Greetings From the Beach!

Hi!  It's Cathy, (AKA Cathymac on SCS), checking in from the beach at Ocean City, Maryland!  What a privilege it is to be the guest designer for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps during the month of July.  I met Korin back in January at a gathering of stampers from Southeast PA and fell in love with Sweet 'n Sassy's adorable images and wonderful sentiments, many of them scriptural.  The clear stamp sets contain so many sentiments, making them very versatile.  I will be sharing stamped projects with you each Tuesday during the month of July using two of the newly released stamp sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, "Love is Like a Tree" and "Helping Hand."

Love is Like a Tree

Before I get to my project today, I have a confession to make.  When I first became aware of digital stamps, I told myself that I would never be interested in using them.  Some how it seemed like cheating...you know...stamping without actually holding that stamp in your hands...without really inking up the rubber!  Well...never say never...I've had a change of heart.  I've found that there are many advantages to using digital stamps.  After stamping for many years, I have practically no more storage space left in my home...digital stamps are stored on your computer.  You can get a digital image almost instantaneously.  There are many adorable images out there...Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps has many of their images available as digi images.   AND they can be resized to fit your project, which brings me to my project for today. 

Creative Nugget:  When I saw this Melanie Mouse digi image at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, I knew she was a perfect match for the "Love is Like a Tree" set.  (See...I found a way to use my copics on this solid image stamp set!)   I made her small enough to fit in front of the tree and printed her on some white Couture Cardstock.  I then made a mask out of a sticky note, and stamped the tree behind her.  Clouds were sponged in the background using an old cloud template from Printworks.  I then stamped the hearts from the "Love is Like a Tree" set, which fit perfectly on the branches of the tree, and gave them a coat of Glossy Accents.  Melanie was then colored with Copic Markers.  The embroidery floss on the card was also colored with a Copic Marker.   The grass was sponged in with Peeled Paint Distress Ink, and the little heart-shaped flowers were drawn with a copic marker and a Sharpie Poster Paint marker.  It's hard to see in the photo, but small hearts were embossed on the black Bo Bunny DP with a Sizzix embossing folder.  The Faux brads were punched from Bo Bunny DP and coated with Glossy Accents.  Can't you just imagine  how the tree in this set could work in every season?  I hope you've enjoyed this project, and that it has inspired you to try to combine digital images with stamp sets that you have.  Thanks for checking in with us today...now back to the sun and the sand!  I'll be back next Tuesday with another project!

Hugs,

Cathymac   

Card Recipe

Stamps: Love is Like a Tree, Melanie Mouse Digi (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Ink: Computer, Tuxedo Black (Memento), Raspberry Fizz (PTI), Soft Sky (SU!), Peeled Paint Distress Ink (Ranger)

Paper: Raspberry Fizz (PTI), Couture Cardstock, Bo Bunny DP

Accessories: Curved Rectangle Die (Spellbinders),  Hearts Embossing Folder (Sizzix), Heart Punch (Unknown), Circle Punches (SU!), Heart Circles Die (Spellbinders), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Embroidery Floss, Sharpie Poster Paint Marker, Copic Markers R20, R00, RV14, RV17, RV19, Co, C2, C3, C5