Digital Stamping!

Inspiration
Well, I’m very late posting today – mostly because I’ve been making cards!  Another great weekend getting my creativity stoked up for the holiday season.  I had 2 special card orders to fill – both VERY specific as to topic.  When that happens, I often don’t have a stamp to fit the exact need – that’s the best time for me to turn to digi stamps.  They are really fun, and so flexible.  For me, they inspire me to use lots of my accessories and embellishments.  I’ll show you both creations below.


To use a digital stamp, I do a lot of web-surfing to find the image I like, then purchase, or (just download if they’re free!).  After planning the card design, I use Photoshop to open the image and get them sized just right for the card.  In Photoshop, you can enlarge or shrink an image, or flip them to a mirror of the original to make them fit together just the way you want.


Then, just print them with your regular printer (I have an Epson RX620 Ink Jet printer).  If you use COPICs, you may need to let them dry for a while before you color – I actually printed mine Saturday afternoon, and colored them today, so there was no danger of smearing.  If you’re in a hurry, you can always blast the paper with a heat gun, and you should be good to go.
Card 1: Longhorn Girl
The first special request was for a “congrats” card for a high school senior who just found out she’s been accepted at the University Of Texas in Austin.  When I looked on Splitcoast (here), I found a card I liked, and her information sent me to Anne Bodil’s site (here) – a Norwegian scrapper who draws beautifully, and provides a free digi every once in a while.  I loaded it into Photoshop, and added some Longhorn symbols and stars.  Here’s her special card.
Ingredients
Paper

Color	Vendor	Size
Basic Black	Stampin’ Up!	a)  4 1/4” x 11”, score at 5 1/2" b) 4 1/2” x 3 1/2” c) Small scrap
Textured Orange	DCWV	a)  4 1/8” x 5 3/8”
Plaid Orange	Close to My Heart	a)  4” x 3”
Whisper White	Stampin’ Up!	a)  4 1/2” x 3 1/2” b)  Small scrap
Clearly Thanks printed window sheet (white polka dots)	Stampin’ Up!	a)  4” x 4”

Ink
Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Stamps
AnneBodil14 (Anne Bodil); Absolutely Fabulous (SU!)
Accessories
Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Oval Large, and Scalloped Classic Oval Large; Cuttlebug; Scalloped oval punch and small oval punch (SU!); COPIC markers (E000, E00, E27, E31, E50, YR02, Black Multi-Liner); SPICA At-You Chocolate; SU! Marker (Pumpkin Pie); Gelly Roll MED – Orange); Ribbon (scraps); Scor-Pal; Glue dots; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight and deckle blades (Fiskars); Scissors
Instructions
Paper and Images
After printing the girl image, cut it out using the Classic Oval.  Cut and emboss a Scalloped oval in black.  Cut the plaid paper with a deckle edge blade, and the printed window sheet with a straight blade.
Stamp the sentiment on the white scrap and punch it out with the plain oval.  Punch a black scalloped oval, and mount the sentiment on the scalloped oval.
Color the girl using COPICs – here’s what I used on each part:  Skin: E000 and E00; Eyes: SPICA Chocolate; Hair: E27, E31, E50; Longhorns/Stars/Hair bows: Gelly Roll MED – Orange; Dress: Pumpkin Pie; Shirt: YR02; Leggings: YR02 and Black Multi-Liner; Shoes: Black Multi-Liner
I finished up by using a sponge and some pumpkin pie ink to slightly color the edges of the white oval.
Assembly
Layer on the textured orange panel, followed by the clear panel, followed by the plaid.  Tie the ribbon around the middle.  Mount the black scalloped oval over the ribbon, and the image of the girl on the black scalloped oval.
Fold the black card base on the scored line.  Mount the artwork on the front.
Inside
For this card, I cut another textured orange panel (4 1/8” x 5 3/8” ), and a white panel (4” x 5 1/8”), and mounted them inside.  I stamped the “congrats on your big news” from the same Absolutely Fabulous stamp set in black.
Card 2: Dairy Farmer
No kidding!  A friend has a son who is turning 30, and wants to start a dairy farm.  I made a card for him a couple years ago (see it here).  Now, 30 is a big one, so she is going to help him buy is first card, so she needed a BIG card to present to him.  Who has 2 original cow stamp sets????  Back to the digital resources!  I found a fun farm on the My Grafico website, and here’s what I created.

Ingredients
Paper

Color	Vendor	Size
Light blue card stock	Strathmore	a)  12” x 18”, score at 9"
Grass paper	Provo Craft	a) 12” x 12”
Cloud paper	Provo Craft	a)  11” x 6”
White	Paper Trey	a)  8 1/2” x 11”
White	Georgia Pacific	a)  8 1/2” x 11”

Ink
None! Everything is printed on the Epson Ink Jet Printer
Stamps
Macdonald’s Farm (My Grafico)
Accessories
COPIC markers (E000, E00, E27, E31, E50, YR02, Black Multi-Liner); Gelly Roll Pink Star; Scor-Pal; Foam Tape; Xyron; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blades (Fiskars); Scissors
Instructions
Images
After printing the farm images on the Paper Trey white paper, color with the COPICs – here’s what I used:
Cows: YR00, YR02, R02; Barn: T003, T005, Y15, Y17, E08, E09, E33, E39, R46; Hair: Y02, YR02, YR03; Skin: E000, E00; Cheeks: R24; Overalls: B91, B93; Man’s Shirt: Y02, Y08; Girl’s Shirt: Gelly Roll Pink Star.
I printed the greeting on the Georgia Pacific white.
Then cut everything out! Yes – this IS the tedious part.  Hint: I ran the cows, the barn, and the girl through the Xyron before cutting them out, so they’d stick really well.  I didn’t do that with the man, because of the layering in the assembly.
Assembly
Fold the base card on the score line, and crease it well.  Mount the cloud paper on the top part of the front.  Free-hand cut 3 hills from the grass paper – mount the top-most hill with regular adhesive, then layer the next two hills on with foam tape.
Peel & stick the cows and barn, and little girl.  Put adhesive on the part of the man that will not stick above the hill, and mount it too.
For the greeting – again, I ran it through the Xyron, trimmed it closely and mounted it “in the clouds”.
Inside
For this card, I cut a piece of olive green textured cardstock (10” x 8” ), and a printed a sentiment (“MILK it for all it’s worth!  Happy Birthday”) in black on another sheet of Georgia Pacific white.
I trimmed the white panel to 9 1/2” x 7 1/2” and mounted it on the green, and then then mounted them inside.
I’m posting with out closely proofing this – it’s getting late!  Leave a comment or send me an email if you have questions – I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for stopping by.
Lisa Lynne