Creation Station Presents "Work of Art"

Welcome to the second installment of Creation Station!! If you're working your way around the blog hop, you've just come from Ilina Crouse's blog. Her creations are truly works of art, aren't they? If you're starting here, you can follow the blog hop all the way around by clicking on the next button at the end of this post.

This time we're featuring two stamp sets: "Blast Off!" from the Occasions mini catalog and "Work of Art" from the new 2014-15 Idea Book and Catalog. Our featured product is baker's twine.

Stampin' Up demonstrators who attended the new catalog release parties--at a theater near you--were thrilled to receive the "Work of Art" set along with the new catalog. I have to tell you, when they first showed this set on the big screen, my reaction was, "Meh." But then I saw what we could do with those stamps--how versatile the set is--how easy it is to use--I was "sold!"

Before I show my cards, let me tell you a story of my inspiration. When I was in elementary school, way back in the latter third of the 20th century, we used to go on an annual field trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (near where I grew up). One of my favorite paintings was Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Little Girl with a Watering Can." 

Renoir was an impressionist. One of the hallmarks of impressionist painting is that you can see the brush strokes. Here's an extreme close-up of the upper left of this painting where you can see the brush strokes. The "Work of Art" set reminds me of impressionist painting.


 










I've made three cards for you--all of them are pretty simple. Sometimes I feel like we Stampin' Up demonstrators have to show true works of art with loads of techniques and embellishments. While those types of cards are awesome, they can seem daunting to some stampers. It's a good idea to show all types of stamping because there are all kinds of stampers! I wanted to show cards that use only a few simple--and inexpensive--accessories, so that even the novice stamper or the stamper who doesn't want to buy a ton of stamping supplies can make them.

Here's the first card:

(Stamp Sets: Work of Art, Gorgeous Grunge; Ink: Real Red; Card Stock: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White; Accessories: Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, Real Red Candy Dots, Real Red and Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon)

The wavy lines are all Real Red--I used a technique called "generation stamping." I inked the stamp one time and then stamped the image three times without reinking. I used my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to line up the three rows of lines.

My second card was quick and easy to create. I think it's a really fun card, too!

(Stamp Set: Work of Art; Inks: Wild Wasabi, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Basic Gray; Card Stock: Wild Wasabi, Calypso Coral, Whisper White; Accessories: Whisper White Baker's Twine)

I randomly stamped the circle 10 times in each of the three colors, making sure that some circles were stamped off the card. I added a heart in Calypso Coral neat to the sentiment, just to add a little surprise. I grabbed my Baker's Twine and was going to tie a bow, but then I went a little crazy and wrapped it randomly around the card.

My last card is my favorite. I love how the colors feel rich and golden--and there's no gold ink on the card at all!

(Stamp Set: Work of Art; Inks: Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand; Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla; Accessories: Gold Baker's Twine)

I hope you've enjoyed my "Works of Art." I know you're going to love Cindy Beach's creations!! Just click on the next button below and off you go to see Cindy's artwork!