Playing with new toys...

...and getting rid of old ones!  You may have noticed the new tab at the top of this page that says "Retired Stamp Yard Sale".  I need to get rid of more of my retired stamps, so I've posted them for sale on my blog.  Check out the list and if there is something you're interested in, make me an offer.  A paypal account is needed to complete the sale.

Now on to today's post!  I've been playing with the new Established Elegance set and came up with this card...see what you think.  It is based on this week's sketch at Stamping 411.  Here is the sketch:

...and here is my card:

Card for SSC214 using Established Elegance stamp set.

Close up of images

I took a few liberties with the sketch, rotating it and moving the three buttons from the edge and onto the focal image. The colour scheme was inspired by the Timeless Portrait Suite.  I just substituted the river rock for sahara sand on this card.  I really love the way the island indigo just makes everything pop.  Here is how I put this together:
Starting with a piece of very vanilla cardstock, I ran it through my Big Shot with the Top Note die.  I also took a piece of island indigo cardstock and ran it through with the scalloped square die and I ran a sahara sand cardbase through with my Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  Now that the Big Shot work was done, I set to stamping!  Laying the scalloped square on my card, I decided how much I wanted to offset it and trimmed it accordingly.  I then layered the top note diecut on top of the square and trimmed it to size as well.  Taking the trimmed top note, I stamped the various images in basic black, cherry cobbler and island indigo ink, stamping off some images to give depth and interest to my collage.  Then I sponged the whole thing using the tea stain ink from my distressing kit.  Setting this aside, I took my scalloped square and distressed it using my bone folder to break down the cardstock.  I adhered my stamped top note to the scalloped square, ensuring the left edges were aligned.  I then took scraps of black striped ribbon and Chantilly lace trim, layered them and adhered them to the right edge of my focal piece.  I took a piece of cherry cobbler seam binding, crumpled it and then tied it into a bow using an antique brad and adhered it to the upper left corner of my focal piece.  Taking my embossed card base, I sponged the edges in sahara sand ink and then adhered the focal image along the left edge.  The final touches were a bit of Timeless portrait fabric gathered on a safety pin from the vintage trinkets and three little buttons that I had sitting around the house.
Gotta love vintage...so easy to put a bunch of elements together and make them work!