I haven’t made a card in a while now, much less something so whimsical, but I had such a fun time jamming to some loud music and playing with these ‘oh so cute’ stamps by Unity designed by my friend, Susan Weckesser. I’m just thrilled to say this gal is a friend of mine, honestly. The fact that she’s also a fellow Helmar hottie is just a bonus. I met Susan last year at CHA and she is absolutely adorable and just as sweet as she can be. She is one of those true gems of a gal. OK, so I’ll stop gushing over Susan. However, she did design some fun stamps and I had the privilege of playing with a few since it is promotion week with Helmar, Unity Stamps, and Susan K Weckesser Inc. So be sure to visit all these sites for some great inspiration this week.
The houses are just adorable and, since my brother just moved into a new home, this was the perfect opportunity for me to use them. I expect to see these in quite a few art journal pages too. I also used Susan K Weckesser, Inc paper, again designed by Susan Weckesser, to build my card along with Papertrey Ink cardstock.
1. Cut cardstock 7 x 10 and score at 5 in to create 5×7 card.
2. Cut card front base from desired patterned paper at 4 7/8 x 6 7/8.
3. Stamp 2 images of house from the happy homestead by Susan K Weckesser Inc & Unity stamp set on two different papers. I positioned the one to the right so that my fence would be on white paper and the windows would be over the yellow flower. This will be my background piece.
4. After cutting house out from desired top layer, use an X-acto knife to cut out windows and part of door so that it will open. If you will cut on a glass mat with the X-acto knife, it will cut so much easier.
5. Use a black Faber-Castell Stamper’s Big Brush Pen to color all exposed edges inside and out of cut design and various colors of Faber-Castell Stamper’s Big Brush Pens to decorate any other desired parts of house. I also added a little Viva-Décor Ferro paint to the roof.
6. To create shadows and dimension, use Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots on back of top house and layer over base house. Let dry. Remember that it takes Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots 24 hours to cure, but it is set in about one hour. The dimension is SO worth the wait and you have a little play time to move the piece exactly where you want.
7. Adhere card front to card base using your favorite Helmar adhesive and then stamp Home and Love on card front leaving room for your house. I also stamped the sun from fly away in the top left corner. These were also stamped using Ranger Archival Inks. I added mini alphabet stickers to spell ‘is’.
8. Use Ranger Archival Ink to create a little neighborhood scene stamping with Unity Stamps designed by Susan Weckesser. The collections used here are fly away, little haven, and heart-felt warmth. I used lighter colors to just fade into background and be subtle so that my sentiment would stand out.
9. The sentiment, miniature trees and pebble path were stamped using Boards & Beams stamp set from Papertrey Ink.
10. After Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots is dry, you can adhere house to card base using Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to guarantee a firm hold and quick dry.
11. My last touch on the card front was to cut a little fringe from a strip of Susan K. Weckesser Inc patterned paper to create a little grass and flowers. I used Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots again to glue these in place.
Now, I need to get this card in the mail to my brother and his family. Congratulations, Jesse and Bekah, on your new home, and congratulations, Susan K Weckesser Inc, for some great new stamp designs.
Make time to celebrate home, love, and family this weekend and if you get some extra time to create something, go for it!
Thanks for stopping by,
