As part of the program to become a Certified Demonstrator in My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up! requires me to create a greeting card and have it printed through their professional printing service. So today, I tackled this enjoyable task & came up with two cards ...
My first attempt was based on the card sample on page 32 of Stampin' Up!'s 2009-2010 Catalogue & Idea Book, except that I had to substitute another stamp image because Season of Joy doesn't come with the software. (I would imagine that it will be offered as a future download; it's a very popular set!)
I love that the software comes with many of my favourite Designer Series papers and Simply Scrappin' Kits. I added a tree border, a grosgrain ribbon and knot, a large oval punch & greeting, and I even managed to change the colours on many of the items to get the look I wanted.
The best feature is the ability to add a drop shadow - look closely to the right of the trees, the ribbon and the punched greeting. I had to resist the urge to put a drop shadow on EVERYTHING!
The first card was fun & easy to do, but not really my style. So for my second attempt (and the one I eventually sent to Stampin' Up! to be printed) I wanted a more eclectic look...
What do you think?
I LOVE the stitching options (they're actually stamp images), the staples, the border stamps (you won't find this swirly border in any catalogue!), and the ability to change the opacity of an image - both the border and splotch are done in Not Quite Navy, but I toned down the opacity of the splotch to about 50% so that the butterfly would stand out against it.
Adding the torn edges and the stitching to my layer of Dusty Durango card stock took some fiddling, but the next time I'm sure it will be easier to do.
While I'm waiting for my professionally printed card to arrive in the mail, I think I'll also try printing this one on my home computer and use it to cover a spiral notebook - a girl can never have too many of those around!
cheers,
Well done, Donna! The cards look terrific.
Posted by: GrammaStamper (Barb) | October 22, 2009 at 07:57 AM