Gallery Idol Round 4 - Border Stamps

Can't believe that I've made it through to the semi-final round of Gallery Idol!  Thanks so much for voting to keep me in for another week!

Another tough challenge this week....border stamps.  Here's the thing about border stamps, I don't have very many and the ones I have I don't use very much, so I really wasn't sure what I was going to do.  After puzzling for a while, I came up with my idea.....using border stamps as a guide for stitching.

I used one of the borders from WPlus9's Fair Isle Backgrounds to create the basic design/guide for the card.  I stamped with a very light ink on Cream cardstock.



I went ahead and stamped the sentiment before all the stitching because I'm a notoriously bad stamper in that I make a lot of mistakes, I tend to leave a lot of smudges and fingerprints, and I didn't want to finish up the whole card and then screw up the sentiment.



Then I started stitching.  I first used my needle to pierce the holes and then stitched using two strands of DMC floss.



This is not for the faint of heart.  It's a lengthy process, but if it's something you want to try here are a few tips:

1) Use the thickest cardstock you can.

2) Use a needle with the smallest head possible....makes threading a bear, but it's easier on the cardstock and I hate seeing big ungainly holes in the cardstock.

3) Work from the inside of the card out.  This technique is hard on your cardstock, at the same time, once the stitching is complete it actually adds strength/heft to it, so by starting towards the center of your panel where it's the most stable and working out you minimize your chances of bending/tearing.

4) Slow and steady wins the race - you don't want to bend the cardstock or accidentally tear a hole especially when you are stitching in close proximity to another hole or the edge of the cardstock.

5) Use a stamp press.  As I mentioned, I'm not a great stamper technique-wise.  I envy all who can effortlessly stamp in a straight line.  I used a Fiskars stamp press to create this card and even so, needed a few tries to get my borders lined up correctly.



This technique can be as complicated or uncomplicated as you want.  I created starbursts/flowers, but you could just follow the outlines exactly, or even add additional elements that are not part of the border, use more colors, etc.



I hope you love the card, and if you do, please head over to the Gallery Idol page and vote for me (Card #3), I'd love to have a chance to win it all!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White and Cream cardstock
Stamps:  WPlus9 - Fair Isle Backgrounds; Avery Elle - Oh Happy Day
Ink:  CTMH - Parchment; Versafine
Other:  DMC Embroidery Floss; Fiskars - Stamp Press; American Crafts - This and That Round Foam Dimensional Adhesive