Inspired by Spring

Happy March!!  I'm so excited that we getting closer to spring - only three weeks away!!  I just love spring with all the trees branching out and flowers starting to bloom.  It's inspired me to make a "Spring Card" today, even though we still have a little snow on the ground here.

 

I really wanted the look of water-coloring with this card, but didn't know how to do it with a solid stamp.  Water-coloring is usually done on cards where there is a line drawing of an object and then you watercolor inside.  So I researched on-line and found a technique called "Thumping" which gave me the look I was wanting.  It's pretty easy.  Basically you ink your stamp and then take a darker color Stampin' Write Marker and "thump" the marker along the edges of the stamp.  Hope you like.

 

"Inspired by Spring"

 

 

 

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature (Stampin' Up!)

Paper:  Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Stampin' Write Markers:  Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories & Tools:  MS border punch, 5/8" Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon (approx. 8"), adhesives & dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig (optional)

 

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I inked the image stamp using the Stampin' Write markers and then "thumped" a darker version of the three colors on the edges .  I stamped the image onto the large piece of Whisper White.  I then trimmed the paper to 5 1/8" x 3 3/16".

Using the MS border punch, I punched one of the long sides of the Pretty in Pink cardstock.  I then trimmed the rest of the cardstock so that the stamped image would fit inside, leaving a 1/16" border around all sides (+ the extra on the punched border side).  I mounted the framed image onto the 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of Early Espresso cardstock.  I tied a half knot in the 5/8" Pretty in Pink satin ribbon and placed it across the front panel of the card, approx. 1" from the bottom and adhered it to the back of the panel.  I then mounted the complete front panel onto the card base.

I used Stampin' Write markers to ink the sentiment and stamped it on Whisper White.  I mounted the sentiment on frames of Pretty in Pink and Early Espresso with each consecutive piece being 1/4" larger (leaving 1/16" border on all sides).  I adhered the sentiment on top of the ribbon using dimensionals.

For the inside, I inked only the smallest flower using the Stampin' Write markers (same as for the front panel) and stamped it in the bottom left-hand corner of the Whisper White panel (I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to help with placement).  I mounted the Whisper White onto the Pretty in Pink cardstock and adhered it to the inside of the card.