My Heart Belongs....

My heart belongs...wherever family is. This was a design from Stamp Camp at Stacey's and I urge anyone reading this to support your local brick and mortar stamp stores. So many are hurting with the economy and unemployment situations being so bad, especially in Michigan. If it keeps on like it is here, there will be no stamp or scrap stores in my county by the end of 2007. I only buy online what I can't find locally within an hour's drive-and if I need anything both of these stamp stores will order it for me and I have it in a week. I was at Stacey's last weekend and today made a trip to Jane's. I love both these stores and the talented ladies who work there.They have different styles and samples so I spread the wealth evenly (which explains my gasp when the Visa statement comes!)

I got to meet the owner Sandee's newly adopted daughter from Ukraine ANASTASIYA (forgive me if I am spelling it wrong) and I got to watch her play with Marvy Markers for the first time! She isn't a baby-being nearly as tall as I am and I think 10 or so-but watching her discover the colors doing what we take for granted is a big catch in the throat. Ink and paper bringing the world closer thru art.

Want a little trivia from Russia (Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union until the break away in 1991). Rubber stamps were first incorporated into serious art in Russia around 1912. Artists -- now known as the futurists -- were rebelling against the fancy and costly publications of the symbolist poets. The futurists instead used rubber stamps and cheap paper to print out multiple copies of their own work. From Russia the rubber stamp moved to Germany and the Dadaist movement where it was combined with drawings to create collage art. Using the same stamp that made the background swirls on this card, I juiced up the image with Tattered Rose Tim Holtz and applied it to the plain white card to cover the middle front of a three fold card. This card stock was then cut using a die of a large heart thru the stamped front only-off set it a bit. You could use a punch here too, I suppose. This is the frame for the stamped acetate insert to cover the heart hole from the back and then you add a piece of metallic card stock and then close the bottom third of the card over it-this is to make for a neater inside.

The acetate piece is stamped in Stazon Opaque Cotton White using Hero Arts Lacy F4320 You would then back the acetate with a color of choice and here it's a pink/red metallic and tape both pieces using a runner or just plain scotch tape as it will be covered, so nothing will show. Then you fold in the one side from the bottom and run some sticky along the folded edge to seal . You then have a top folding card.

I die cut a tag (Sizzix) or just use a pre-made one from Office Depot or some such store-and ink up the edges using Milled Lavender from the distress line and maybe stipple a little Tattered Rose too. Stamp your sentiment using the same ink and add a brad (I trim the prongs) and layer on with pop dots.

This card is stunning close up-some things just can't be captured well when the sun is going down and the dog is crawling up my back!