TupeloDesignsLLC Guest Designer

I'm back today for another guest designer appearance for TupeloDesignsLLC.  I've really been enjoying these guest design spots, it's always a pleasure to work with companies that go the extra mile for their customers, and TupeloDesignsLLC certainly does that!  Here are some of the wonderful benefits they offer:

**Free shipping for all US orders (no minimum purchase or code required)

**Discounted international shipping rates

**Lightening FAST shipping, all in-stock items are shipped the same or next day 

**Loyalty Rewards Program

**Excellent customer service - all emails are answered within 12 hours by the owner


I also want to let you know that TupeloDesignsLLC is celebrating World Card Making Day with a sale this weekend!  They're offering 15% off on Sugar Pea Designs (Code: Sugar15), Pink & Main (Code: Fresh15), and Waffle Flower Crafts (Code: Waffle15).  The sale runs through tonight, October 3rd, at midnight, so be sure to check it out today!


My blog post today is all about making a BIG impact with tiny stamps.  I'll be using a wee little 3" X 3" stamp set from Hero Arts called SPRING HELLO BY LIA.  The stamp set might be small, but I think my cards make a big impact!

I have to confess that I originally ordered this stamp set because I loved the 2 sentiments in it.  For 5.99 I thought it was worth it to get the sentiments even if I didn't use the tiny stamps.  But I love a challenge and decided to try and make some cards with those tiny stamps.

For this first card (finished size is 5" X 4.25") I used a large heart die and cut a heart shape from a piece of typing paper (you could use ANY shape for this technique, it wouldn't have to be a heart).  I placed the open heart over my card base and taped it down.  I started stamping inside the heart with the tiny stamps, going right up to the edges of the heart.  If you've never stamped like this, you want to start with your largest image and stamp it in a triangular pattern.  If you look for the largest pink flowers inside my heart, this is what I started with and should help you see what I mean by "a triangular pattern".  Next I stamped the 3 sprig stem in green, also in a triangular pattern.  Then I stamped the purple flowers, then the red, and so on, moving down to the final stamp which was the tiniest stem in the stamp set.  At this point you're not worrying about stamping in a triangular pattern, you're simply filling in any blank white spaces.  When you lift up the typing paper you're left with a perfectly shaped flower filled heart!  I stamped the "hello" sentiment with black ink and the card was done.  I realize you could make a card similar to this by simply cutting a piece of patterned paper with a heart die and placing it on a white card base, but personally I find this kind of stamping VERY relaxing and I love doing it!

For this next card I arranged several of the tiny stamps on a clear acrylic block, as close together as possible, and did some repeat stamping using VERSAMARK INK, then I embossed with white embossing powder.  When I was done stamping there were a few areas of white space left, I simply used whatever single stamp would fill in the space (it doesn't have to be perfect, nobody will notice!)

I only stamped part way up the card, below is a picture to show you what the inside of the card looks like, there's still plenty of room for writing a message inside:

Next I used Distress Inks and my ink blending tool to add color to the white embossing (Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Broken China, and Peacock Feathers).  I also added some water, and ink splatters to the flowers.

To make the fancy die cut edge on the front of my card I used the largest die from Reverse Confetti's LACY SCALLOP FRAMES Confetti Cuts and used the partial die cutting method.  I placed the long edge of the frame on the card front, slanted, and cut just up to the point where the edge was cut, then backed it out.  Jennifer McGuire has several videos on her blog showing partial die cutting if you'd like to see how to do it.  Next I stamped the sentiment from SPRING HELLO BY LIA in black along the slanted, die cut edge.  I finished the card by tying some baker's twine around the top.

So there you have it, a couple of cards using very minimal supplies!  I hope you like what I've shared today, and that you'll look at your tiny stamps in a new way!