Changito Card

I made these for a card swap earlier in the year. Apparently I took the picture before I stamped the sentiment -- which just said "Hang in there." I stamped it with some little rubber stamp alphabet that I got at Hobby Lobby 1/2 off for like $3 or something. I stamped the image and the sentiment (which went under the image on the patterened paper near the right side of the image) in SU!'s Close to Cocoa ink. I have used this Changito image before and colored him in, but with the color scheme I used on this card, I didn't think it needed any coloring. You could also use the sentiment "Thanks a Bunch" or something like that with this image.

As I said before, I usually like to mass-produce -- partly because we do a monthly card swap, so I'm usually in that mode, and partly because I'm always trying to build up my stash. Now my stash is too big, and I find that I need to use the cards more quickly than I have been. However, I am overall a "more is better" kind of person. I don't know why that is, but I don't often just make one card. I think I have done that ONE time for one of my friend's birthdays. Because I'm a quilter first, I cut all my mats and cards with a rotary cutter and my self-healing mat. I find it makes them more uniform. I cut each mat 1/4" bigger than the previous one as a general rule. Sometimes I'll cut it 1/2" bigger if I want to see more of the mat. I do all the stamping at the same time. I cut all the mats together. I do kind of an assembly line production (although I am the entire assembly line unless my daughter helps me with putting the sticky tabs on the backs of things).

I started out using more of the rubber stamps. I went to a Stampin' Up! party and bought some. Those were my first stamps. Shortly after that I went to the clear stamps. I do like them better, because it's so much easier to see what you're doing, but some of the clear stamps don't hang on to the ink very well, so you get sort of a sketchy stamping effect. I know I need to use a chalk ink or something on those kind. I've only been stamping for about 7 months. I was a scrapbooker before that, but never with stamps. It was something I always looked at and thought I didn't want to get started on, because you have to buy so much stuff -- all the different colors of ink and so many stamps, et cetera. Well, I was right. Once you start, there's no going back. However, I am totally hooked. We started our first card swap in November 2007. I didn't use any stamps until I think the March card swap. It could have been February, so it could be 8 months that I've been stamping. Anyway, I totally love it, and I have a hugely long list of all the stamp sets that I still want. One of these times I will show you my first few cards so you can see my progression.

Okay, so anyway, enjoy!