Inspired by Art

Let's begin by taking a look at this absolutely gorgeous pin:

Isn't this card amazing?!?!!?

Yes. Yes, it is.

At one point in my life, I dabbled in calligraphy and illumination. At my best, I was not even close to this good.

Not. Even. Close.

It's sad that the pin of this person's work only leads to a cached picture...no blog or website. If any of you know who this artist is and can point me in the direction of learning more about her/him, I would so appreciate it.

While drooling over this beauty, I realized that the general layout would work with stamps and set to work playing around with the idea. Here are a few of the results.

This book-themed card will go to the founder of our Book-Worm Babes Book Club.* (Stamps: Papertrey Text Style, All Booked Up)

This second card will go (duh) to my sister. It was totally inspired by the pillowcases at our grandparents' house when we were little. Those cases had green and yellow cross-stitch patterns on them and made us feel so special! When my parents divorced, Mom, Lisa, and I moved in with my mom's parents, who enveloped us all in a great big safe haven of love.  (Stamps: Papertrey Sew Simple Borders, Quilters Sampler Sentiments)

Finally, this colorful floral card just happened. I think it would be a lot of fun for a teenage girl...perhaps my niece! (Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Spring Flowers, Papertrey Keep It Simple Birthday)

All my cards are 3.5" x 6.25" folded, and 10.5" x 6.25" open. I scored at 3.5" and 7" to create the accordion. That's a lot of real estate for stamping, and while my designs stick to the general layout of the pin that inspired me, there is so much more that could be done with this tri-fold idea. If you have any truly large stamps, get them out and play because there's plenty of room for them here!

These cards fit a standard #6 3/4 size business envelope.

One tip: Score before you stamp, but wait to fold it after stamping. That way, you know where the folds are for placement purposes, but the paper is nice and flat for stamping.


*Our book club got its name from a rather strange event that happened to me when I lived in Wichita, Kansas, in the mid-1990s. George and I were leaving Barnes & Noble when two teenage boys drove past. One was hanging out the window of the car and screamed, "Book-worm bi***!" George and I looked at each other in puzzlement. It's the weirdest insult we've ever heard, and ultimately I decided to take it as a compliment. Our book club (which includes many women-of-a-certain-age who have delicate feelings regarding the female-dog epithet) decided to call ourselves the Book-Worm Babes after I told the story. *giggle*