Looking back to the beginning

Those of you who follow my blog know that I love entering challenges.  It's a fun way to use stamps, products and also stretch oneself and think outside the box.  This week I popped in to the SUO challenge and also to the Inkspirational challenge and couldn't believe my luck.  Both challenges asked for something from the past.

My past with stamping isn't that long ago.  This November I will have been with Stampin' Up! for six years.  Prior to joining I had scrapbooked but had done little or no stamping except in a group workshop or class.  The two or three stamps I bought during that time have since been sold.  I have, however, kept a few Stampin' Up! stamp sets from that first rush of buying.  Since I joined at the beginning of November, I bought the Christmas Post stamp set.  I even made all my Christmas cards that year using the set.  Even though it rarely sees ink any more, I can't bring myself to let it go.

I decided to go all out and create a very vintage Christmas card using this set.  The images just about beg for that, don't they?  To begin, I used a base of the Crumb Cake cardstock.   Along with that I used Early Espresso as my second layer and then embossed and stamped on a layer of Very Vanilla.  Before actually adding those to the base, I used my distressing tool and went to town on the edges and then did some heavy-duty sponging.  With a bit of added splatter thanks to Crumb Cake ink and my Gorgeous Grunge set, I had definitely aged the cardstock.  For the image of the couple skating, I first stamped them, then cut them out using my stitched circle framelit and then softly coloured them using my Aqua Painter and some Cherry Cobbler ink and Old Olive ink.  After that I sponged it with Crumb Cake and added some splatter as well.

I had forgotten just how much fun aging a card can be.

I am entering this card into the SUO Challenges 182  A Blast from the Past.

I am also entering this card into the Inkspirational Challenge 142 Designer's Choice, Oldie but Goldie.

So happy to have been one of the Top Picks at the Inkspirational Challenge.