My First Stampin' Up! Love

I have to tell you when I first put my hands on a Stampin' Up! catalog back in 1998 I instantly fell in love with Two Step Stampin'.  Specifically, my very first love was the stamp set called Flashy Florals.  That set and the Victorian Lace background stamp were my very first SU! purchases.  My second order/purchase was my kit!

Currently in my abundant stash of stamps I do not have any floral stamp sets that are designed for a darker detailed image to overlay a lighter more solid image.  So, I decided to give two step stamp carvin' a try.  I mimicked a retired set from several years back and added a greeting image to complete my latest collection of hand carved stamps.  The greeting is my attempt to copy something from the Beautiful Today download for My Digital Studio.  I know it's a bit rough and my "H" is looking pretty wonky, but it's mine and hand crafted.  I will say that now, 16 years after I joined SU!, I still love two step stampin' but I also have a BIG crush on the Undefined.

My card base is only 4" wide so that my pieces that overhang the edges will fit in an envelope, a lined envelope that is.  I based my card with Pistachio Pudding Coredinations card stock and lightly sanded it with an embossing folder.  Just tuck an open TIEF under your Coredinations card stock and sand the top with a sanding block.

I know my last Monday Montage post featured the Undefined product carving kit, but I decided to share my latest creation because it was also my latest class and most recent stamp project.  This past week I offered a class in which everybody received their own kit, we carved a floral set, and then stamped this card.  It was quite entertaining to see how each set was the same but so totally different.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick