Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Inspired by a Movie = The Girl on the Train)
This card started with me grabbing a box in which I've thrown various unused elements from past projects that I sometimes dig through to include on what I'm working on. Here, I found the newspaper print paper on which I had previously stenciled roses in gold ink and a piece of Crumb Cake that was embossed with the pattern from the Stitched Greenery die. I liked the two together and the vintage look reminded me I have recently purchased the Snapshots ephemera from Tim Holtz and I thought this could go well with the two pieces. I also found a leftover brown silhouette from a Tim Holtz die set, which was perfect for the challenge.
I found that the snapshots are in black and white, so the white was a little too bright against the vanilla paper, but then I remembered I have Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture embossing powder from Seth Apter for Emerald Creek, which is awesome to give something a vintage look. I trimmed the edges of the picture with my Deckle trimmer and covered the whole picture with VersaMark ink, then the embossing powder. This gave it the perfect sepia look I was looking for. I then started digging through my stash for other vintage elements to use. I picked up Reminisce the book 3 and went through the patterns to pick something for the card background. I liked the burgundy paper, so I figured out how big of a card I would need to accommodate the large picture, and I went with 5" x 7", cutting the burgundy paper a quarter of an inch shorter. Also from the same book, I found a page of vintage tags, so I fussy cut one to use as a layer. At that point, I pulled out my Antique Linen Distress pad, my Vintage Photo Distress Oxide pad and a few brown and burgundy Classic ink pads from Stampin' Up! to ink the edges of of all the pieces I had. I crinkled the newsprint paper and inked the crinkles to make them stand out.
I found Tim Holtz's Mail Art stamp set in my stash and decided to add a few images here and there: the numbers to the patterned paper, the word "Approved" to the tag die-cut, a few images to the silhouette and the Registered block, which I stamped in burgundy and cut out. I also stamped the star in the circle on Gold Rush cardstock from Lawn Fawn and punched it with a circle punch. I added a Mini Flair from idea-ology. I found that pack in the clearance section for $0.99. Considering how expensive the idea-ology embellishments are at full price, I was all over it! I picked the one that says "6¼ cent fare," as it went well with the train image.
For the sentiment, I looked through the new sentiment dies I recently found at my local store. I was excited to add to my French die selection - those are few and far in between, but the European companies have started to offer more options and I'm excited about it as word die cuts are sometimes easier to add than stamped sentiments, which require a flat surface to work out. In this instance, I was able to layer the word over the silhouette and the embossed train image, where stamping would have been extremely difficult. I layered three die-cuts, the top one being cut out of black Kraft-stock to add sheen to it.
I added layering inside the card since the card base was made of really dark cardstock (Merry Merlot), and I looked through my paper stash to find paper to make an oversize envelope with. I lucked out and found this old paper that's been in my stash for close to two decades now (it's single sided, so that's a sign right there). The vintage colours and mail print was perfect for my card, so I used my Envelope Punch Board to make a matching envelope. I inked the edges with a dauber and added another label from the Reminisce book. This will be my father's birthday/Father's Day card (those two events are a couple of days apart, so his card always cover both.) I had put aside a few snapshots from the pack that I felt could work with the pieces I had pulled, but I ended up going with the train since my dad has worked for a train company his whole career and that seemed appropriate.
I'm really happy with this card - masculine cards are always challenging and vintage is not my natural crafting style, so I'm always pleased when I manage to nail it.
Supplies
Stamps: Mail Art (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!); Gold Rush (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned Paper: Reminisce the Book 3 (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Unknown (Stampin' Up!);
Unknown (K & Company); Metallic-3 Kraft-stock (Tim Holtz for idea-ology)
Ink: Antique Linen Distress, Vintage Photo Distress Oxide (Ranger);
Merry Merlot, Soft Suede, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!); Antique Gold (Altenew)
Dies: Stitched Greenery (Stampin' Up!); Carterie (DIY & Cie)
Accessories: Circle Punch, Black Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers,
Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!); Mini Flair, Snapshots (Tim Holtz for idea-ology);
Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture Embossing Powder (Seth Apter for Emerald Creek);
Stipple Brush, Roses Stencil (Tim Holtz)
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