Friday, May 25, 2007

Flashback Friday

Well, I'm sitting out in the garage right now having my "garage sale"...."yard sale", or whatever you might call it in your neck of the woods! Not a SOUL has stopped by yet, I can hardly believe it. It's a gorgeous day for garage "saleing", sunny and cool. Two trucks have driven by, but they must not have liked what they saw. It's actually a very small sale, I don't have lots of "stuff" to get rid of this go-around, but I do have furniture, which is typically a big draw. I was so bored I finally decided to bring my laptop up and work on my post instead of sitting here like a bump on a log!! Good idea!

Today is one of our favorite days! Flashback Fridays, where we laugh out loud while looking at a card I stamped when I was just starting out! A few of you have suggested I "re-do" the flashback card so you can see sort of a "before" and "after". I thought that was a great idea, so today I'll do just that!

Ok, here's the "before" card. Isn't she puuuuurdy? I was so into DTP distressing of the edges, wasn't I? And yuk, why did I stamp the image on colored paper? I will sometimes do that on black cardstock with white ink, but I wouldn't do something like this anymore. I don't like the look. And of course, we all know that if I was making this same exact card today, I'd be slappin' designer paper all over that baby! Remember,I'm the queen of designer paper! I very rarely use my background stamps anymore. I find they are difficult to use...by that I mean they don't always give great images. I can't get a good background image with my paisely stamp for all the tea in China! And come on, there is NO background stamp near as pretty as a piece of Basic Grey designer paper!

And now for the "after" card. I hope this isn't too bright of a photo today. I actually took a picture of it outside (because of the garage sale), and I edited it on my laptop, which is outside. It's hard to see my screen very well! Hopefully it's not blinding you. I'll have to take a look at it when I'm inside again to make sure it's ok. On the remake, I used my favorite designer paper, MME/Tres Jolie, and used it as the main background. I stamped the tree in two different browns, Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink in Creamy Brown and Chestnut Roan. The sentiment, from Words of Wisdom, is stamped with a blue (since I'm outside, I don't have access to my inks!) and kissed it with a tish of Creamy Brown. Edges were slightly distressed (note: they WERE NOT distressed like they were on the "before" card) with a sponge and a bit of Ranger Ink in Walnut Stain. It is matted with a metallic brown cardstock. The coordinating strip of paper underneath the main image is the opposite side of the MME designer paper. I sewed a zig zag edge across this strip and all the way around the designer paper for some detail. A brown gingham ribbon is tied just to the left of the tree to finish the card off.

Well, what do you think? Did I do ok on the re-make? Do you like seeing "before" and "after" cards? In some cases, I won't be able to do it because when I first started stamping, I used all my friend's stamps. So many of these stamps I don't have access to. But when I do have it available, I think this is a fun little added-bonus to our Friday Flashback feature!

Be sure you check back tomorrow for Scrap Stash Saturday.....I put a little "twist" on the day that you're sure to get a chuckle out of! And, I made another card using the scraps one of my readers sent to me! It's a doozy, let me tell you! You won't want to miss it!

Have a great day!

Amy

22 comments:

  1. I like the idea of using the same stamp set in your before and after cards! Great job Amy!

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  2. Anonymous12:08 PM

    Amy, have you tried the stamp press for stamping your backgrounds? It's the only way I will use mine. Check out the Jack Richeson press at www.utrechtart.com or here's a direct link http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_product.cfm?classId=1913&subclassID=191310&brandname=&item=56774
    I even have a coupon code SPG074, but I think it's only on non-sale stuff.

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  3. Thanks for showing us the old and the new. Have to admit ... I like the new one better *wink*

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  4. I think it's a lot of fun to see the before and after pics. Sometimes I look back at old cards I made and cringe. LOL! Anyway, I love your blog--your creations rock!

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  5. I love the "before" and "after" take. I love my Paisley background stamp. I find the best way to do it is to ink your stamp with the stamp on the table, your pad in your hand and then lay the card onto the stamp. I put a piece of scratch paper over it and rub it with my bone folder. I always get a clean crisp image.

    I love the colors you chose for your after card. It is definitely not washed out like the first go at it.

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  6. Anonymous1:14 PM

    I honestly cannot believe you made that first card. :-) Love the remake - it is tres jolie indeed! And love your idea of remaking the card, very fun to see how you've changed! Thanks as always for inspiring us to know that we can improve if we just keep stampin'!

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  7. What a great idea...I'm sure I have some pretty sad "before" cards! The second version is beautiful!

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  8. What fun, Amy -- to redo an old card! I might have to give that a try, too. Love your remake!

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  9. This was so much fun! Please do this as often as you can! I really enjoyed it! And it's fun to see that I am about as good now (starting out) as you were in the beginning too! Gimes me some comfort and hopes for the future! LOL!

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  10. Love your before and afters. Yikes, that first one looks like something made eons ago. But the after one is VERY nice. Love the verse,too.

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  11. I love this idea. The picture is gorgeous. I took a picture of a card outside the other day and it turned out really neat. So did yours!

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  12. Anonymous5:21 PM

    this is such a great idea to show something old and the makeover. It shows how far you've come and I know it makes me appreciate how far I've come too.

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  13. Wow! You are certainly improving with age! Just like a lovely glass of wine.

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  14. Sometimes you are too hard on yourself but... I will admit that the "after" card is a huge improvement! (it stands out more)

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  15. Anonymous7:15 PM

    Girl....I love your after card. Is your sewing machine permanently on your stamping table now? I need to get mine fixed so I can use it again.
    I didn't think your old card was that bad though!

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  16. A beautiful remake! I love the zigzag stitch. I can't sew to save my life, so am envious of anyone who can! :) As for the paisley background, that's one of my faves - I have the most success if I turn it upside down, place the cardstock on top of it, lay down a piece of copy paper over the top and use my brayer to press down and get an even coat. That's the only way I'll stamp any of my backgrounds anymore. Although patterned paper IS so much easier!

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  17. Anonymous9:32 PM

    Of course I like the before and after idea ;)

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  18. Great job! Love seeing the before and after... and please try your Paisley again - it is my absolute favourite background stamp.

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  19. Your Flashback Fridays are one of my favorite treats! It's not just your cards; it's the funny things you write. I absolutely LOVE the before/after concept. Please keep doing this. :)

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  20. Anonymous11:34 AM

    Hi Amy, it is so funny to see your before creations. They look a lot like some of mine. I go through phases with using patterned paper and using background stamps. Right now I am on a patterned paper kick...(it is a bit quicker)...but I do need to get those neglected backgrounds out again...I love using them.

    I really like the two toned tree...I was going to ask how you did that...thanks for sharing it!

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  21. Anonymous8:38 PM

    I love your remake......there really is a difference between the old and the new. What an inspiration. tFS

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  22. Anonymous1:12 PM

    I got to your blog in a rather round-about way, but I guess a lot of us do. I really like Flashback Fri. My cards are way too simple, so you are an inspiration. I really like your before/after. Maybe there is hope for some of my designs yet.

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