One of the long-term projects on my list is to get a new monogram stamp to use as a signature or logo for the back of my cards. I have different initials than I used to, so my perfect monogram peg stamp made by the now defunct Stamp Cabana no longer does the job. Of course there are many companies who will design and make a monogram stamp for you, but better than that, my husband offered to design one for me. This led to the problem of having too many options: what size did I want, what font, how readable, graphics, or none, and on and on. Having too many options brings me to a halt, so though I've had new initials for a while now, I still have no stamp. But it's the new year, so it's time for a decision and progress.
To get me on the right track, I recently started to think about what I liked about the current monogram stamp I have. It's small, about 1/2" square, simple, with two initials intertwined, and uses a kind of Art Nouveau-esque font. Internet searches of Art Nouveau and Art Deco alphabets led me to fonts which resonated with me. From there it was a very short hop to the artwork of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who's work I studied in school. This led to another connection - I already own a bunch of craft stuff in this style and gravitate toward those stylistic Glasgow roses. Searching in my craft room last night, here's what I pulled out:
The products: Acey Duecy stamp - Palazzo; Rubber Stamp Tapestry Stamp - Single Rose-Small; Spellbinders M-bossabilities - Cabbage Roses; Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Scribbles; Poppystamps die - Art Deco Roses
In my head, the roses in all of these products looked identical. Not so, of course. I decided to see if and how they all worked together. I used plum dye ink on cream paper for with the stencil. As the pattern is called scribbles, perhaps that's what the designer sees, but I always see roses.
Using a similar palette, I stamped out the two images, and decided that the peg stamp was sufficiently different to not make the final piece.
I used textured paper with a white core in the embossing folder, and sanded off part of the paper to try and make the roses pop.
But in the end I decided that I like the solid coloring best, so used the debossed side.
My die cut corner was the final piece. Here's how they all came together:
This card was just an exercise and an experiment with some new and old products. In the end, I liked the pieces individually, but not how they came together. The design developed organically, based on the scraps that were closest to the top of the pile on my desk, not with any forethought. If I do something like it again, I'll think about the size and color of the pieces more carefully.
I love the die cut especially, and hope to use that often, but I need to work on how incorporate it in a larger sheet without adding bulk or too many layers to the card, and more important, how to glue it down (If you look closely at the image above, you'll likely see tons of residue from the adhesive, and the oh-so-attractive visible bits of double-face tape beneath the two roses on the lower right. One of these days I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go back to glue. Suggestions???)
In the end, what struck me is how my collection of craft products is consistent, even in its breadth and age. I have these mini themes that wind their way through my stamps, papers, and now embossing folders, dies, and stencils. Maybe this just shows how little my tastes have changed through the years.
I have a long list of topics for this and my oft-neglected companion blog Festive, Yet Tasteful, so check-in from time to time, and share in the comments what projects you're working on this year.
