From Simple to WOW!

I recently received the beautiful Friend Like You stamp set from a fellow stamper. I was so excited when it arrived in the mail, but I was knee deep in some other projects at the time and had to set it at the back of the stamp table. But today I pulled it out and made three awesome cards that go from simple to Wow!

All stamps and supplies used for these cards are available from Stampin' Up! If you are not already working with a demonstrator, I would love to help you purchase these supplies for your own craft room. Just send me a note.

The Friend Like You stamp set is made for two-step stamping with 14 photopolymer stamps. Included in the set is a palm trunk and palm leaves, cattail stems and cattail tops, and a clump of leaves and stems and their tops. There are also some cute dragonflies, some squiggly lines that look like water, and 6 greetings, three of which are more what I like to call "outside greetings" and three which are "inside greetings" that match. All in all, it's a pretty awesome set and very versatile! 

There is also a coordinating die set, Friendly Silhouettes, that makes matching silhouettes of palm trees, cattails, and wildflower clumps. 

For the first Simple Stamping card, I used one of Stampin' Up!'s pre-cut note cards. At the smaller 3.5 x 5 inch size, these are perfect to go along with gifts. 

The first card is very simple and has no layering, just stamps, paper, and ink. (Ok, and a little bit of ribbon - I just couldn't resist!) You don't even need a paper cutter for this card. 

I used the same colors and inking techniques on each of the three cards. The colors used are Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Mango Melody, and Poppy Parade.

First, I stamped the clump of leaves and stems using Old Olive ink. I stamped once and then stamped a second time further up and to the right to create a more faded image. Then I re-inked the stamp and stamped a third time, again, further to the right, but this time at a height between the first two. ​

To ink the flowers, I very carefully used the corner of my ink pad to ink the flowers in the desired color. This seems tricky, but with this set, it was pretty easy and I didn't experience trouble with ink on the wrong flowers. However, I don't think you could use this technique to get the flowers that are the same color in the samples in two different colors. They are just too close together.

I carefully lined up the images over the leaves I had already stamped. Since these are clear photopolymer stamps, it's easy to see through them to get perfect - or nearly perfect - placement. This stamp set is very forgiving, and if the flowers and the stems don't line up exactly, you won't really notice. Like the leaves, I stamped the flowers a second time to get the more pastel version you see in the back. Then I re-inked and stamped a third time.

Finally, I added the greeting in Rich Razzleberry and tied on a little ribbon. The polka dot tulle adds a great touch and is very easy to tie. I absolutely love it and find it works on so many projects. 

The second card maximizes the ability of layers to add interest and create a really pulled together card. 

I used Rich Razzleberry and Poppy Parade cardstock as well as the See a Silhouette Designer Series Paper. This patterned paper is so vibrant! It is absolutely gorgeous with a beautiful watercolored look to it. 

I used a 8.5 x 5.5 inch piece of cardstock folded in half for the base. Then, I layered a 2.25 inch piece of DSP. I stamped the flowers and trimmed the card stock. The Rich Razzleberry layer is 3/16 inch longer and wider than the trimmed floral image, and the Poppy Parade layer is 5/16 inch longer and wider than the Rich Razzleberry.

The final card uses the stitched shaped dies, the Subtle embossing folder, some metallic silver thread, a piece of vellum, and some clear epoxy droplets. 

I used Old Olive cardstock as the base. Like the previous card, it is 8.5 x 5 inches and then folded in half. It is hard to see, but I then added a 4 13/16 inch x 3 15/16 inch piece of Old Olive cardstock that I had embossed using the Subtle embossing folder. This just adds some nice texture to the background.

The DSP and the greeting strip are trimmed to match the edge of this embossed cardstock on the left. As you can see, on the right, they are staggered in length. 

On the piece of vellum, I very carefully scored a line 1/4 inch from each side. Then I flattened the vellum back out because it tended to curl up. This left a very subtle line framing the outside of the layer. 

Whether you're short on time or supplies or you want to go all out and make a Wow! card, the Friend Like You stamp set is a perfect vehicle for you creative juices!