I think that'll be his thing whenever he works on a show that I'm doing. Something to look forward to!

Today I'm giving you a sneeky peek of the kind of thing I'll be doing on my stamping shows later this month. I'm doing the latest batch of Ethel & Murray stamps from Sue Wilson's RubberNecker stable. They were first released last year hand have been on Create & Craft once before.

Some of you may find this card a bit dark - I'm not sure if I like it myself or not.

This is Ethel. Her tattoo is a bit saggy as she's getting on a bit. Poor thing!



I started with the background. I ran a piece of Kraftcore card though the Grand Calibur with the Couture Creations Radiant Embossing Folder. I ran it through a second time to extend the pattern. I sanded it to make the design stand out a bit more. You can see the background a bit better in some of the close-ups below.

I stamped Ethel from the Creative Expressions Ethel & Friends Stamp Set using Cobalt Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut her out using Spellbinders Labels Four Small and inked through the die with Faded Jeans Distress Ink using Cut & Dry Foam. I cut a mount out of cobalt card using Labels Four.

I cut a couple of Elegant Posts out of cobalt card, chopped off the end bits and glued them either side of my background. I popped Ethel on her mount in the middle.

I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set again using the Cobalt Archival and embossed with the clear powder. I cut it out using Spellbinder Ribbon Banners and inked through the die with Faded Jeans.



For the border at the top, I cut a border out of Foundations Dot and Dash Paper using the Edgeabilities Classic Bracket, a border out of the Edgeabilities Classic Ric Rac and then another border out of bright blue card using the Classic Bracket again. I added a few blue gems across the top. I glued these together with Cosmic Shimmer Glue and then mounted them onto my card using 3d foam.



I tied a bow using 2 lengths of Royal Blue American Seam Binding. I added a Playhouse Posie to the centre and then a navy button with some Baker's Twine from the Vintage Set. I added a couple of pins from the Playhouse and Sassy sets that I'm hoping to have on the show.



I finished the card off with some dots of Cosmic Shimmer Summer Blue Pearlescent PVA around the edges.

If nothing else, I hope this card shows that you can make a card with a stamped image without colouring it in.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.