Topiary

Hi everyone.  I've been battling the flu for the past week so haven't been around visiting blogs.  Starting to feel better and hope to be back surfing the net soon ... I have really missed seeing all my favorite crafters for a couple of weeks now and am eager to see what you've all been up to!

Today I'm organizing a CAS Card Class for mid-August and was going through my cards to pick out three for the class.  I came across a set of Flower Box cards that I made last spring and decided I would update one of them for the class to make (see below).  As I was making a sample card, I thought of changing it up a bit and making the image into a topiary.  I love how it turned out .... and you can see the similarities from my Flower Box card below.  Used the same inks, stamps and die-cut ... yes, that is a Flower Box die-cut from Poppy Stamps.  Once I cut it out, I repositioned it in the same die-cut to cut off the excess and make it into a pot ... so happy with how it turned out.  I sponged around the pot and shaped it a bit to give it a curve - love all the dimension!

Here's a close-up:

Here's where I started ... this is an updated version of a card I made last spring (I changed the card base to white, reduced the layers to make it more CAS and changed up the sentiment.

I am going to stick with the flower box card for the class as the topiary was a bit fiddly (and easy to mess up), so I'll leave that as a one-of :)  Still working on which other two cards I'm going to include.  I had so much fun re-making a previous card, that I may do that some more today. The class will get to try their hand at coloring a stamp with multiple colored markers, second generation stamping, sponging and masking.  Fun and easy techniques ... perfect for a beginner's class.

I think it's going to be a fun day and I look forward to getting back to having friends (and this time family as my cousins are coming to learn) over to share my passion for stamping.

Here's a close-up:

Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes (SU!); Cause A Scene Master #1 (Kittie Kits - Rubbernecker Stamps); Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs)
Ink:  Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Grand Flower Box die (Poppy Stamps), sponge, Stamp-a-ma-jig, post-it note for masking, adhesives, and dimensionals