Pull Up a Chair and Relax

  Hi there stampers!
Well I am looking forward to tomorrow because David and I will be relaxing - not necessarily in a vintage chair though. We are going to escape to our beloved Cape Cod (Books and a Beach chair!!) for an extra long weekend. It has been an incredibly busy summer for both of us - he and his missions trip to Kenya plus speaking engagements and me with Summer Reading Club at the library. Those 3 words in of themselves equal CRAZY for me. lol!


And as I relax, I will be looking forward to the Stampin Addicts Holiday Mini Blog Hop beginning August 27 and going through Sunday, August 29th. I know I keep reminding you but I am so excited! This is my first Blog Hop of any kind and I hope it will be "well attended" if you know what I mean!


   Today's card is all about the chair (not a beach chair). I bought this stamp set called Have A Seat, because I have emotional attachments to 3 of the 4 stamp images in this set. Well sort of. The 3 chairs (not the bench so much) all remind me of my paternal grandmother's house which reminds me of my childhood. Great memories by the way! When I first went through the catalog back in June, I thought I just had to have this stamp set so I purchased it. But wouldn't you know it, I haven't even used it until now. I pull it out, look at it, admire the chairs, remember the chairs of days gone by and ..... put the stamp set back on the shelf! Do you ever do that?


  So this time I was determined to ink it up and make a card. And wow it came together so fast! I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch and just went to town (figuratively speaking of course).

   Another thing I bought and rarely use is the Presto Patterns Specialty Paper . It is so, so, so white! I don't know I guess I need my paper to come colored and ready to go even though I like the concept of being able to making it my own depending on what color is needed. So I cut a small piece of the Presto Patterns paper just to try it out. I sponged this piece with Cherry Cobbler and Chocolate Chip ink. And I love how the words just start to appear and the color is so rich and vibrant. I can totally see myself using this paper more often.

   For the chair I stamped it in Chocolate Chip, punched it out and very carefully colored it with a marker. It had to be red because that is the color of the chair at my grandmother's house. Sigh. I loved that chair. 

   SNEAK PEAK! The Early Espresso cardstock behind the main image was punched with a new Holiday Mini punch! And so were the words enjoy life! Gotta love new punches!

   In keeping with the vintage look I added some Crochet Lace and a Vintage Brad at the bottom. And if you look closely you can see 2 little Vintage Trinket Brads on either side of my stamped image. They look like teeny tiny buttons. So cute!

I feel better now that this stamp set has finally seen ink and, just like the Presto Patterns Specialty paper, it will be getting more use than it has because it goes so well with the vintage look.

Stamps: Have A Seat, Fabulous Phrases

Paper: Crumb Cake cardstock, Presto Patterns Specialty paper, Early Espresso cardstock

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Crochet Lace, Vintage Brad, Sticky Strip, Vintage Trinket Brads, 1 3/4" circle punch, 

         Decorative Label Punch, Small Oval Punch - both in upcoming Holiday Mini

Find time to stamp . It is good for what ails you!