Funny farm

I have made some amazing friends through Stampin' Up! One of them, Faith, completely surprised me a couple of weeks ago. Back in July I had casually mentioned to Faith that the only retired Stampin' Up! stamp set I really wish I'd bought was On the Farm. (As a childcare teacher for more than eight years, I've done many farm units and could have used the set for lesson plan materials. Not to mention that it's just plain cute.) I didn't give the conversation much thought after that ... until an envelope containing the set arrived on my doorstop. It turns out Faith not only remembered that I wanted the set, but she also found it on Ebay, bought it and asked the seller to send it to me. Isn't that amazing? She is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I know.

I promised Faith I would send her the first card I made with the set, but I haven't put it in the mail, yet. (So if you're here, Faith, stop reading if you want to be surprised.) In the meantime, I wanted to share them with you.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: On the Farm, Antique Cracking
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Whisper White cardstock; Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Crushed Curry, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Garden Green, Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Accessories: Burlap ribbon, 5/8" neutrals brads, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue

I stamped the cow image three times along the Whisper White cardstock and then again on a piece of Real Red Polka Dot Parade DSP. I cut out the cow's spots on the DSP and adhered them to the middle image on the white cardstock. I used markers to color the other two cows. To make the "hay," I cut a piece of burlap ribbon about 2" long. I cut off the seam along both edges of the ribbon (I used one of the seams with the brad on the top right corner of the focal layer), separated the fibers and used one of the fibers to tie the "bale."

I knew I wanted to have the rooster crowing a greeting, so I first stamped the rooster above one of the cows so it looks as if he's standing on the cow's back. I couldn't find a stamp with the sentiment I wanted, so I drew a speech bubble and then wrote the greeting inside. It took me several tries to get a speech bubble I was pleased with; it's not perfect, but it actually blends in well with the scratchy lines of the stamped images. I cut out the speech bubble and attached it to the card with Dimensionals.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: On the Farm, Antique Cracking
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Blushing Bride, Crushed Curry, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Old Olive, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Circles Collection Framelits dies, burlap ribbon, 5/16" neutrals brads, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

I used the burlap ribbon again on this card, but this time I frayed the ends for a worn, rustic feel and then adhered it along the background of the card. I stamped and colored the images and cut them out with the Circle Collection Framelits dies. I adhered the circles to the card with Dimensionals and added three circle brads to the upper left corner.

I hope Faith enjoys her card. Thanks for stopping by!