Have a little cake with that Stamparatus...

It's a new month, and a new year! Our pup Lucy just turned three and we're finally started to feel (a little) settled in Minnesota!

Today's card uses the Stampin' Up! Icing on the cake set - it's not new, but I'm so happy it's returned in this years Annual Catalog.  I also heavily used the Stamparatus. This tool allows for perfect placement of your clear or cling rubber stamps. I have to admit, it took me a while to fall in love with the Stamparatus. I've tried other brands, and I just never quite got the feel for it. The beauty of the Stamparatus is the ability to remove the clear plates, so you can flip and maneuver your stamps to get your image exactly where you want before committing the ink to paper. And if your ink needs a little more attention, you can restamp without worries of shadow images.

 This set is uses two-step stamping. In other words, many of the images have different stamps that are stamped in different colors to give the image a three dimensional look. Here I've got my image started on the Stamparatus and the bottom layer of one of the icing roses stamped in a lighter color. I'll later stamp the details in a darker coordinating color to get the effect.














See how the roses look now? I decided to cut them out later, but you can still get the idea. Check out also how I can use the Stamparatus to line up my greeting exactly!

Boom! The final card! (Ignore the giant smudge. It's not really there) :D

PS - Lucy, the birthday girl says Hello!