You Rock, Gorgeous Grunge!

My design style is pretty traditional. I like flowers. I love blue and green. I like images that I can recognize. I like sentiments that have been in style since I was a kid. But today, I am working outside my comfort zone. And I’m doing it with some of the most versatile stamp sets that Stampin’ Up! sells. So, I say, “You Rock, Gorgeous Grunge!”

This card was given to a special guy in my life. I wanted to tell him how much I think of him. I found these words in the Crazy About You stamp set, introduced earlier this year. This set has always been my favorite. Every time I pick it up, I discover new events where I can use it! Plus it comes in all 3 flavors: Wood Mount, Clear Mount and Photopolymer.

Usually, when I work with the images from Gorgeous Grunge, I stamp each one in a different color. Not so on this card. All images were stamped in one color. Sometimes I stamped off – that is, I stamped once on scrap paper before stamping on the card – but I used only one color. With all the different images, it became very busy. Sticking to one color allowed me to add a sort-of calm to the design. Okay, it’s not so calm. But if I had worked in several colors, it would be been complete chaos!

Speaking of colors, I chose Island Indigo, Whisper White and Basic Black. I used black sparingly. That way, the sentiment popped, as did the black Candy Dots. A very thin mat between the Island Indigo card base and the Whisper White top layer, allowed each to remain strong and distinct. Just like my guy!

A small strand of Linen Thread behind the raised and matted sentiment, and I was done.

I feel that these two stamp sets – Gorgeous Grunge and Crazy About You – have become my go-to stamp sets. What about you? What is your go-to stamp set? Leave me a comment and let us all know! Maybe you agree with me that You Rock, Gorgeous Grunge!