Gold Star Grad

So, even though the traditional graduation season is over, graduation continues to be on my mind as the end of my graduate school program approaches (and not a minute too soon--I am SO over grad school!) and it again shows up in my paper crafting. This card by Denise/denidill caught my eye immediately, so I chose to use it as the inspiration for my card for today's featured stamper challenge on SCS.

I kept the layout and theme (obviously) pretty much the same, but changed several other elements. I went with a monochromatic blue color scheme for the card, with the exception of the large gold chipboard star. The original card featured a large flower, but I have a bunch of these chipboard stars and I thought one would work well with this layout.

I also used chipboard letters for my sentiment. I cut these using my Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alphabet dies. I love this alphabet! I didn't like the size of the lower case "d" in the set, so I decided to substitute a flipped over "b." This is probably one of the only times I'm glad to see that attribute of b and d. As a kindergarten teacher, those letters were the bane of my existence!

I used Brilliance inks to cover the chipboard. They cover the chipboard beautifully and give it a nice shimmer, too.

The other modifications I made were to use the swirl image from Priceless (so glad this set's not on SU!'s retirement list) instead of rub-ons for the swirl at the top of the card and to add a row of paper pierced dots along the bottom of the card. The original card had a hand-drawn border and no matter how I try, I'm never happy with the finished product when I do that.

Since I mentioned the SU! retirement list, here's a link to the list in case you want to check it out: SU! retirement list in alphabetical order. I'm sad to see Unfrogettable and some of my favorite background stamps (Weathered, Dotted, Print Pattern) go, but happy that I can move forward with planning and making my swaps for the upcoming SU! convention .

Materials Used:
Priceless stamp set, Night of Navy Classic ink, Night of Navy and Bashful Blue cardstock, mat pack and paper piercing tool, Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon, On Board chipboard star, pop up glue dot (Stampin' Up!); Red Tag Sale alphabet (Cuttlebug); Pearlescent Sky Blue and Galaxy Gold inks (Brilliance)