Okay, I'll admit it. I'm mildly obsessed with Gears & Textures, the new stamp and die set bundle from Stampin' Up!
This set fits perfectly with the “grunge” style that I love so much. Grunge embraces gritty textures, imperfect marks, and messy layers resulting in projects with raw, authentic character. When crafting with this style, you can do away with the notion that art must be clean and perfect. Which is great, because I’m seldom either of those two things.
Just look at all those goodies you get with these sets! It makes me drool. Let me show you some of the cards I made with these.
The First Cards
This style is so easy. You really can’t do it wrong. You start putting things down and adding more until you are satisfied with how it looks.
I started with stamping the circles and the lines and gears in various shades of blue and green and gray. I even did a little embossing on one of the cards. Then I added some die-cuts out of silver foil paper and blue card stock. For the sentiment “Happy Birthday,” I stamped it on vellum and cut it out, then adhered it to the card. It helps the words stand out a little more since it’s such a busy background. And that’s it! Fun, messy, and totally cool!
Design Tips
- Some of the elements are popped up with foam dots for added dimension.
- All of the items are touching something else. Nothing is free-floating.
- Things are grouped for the most part in the center of the card.
- Use different shades of just one or two colors, plus a neutral. I used blue, green, and silver/gray.
If you want to see more of this style, check out my blog post, The Eclectic Goodies of Detailed Dogwood.
Pretty Gears
There is a misconception that this style will only work with “masculine” cards. So I made this one to prove that theory wrong.
The gears create a perfect backdrop for the pretty bicycle and die-cut flowers. And the “messiness” ties in perfectly with the belated birthday sentiment. What do you think? It works, right?
I even used some of the dies from Gears & Textures on this Valentine’s Day card. They serve as another element of interest to the card while helping to establish the border. I really like what they add to it.
The Epitome of Grunge
Oh, but my favorite card so far is this one that is the sheer epitome of grunge.
And yet I didn’t use traditional grunge colors, but instead chose colors that would be considered more “feminine,” pink and yellow, with dashes of blue, and beige as the neutral. I was so thrilled when it was finished.
The sentiment strips are from the “Saying Something” ephemera pack. How perfect is that sentiment with the light bulbs?! I inked the edges and used Dimensionals to pop them up. I also popped up the light bulbs which were stamped, die-cut, and then embossed with clear embossing powder to give them that shine.
So much fun!
This card was so much fun to make! I highly recommend you try it. If you don’t have this set, look through your stash. You can pull interesting pieces from numerous sets and use them together. Remember, start a little bit at a time. You can always add more, but it’s hard to remove it sometimes. Although… ripped paper is a popular feature of this style!!
For a list of supplies I used to make these cards, keep scrolling. If you have any questions, leave me a comment.
I hope you enjoyed these cards. Until next time my friends… keep on crafting! ~Steve
Items below are linked to my online Stampin’ Up! store. Just click and you will be taken there. Print the list by clicking on “Supply List” at the bottom.
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