Feather Cards

My second sitting with the Naturally Inspired Stamp of Approval collection took me to the much-anticipated Birds of a Feather Stamp set, along with the Simply the Best set and the Lattice Frame die. I am in love with that feather! Naturally I had to use the purple family from Catherine Pooler's inks (Sweet Sixteen, Pixie Dust, and Flirty Fuchsia). I decided to CASE (Copy and Selectively Edit) a card created by CP, but changed up the sentiment as well as a few smaller details. To create the diamonds background I used the Lattice Frame die as a stencil through which I sponged the ink. I used all three purple inks on the feather to create an ombre look, and situated a bunch of wee stamps to give the illusion that the feather is turning flying birds. (Those wee stamps were a challenge for my shaky hands, but I prevailed!) 

I used my MISTI to stamp the feathers as well as the sentiments. I waffled between using the "best" stamp or the "best" die, and ultimately went with the stamp. I was feeling brave so I pulled out CP's Midnight (black) solvent ink despite having had trouble with it before. I am now a big fan of it! Previously I had pressed some of my new stamps into the Midnight pad too heavily and created a mess! I thought I was using a gentle touch then, but my photopolymer stamps became so stained I could no longer see where I was stamping. I swore I would never use that horrid ink again (laugh with me!), but now I'm glad I got over myself and gave it another try. Once I got the right touch, I found the Midnight ink stamps so dark and so completely that I don't really need to use my MISTI to double stamp - it's a dream come true! 

As you can see, I wasn't very sure of the placement of the feather, so I tried it in a few different spots. I rather prefer the last card with the feather more centered because it makes the flying birds look better planned instead of squeezed into the corner of the card. 

I ultimately made two of each of the top two cards, and one "best friend ever" card to send to my friend who had popped over recently to surprise me with a big stack of Recollections 110# cardstock (from Michael's) that she had taken to the local office supply store and had cut in half. Now I have a box of super heavy white cardstock ready to score for card bases and my cutting blades will last a lot longer! Crafty friends really are the best, and this friend is the best of the best!!

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Coming up next: More Cosmic Shimmer, plus a silly birthday card. Stay tuned!

Feathery smiles,
Joyce Spear a.k.a. StamperJoyce