My 1st Blogoversary is Approaching!

In honor of my 1st Blogoversary approaching, I am hoping to have a post every day this week! I often tend to be quite talkative and wordy, but most of these posts will hopefully be short and sweet! However, I do have some important background info in today's post.

Today's card is special because I made it for a friend's birthday. For those of you lucky enough to have visited Papertrix in Nashville, IN, you most likely have met Cindy, the owner. She and her husband, Wayne, run the most amazing stamp/scrapbook store I have EVER seen. It's a tiny little building filled to the brim with more stamps and supplies than you could imagine! It's like Toyland for stampers and scrappers! Cindy's birthday was on July 7th, and I wanted to make her a super-duper extra-special card to thank her for her kindness, generosity and never-ending inspiration. I never could have started this blog without her support and encouragement. My mom got me started making cards, and she introduced me to Papertrix where Cindy made me realize that I actually have talent with papercrafts! I will never forget how honored I felt when Cindy asked me to be a part of the store's incredible design team! The store is filled with amazing samples, and to have MY cards among them? It's absolutely AMAZING! I still get little butterflies of excitement when I see my cards displayed! Papertrix is also my 3rd "home." Obviously, my actual apartment is home #1. The Palace Theatre of Brown County is where I spend most of my non-home time, so that's home #2. If I'm not at home nor the theatre, there's a good chance you might find me at Papertrix. Whether I'm shopping or working, Papertrix is my "happy place." Just being inside the store makes me smile! Cindy and Wayne are so sweet, and I love spending time with them. I learn so much, too! Their product knowledge is phenomenal! Plus, I adore seeing people's faces light up when they walk in the doors for the first time. It's so special! So, to thank Cindy for all the wonderful experiences that she has brought to me and so many others, I wanted to pull out all the stops.

I decided to try a new technique of "kissing" stamps. I inked up the Large Flower Pattern stamp, and then I stamped the Houndstooth Cover-a-Card stamp over it to give it texture. THEN, I stamped it on the paper. The Houndstooth texture is subtle, but it's just enough to give it some added depth. Then, I colored the petals with Copic markers. I colored the stems using green colored pencils, but then to tone those done, I colored over them with a gray Copic marker. Of course, I just HAD to add some bling with the Stickles, and lastly, I created the ribbon detail using my ATG (check out DeNami Design's YouTube page for a video).


Thanks for reading this, and if you're ever in Indiana, make sure to stop by Papertrix and see one of the most amazing stores EVER!

Happy Crafting!
Amy

Supplies:
S5471 Large Flower Pattern stamp(Hero Arts), Houndstooth Cover-a-Card stamp (Impression Obsession), Navy & Lavender Cardstocks, Grosgrain Ribbon (DeNami Design), Copic Markers, Colored Pencils, Stickles, Corner Rounder