A Mini Work-of-Art

Every card you create is a mini work-of-art! Have you thought about it that way? It’s true…whether we feel like an artist or not, when we put beautiful elements onto paper and make a card for someone, we are sending them a tiny work of art! And I find that very exciting!

Stampin’ Up! sure makes it easy for us to build a small masterpiece! Take this Designer Series Paper, for example. The prints in Best Dressed DSP remind me of watercolor paintings I’ve seen in museums. Today I decided to “frame” one of the prints and pretend I’ve created a painting :-)! Too easy!

I started by making a frame with Stitched Rectangle Dies, Whisper White Cardstock, and Fun Foam. Then I cut a piece of the floral DSP to match the size of the frame. The complimentary sheet of pink DSP pulls the color from the flowers. Then I decided on a skinny layer of Mossy Meadow to draw the eye back to the leaves.

Since I was framing a painting (in my imagination), I thought this cute little sentiment from It Starts With Art would be a fun addition to the card. After searching through my retired stamp sets I fell upon a tiny heart stamp that I inked up with Blushing Bride and stamped over “art.” We do put our hearts into these cards, don’t we? [You can find tiny hearts stamps in several sets. Mine came from Another Thank You.]

You can see another example of a Stitched Rectangle Die “frame” here.

I think my envelope is almost as pretty as the card. I had scraps left from both pieces of DSP, so I pieced them together on the flap and covered the seam with a 1/8″ strip of Mossy Meadow.

Present it Well

I’m no expert on art, by any means. But I’ve learned a few tricks along the way of my 6+ years with Stampin’ Up! One biggy in my opinion is the photography. First, you want to put your card on a background that doesn’t fight with the print, yet compliments the color. Sometimes I photograph several before deciding on one. That may seem like overkill, but when you put your (h)art into a card, you want to show it off properly! Second, make sure you have good lighting. Two spot lamps, one on either side give the best shadow-free exposure. Third, use an editing app, such as PicMonkey, to crop, fix exposure, straighten crooked lines. It’s really fun to play with the editing tools and turn your nice card into a wow! masterpiece.

Share your art with someone today. Make a mini work-of-art and send that person a card. Pinterest is a great source of inspiration as well as personal blogs. Take an idea and make it your own with your choice of paper or stamps. Most of all, enjoy the process. You will bless someone by sharing your (h)art with them.

Ordering Info

Shop Stampin’ Up! in my online store to cover any of your paper crafting needs. To find the specific products that I used on this card, you can click on any of the pictures below. When you order, please use my March Host Code 2Z42J4FX, for orders under $150. For a larger order, do not use the code. You will be able to use your own Stampin’ Rewards and receive free products.

With an order $40+, I will happily send you my free thank you tutorial. This month it is a boxed set of cards featuring the super cute Witty-cisms Stamp Set. With an order of $50+ you will earn a free Sale-A-Bration item of your choice!

Product List

It Starts With Art Cling Stamp Set [149303] $20.00	Best Dressed 6″ X 6″ (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [151319] $11.50	Whisper White 8-1/2″ X 11″ Thick Cardstock [140272] $8.25
Mossy Meadow 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [133676] $8.75	Stitched Rectangle Dies [148551] $35.00	Classic Label Punch [141491] $18.00
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin’ Pad [147100] $7.50	Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals [144108] $4.00
Whisper White Medium Envelopes [107301] $7.50