Stitched Silhouettes

There are currently two new big trends in Card Making: Silhouette Images and Stitching.

Silhouette images are all the rage right now in the stamping world. I think crafters like them because they are so quick and easy and a lot of stampers don't like to color. I personally LOVE to color, I find it so relaxing, so I've been avoiding purchasing Silhouette stamps, until now. Stampin Up! had several sets of silhouette stamps for 25% the regular catalog price, so I purchased some and gave them a try. I must admit for a 'coloring' girl, they were hard to get used to. But they come in handy when you need a 'fast' card. I find the best way to use silhouette stamps on a card is to use lots of other things to give it interest. For this card, I used different designer papers, ribbon, hardware, and stitching.

Stitching is another current rage in the stamping world. You can hand-stitch or machine stitch RIGHT ON YOUR CARD! This card has a zig-zag stitch going all the way around the base of the card. Its very quick and easy, even if you've never sewed before. If you don't have a sewing machine, just do a basic back stitch by hand. Don't worry about it not looking perfect....its not suppose to! Thats the 'hand-made' touch!

Heres the details of the card: All the paper is by Basic Grey. The stamp set is Stampin Up! "Pocket Silhouettes". I used $1.00 a spool ribbon from Michaels. I ran the ribbon thru a piece of "Hodgepodge Hardware" from Stampin Up!. I added a tag made with my cuttlebug and "Tiny Tags" cuttlebug die. I sponged the edges with Stampin Up! "Always Artichoke" ink. Stamped the main images with the same color ink. Used my 'Rectangles' nestablilites die for the main image panel.

I hope I've encouraged you to give either silhouette stamps or stitching on your cards a try! Have a great day!