YOU'RE SPECIAL

I just received some new items from Memory Box and am having so much fun creating with them!!  Here's the first card I made using a brand spankin' new stencil set:

This is a 5x7" card made with Memory Box's "Garden Leaf & Berry" and "Garden Whimsy Branch" stencils (#'s 88552 and 88553 respectively). This is a double-layer stencil. I did mask some areas of the stencil (shortened a branch and decreased the amount of berries). I think the look that the layered stencils make is soooooo cool!

Here's how I did it:
First I stenciled the "Garden Whimsey Branch" onto a 5x7" piece of kraft cardstock. I used "Frayed Burlap" and "Peeled Paint" Distress Inks. I've found that you have to be VERY careful inking around some of the branches, as some of the areas where the branches join lift easily, making it difficult to stencil without any smudges. (I had to practice a few times before I was happy with the result. There's still some smudging on this one, but they are tolerable!)

Second, I layered the "Garden Leaf & Berry" stencil over my stenciled image. These stencils are made to fit together, so lining it up was quite easy! I then stenciled over the "leaf" areas with "Walnut Stain" and "Forest Moss" Distress Inks. This gave the really awesome two-tone affect of the stencil.  I masked off the berries that I didn't want to use, and inked the rest with "Aged Mahogany" Distress Ink. The sentiment stamp (Hero Arts #CL497) was inked with Memento's "Rich Cocoa" ink.

I trimmed the stenciled portion of the card, rounded the corners, and glued it to a slightly larger piece of coordinating paper. This was then affixed to a 5x7" kraft cardstock base.

For the final touch, I glued flat-back pearls to the card for dimension to the berries.

To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.blogspot.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

Thanks for looking!!