You’re a Cut Above

 This card has several steps to it and uses parts of four stamp sets from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous. They are all great sets and can be very versatile. For the background and the lace edging on the card base and sentiment strip,  I used Patchwork CMS256 and Patchwork Pieces CMS270.

The focal point and sentiment were made using the new Inventor 3 CMS342 stamps and the sentiment is made up of pieces from those found on one of my most favorite sentiment sets - Crazy Talk CMS236

I started by stamping the scissors onto some plain Collage Paper using Ground Espresso Archival Ink. Then I distressed the collage paper a little by adding some Antique Linen Distress Ink onto the stamped side of the collage paper.

The reason I did this is because I stamped the Patchwork background stamp in Ground Espresso Archival as well onto a piece of Distress Mixed Media Heavystock and then colored it with Distress Markers and a waterbrush. It's difficult to tell but even the parts that look white aren't they are Tumbled Glass.
I was thinking it would turn out pretty vibrant which it did and I loved it so I didn't want to completely cover it, but it's just too much for my focal point stamp.
That's where the Collage Paper comes in.  I tried to make it feel a little like a pattern to go with the scissors/patchwork/sewing theme going on here.

I used some Distress Collage Medium to brush on the background stamp and then pressed the stamped collage paper onto it and let it dry.

Once it was dry you could see how much the collage paper beautifully muted the background but still let it shine.  However, the focal point scissors were not standing out enough for me.

I sanded the edges and some of the loose paper came away revealing bits of the background around the edges. Then I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink,

To bring more attention to the scissors, I stamped them and cut them out, added some Antique Linen Distress Ink and attached them over the stamped images.

I chose two different stitched border stamps from the Patchwork Pieces stamp set and stamped and embossed with Ranger Antique White Embossing Powder to make the lace edged trim piece for the sentiment and to make a lace trim along the sides of the card base.

To make the sentiment, I decided what I want to say and then stamped several of the sentiments from the Crazy Talk set to be able to piece together what I wanted to say.  This is a really easy technique for making your own sayings to fit your cards. And it makes use of some sentiment stamps that may only get occasional use.  You can see below the sentiment stamps I used before I cut them apart.

Then I added some odds and ends I had in my Ideaology Fasteners stash.

So although there are multiple steps to this card, I really enjoyed making it.  I know some people like just the simple stamp and go cards, and so do I, but I also enjoy getting immersed in the creative process and making a card that is extra special for that extra special person.