Really Trying

Have you ever got into that mindset where you have an idea or a fancy for doing something new and come across innumerable difficulties in order to get there...  but you just can't give it up?

This card is the end result of one such endeavour. It began when I decided that I wanted to try to cut out a stamped image using my Silhouette Portrait.

I had to begin by stamping and scanning the image I wanted (in this case a Stampin' Up French Foliage leaf), only to find that for some reason my printer wouldn't scan to my computer. I ended up using all sorts of daft things like my phone and a QR code to get the image into my computer via Google Drive. I didn't even know there was such a thing before. Anyway it got there somehow or other. Then I had to retrieve it, to drop into my Silhouette software.  Needless to say I managed that somehow. The bit I thought was going to be tricky, actually getting the leaf traced, offset and cut was easy. So I cut five out in a line.

Next the image had to be stamped correctly onto each cut out. I decided that I wanted to use three colours of ink on each leaf so this is how I went about it.

Taking the sheet of card with the row of 5 apertures, I placed it in my stamping platform, over a sheet of plain copy paper. I put the stamp where I thought was about central to the aperture and inked with  light coloured ink.

I looked to see what the positioning was like.

As you can see, in the second picture, the stamp was not quite in the right place, so keeping the copy paper still, I moved the cut out card more centrally over the first stamped image and tried again with a slightly deeper shade of ink.

Still not quite there, so again keeping the copy paper still I moved the top card ever so slightly and tried again with yet a different shade of ink.

Happy with this positioning , I then proceeded to use the same aperture to insert each of the cut leaves in turn, to ink with three different autumnal shades of ink, starting with the lightest and stamping between each addition, I ended with the strongest shade.

I began by using the colours from CAS Colours and Sketches

Not having these exact colours at my disposal, I used Adirondak inks in Butterscotch, Hazelnut and Cranberry. I have to say that they look to be a really close match.

Inkspirational has the prompt word Day this time so my sentiment reflects that!

It was altogether a bit of a trying experience, especially as my computer decided to deny me permission to save the photographs of the stages of making this card, which I had just sent via email from my phone. It asked me to contact the administrator, which is me!!!! .I don't understand quite how they all arrived in the right place eventually, but I did learn a few things along the way... and this time I didn't give up!