Apologies for the corny old school song lyrics in the title – it’s all I could think of as I started to write this post!

In the midst of all the new catalogue hype, it’s so easy to abandon the old faithfuls in the craft room.  Products that were once new & exciting get pushed to one side as they are replaced with new favourites.  It happens – we all love to be inspired by fresh design ideas!

But, I wanted, for a moment, to ignore the pretty, shiny things just unpacked from the Big, Brown Box & dust off some of the products I love from the annual catalogue.

The result was this simple, masculine themed card using the Brick Wall embossing folder, burlap ribbon, label bracket punch & Tag Talk stamp set.

Tips & tricks:

• Ink up your embossing folder with Soft Suede ink before you put the cardstock in & run it through the Big Shot to get this distressed look.
• Layer elements of your card to create texture & focal points – I added a banner behind my Label Bracket punch piece for just one more layer.
• Stamp an image a second time on scrap, cut part out and attach to your main image to add different tones to your centrepiece – I have added the ‘birthday’ section of the stamp in Early Espresso to make the greeting richer.

Do you remember what it was that first attracted you to Stampin’ Up! as a brand.  For me it was the things within the range that coordinated.  Coordinating colours – paper, ink, embellishments; and coordinating products – stamps that had a matching punch.  And do you know what?  Those are still the things I love today!  Kelly x

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