Comissioned Art

Ordinarily, I do not consider myself an artist. I stamp because I cannot draw my way out of a paper bag and with a rubber stamp in hand someone else has already done all the hard work for me! But to be fair, there is a lot more to stamping than reproducing a drawn image. Give the same stamp set, layout and color schemes to 5 different stampers and I guarantee that you will have 5 different cards. That's where our personality and creativity come through as card makers. And it's pretty flattering when other people recognize that and compliment your card.

One of the highest compliments someone can pay me is to ask me to make them a card for someone else. It's really nice to think that they like my work enough to give the card to someone else. So needless to say I was very happy when a co-worker requested that I make a couple of cards for her -- a card for an expectant mother and a new baby card.

I just had to use the Swell News stamp set for the expectant mom. I cannot believe this set is retiring! I paper pieced the dress (that's the technique I couldn't remember the name of last weekend where you stamp on designer paper and then cut out a portion of he stamp and adhere it to the same image stamped on card stock) from one of the amethyst designer papers in the palette o'prints pack (available this month for $9.95 with a $35 product purchase.) I think she came out kind of cute!

For the second card I used the Feathered Friends set. I really like this set and don't use it nearly often enough, and it too is going to retire in June. So I thought I would take it out and play while I still can. This is what I came up with, based on the request that the card be made in various shades of pink. I used the Itty Bitty Backgrounds sets for the various dots on the white card stock and Swell News for the safety pins on the pink background. I also used more of the designer paper from this month's special pack for the polka-dot boarder layer. The ribbon is woven through slots made with the double rectangle punch. Simple, but effective!

My co-worker really liked the cards, which made me very happy. Hope you enjoyed them as well.