...did somebody say Plaid?

ED - the leaves I saved from windfalls last year and, once they were dry, I coated them in PVA glue (modge podge type stuff) looks like they last pretty well this way.

It has to be said. I am rusty. I need to send a few days making more cards to get back on form. So I am kicking off with a few very simple cards.

The other thing that you may not know about me is that, while I pride myself on having the patience of a stone, when it comes to new stamps, it evaporates, patience of a flea. I can't help it. While this is not the official start of the next launch I HAD to use one of he new stamps from a set that I am going to release during the next launch. It was just sitting there looking at me, I was itching to play with it and then Cath Edvalson at moxiefabworld announced to the stamping community that Plaid is hot!

I love plaid. That's why I designed this stamp as part of a set of stamps for making backgrounds. The set is called Off Beat Backgrounds and will be available during my next release. I will set the date for this release later this week. It won't be long - I am practically popping at the seams to launch the new webstore and sets!!!

So - I've been good - I've only used one stamp from the set on these cards. It is a very nifty little, well, big long, stamp that lets you make stripes and plaid that actually looks like the real fabric article!!! Using this one stamp you can make lots of different versions of plaid.

You can make plaid in one colour or multi colour!! it's up to you.


Do you like the holly leaves in this christmas card? - I made a tone on tone plaid using Versamark and Ripe Avocado cardstock, and then I cut out holly leaf shapes. The border down the left hand side of the card is one impression of the stamp, stamped in versamark. You can see the two components of the stamp the thick and thin borders here, in the photo below - they are inked in two different colours.




For this wee birthday card I made a two colour plaid for a patterned background panel. I also stamped the plaid strip using versamark on the blue cardstock to add detail to the background.


With the plaid strip it's a cinch to make interesting stripe combinations - I love dark blue and plum together as in the pic above. The stamp is a combination of a thick border made up of a multitude of tiny diagonal lines, a gap and then a thin border made up of the same little diagonal lines. This gap allows you to do two main things - ink up each border individually to produce a two colour impression. And, stamp an impression 'within' another impression - like the plum and navy above.

I love the way it gives the impression of that old ticking cotton fabric used for lining quilts and mattresses in years gone by. Check out the stripes on the thank you card at the top of this post.

I found that by using small, separate diagonal lines it allowed the stamp to make a 'true' plaid when I stamped the colours over one another.

In the photo below you can see how the green bars become a darker tone of green where they cross over each other. This is exactly what happens in a piece of woven plaid - I was so excited by the way this worked that I may well spend the rest of the week stamping plaid!! lol.


Even if you only ink up the stamp in one colour it is easy to get at least two styles of plaid. In the green photo below I stamped the plaid border in the same direction thick/thin, thick/thin, thick/thin, right across the card. And then in the same way, down the page, across the original impressions.


On this orange sample I stamped the plaid border thick/thin and then turned it around and stamped thin/thick. I repeated this across the page so that I had stripes as follows - thick, thick, thin, thin, and so on. I repeated the same pattern down the page to get a different plaid.

Just think of all of the combinations you will be able to get using two or more colours!! EEK!




So Hope this tickles!!


Stuff:
All other stamps - Waltzingmouse Stamps - Merry Christmas and Thank You from Say it with Style and Happy Birthday, embossed in white from Earth Angel

Flower from Prima coloured with copic orange, no idea what shade, email if you have to know! lol.
Oak leaves - preserved from last years windfall by drying out and then coating in pva glue. Modge podge does the same thing.

Die thingy - Ace wee cookie cutter nesting labes die I saw on Julie Tilman's blog and had to have. Quickcutz.

Inks - Enchanted evening and scarlet Jewel - PTI, Antique linen, Ranger distress ink. Versamark - Tsukineko
Plum, green and turquise - all versacolour chalk inks - dew drops I think.
Cardstock from Papermillshop and Papertreyink