I have been an active card swapper for years. My family got me into this rubber stamping hobby and my online friends have helped keep me involved. I've been a group moderator and/or member of one Yahoo rubber stamp group or another since 1997. I enjoy card swaps because they give me a reason to play with my stamps even when no one in my family is having a birthday or other special occasion. It's nice to get back an assortment of cards from other stampers, too! Back when I was a brand new stamper, it's how I learned some of the techniques.
Western Swap Card
I happen to be hostessing this particular swap for the Yahoo
Midwest Stampers group. The theme is Western and I chose this gruff looking cowboy. I stamped him on white card stock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored him with Sharpie markers, then fussy cut him out.
I chose several different western elements for the background scene. The road and sky were colored with
Faber Castell Gelatos. After coloring, I took the paint brush that came in the set and wet them just enough to spread the color without watering them down too much.
When the Gelatos were dry I used Sharpies and Bic Mark-Its to color the rest of the scenery.
I found some great blue jean material trim on a recent trip to JoAnn Fabrics. What a great 3D element to go with a cowboy! I attached the trim to black card stock using
Helmar Craft Glue. I cut the trim even with the edge of the card stock and used a toothpick to place a thin line of
USArt Quest PPA along the edge to keep them from fraying. I chose the PPA over the Craft Glue because it dries matte and flexible and virtually disappears on this fabric.
The original color I had chosen for the cowboy's jeans was a washed out denim but with the addition of the trim I had to darken them up to pull the element into the card. With the darker jeans I also had to darken his shoes. Then I put some double sided tape on the back of a silver sheet of paper and punched out a star for his vest.
I attached double-sided foam tape to the cowboy so he would stand out from the background.
I didn't have enough star shaped buttons for all six cards so I cut the back off of these brads and attached them to the trim using
Helmar Gemstone Glue. I like these brads because they are dimensional but still flat enough that the card can be mailed without adding additional postage. Even though I love the look of cards that have large embellishments or thick paper flowers, it just isn't practical for a card swap. These are cards that other people may be mailing out. I like to keep my swap cards to the 1-stamp rule.
Here is the finished card. Inside is a paper liner and the stamp, "It's your birthday...saddle up and party 'til the cows come home!"
Stamps used on this card are:
Cowboy - Biblical Impressions
Western Roadway - Third Coast Rubber Stamps
Cactus - Beeswax
Skull - Viva Las Vegastamps
Horse Silhouette - unknown
Buzzards - Stampscapes
Saying - DRS Designs
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