Lucky me!

I'm one of the lucky recipients to have won a "seat" as a result of a comment I posted on a post on one of the class instructors - for me, it was from the lovely and talented Donna Mikasa of three umbrellas blog fame - to participate in the latest Online Card Class' installment, Stretch Your Stamps 2! Thanks, Donna!

I've used direct-to-stamp inking with distress stains on this image in the past, and like both results. Which technique do you prefer?

Here's my first card from Day One, working with background stamps. Following Shari's lead, I pulled out my craft sheet and blotted multiple distress inks on it, then misted them, and made two impressions. I put aside the first more vivid inked impression at a later date, and used the softer 2nd impression to cut into squares and pop up on today's card. The background stamp I used was a smaller one, measuring about 4-1/2" square, so I used a 1-1/8" square punch, distressed the edges of each square, and used a word die in two colors to create a shadow effect so that they would pop up from the card. I'm incredibly thankful today not only to have the opportunity to participate in class, but in celebrating that one of my stamping buddies pulled through a back surgery this week and is on the road to recovery, so this card is heading her way!

stamps: Hero Arts' Antique Brocade, PTI's Counting My Blessings ; paper: Canson's 90-lb watercolor, SU's Close to Cocoa; ink: Ranger's frayed burlap, peacock feathers, peeled paint, seedless preserves, spiced marmalade, and spun sugar distress inks; tools: Cuttlebug w PTI's Counting My Blessings word dies, and 1-1/8" square punch