Define Your Life Duo

For today's featured stamper challenge on SCS, I was inspired by the set of cards Mary Jo Albright made using the images in the Define Your Life stamp set. She made 26 cards, one using each image, and a matching box to hold them. I wasn't up for making the complete set of 26 today, but I tried out two using her idea for inspiration.

Mary Jo's original version used 3x3 cards. I adjusted the layout for a standard card size. To do this, I changed the elements of the original just a little bit so they'd be on a slightly larger scale. I added a second circle--a scalloped one--under the chipboard letter. This added just a little more color to the card, too. I also punched tiny holes in the scallops. I stamped the definition images from Define Your Life in a slightly darker shade of ink than the cardstock, then used a corner rounder to round the corners, keeping with the rounded edges of the scalloped circle. I added a tiny ribbon tab made with a dotted grosgrain ribbon to the layout, too.

I didn't have a set of the SU! chipboard letters like Mary Jo used, so I turned to my Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alphabet for the letters. The letters are cut from a piece of swirled Grungeboard. This stuff is fun to work with! It cut really easily in the Cuttlebug. After I cut the letters out, I rubbed Certainly Celery craft ink over the Grungeboard to color it. It took the color much more easily than the usual chipboard (aka old cereal boxes--LOL!) pieces I use.

I used felt flowers from the Flower Fusion kit to embellish the letters. I put a rhinestone brad through the center of the flower. The ends of the brad were longer than the flower petals and were still visible, but they were easy to trim with a large pair of scissors. I used a small glue dot at the back of the brad to attach the flower to the card.

Even though I decided not to make my way through the alphabet today, it would be pretty quick and easy to do so with this layout. I may just decide to do that some day. Right now, I need to check out the loud crashing noise that I heard from upstairs that I assume has something to do with Cosmo the (clumsy) wonder dog. I can only guess what he's gotten into now . . .

Materials Used:

Define Your Life stamp set, Old Olive Classic ink, Certainly Celery Craft ink, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery, and Kraft cardstock, Flower Fusion, corner rounder, mat pack and paper piercing tool, glue dot (Stampin' Up!); rhinestone brad (Making Memories); green dotted grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); Red Tag Sale alphabet dies (Cuttlebug); swirl Grungeboard (Tim Holtz); circle and scalloped circle punches (Marvy Uchida)