They're Here! They're Here!

Some days, the mail carrier is my Favorite Person in the Whole Wide World (other days, when the new issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissor was apparently crammed into my mailbox with a toilet plunger, not so much...). Today, I had a particularly benevolent mail carrier, because my entire shipment of the new Tim Holtz stamps arrived, freshly minted by Stamper's Anonymous and promptly sent by the incredibly nice and super-efficient Heidi and her crew at Simon Says Stamp.  I love them! I love Tim Holtz! I love EVERYONE!!!

Okay, not everyone, but I'm pretty freaking gleeful at the moment! (Ooh, say that three times fast...)

Like everyone else, I follow the blogs and the websites rabidly during the month leading up to CHA, so I'd seen the winter stamp releases as soon as they went public. Since I first laid eyes on Mr. Stamp Dude, as I've come to call him over the weeks, I knew I wanted to make this card. He just looks so... worried. Poor dear. I know that look because I sport it myself at least a couple of times each month when I'm five minutes past late for work and can't unlock the Honda. Apparently, Mr. Stamp Dude and I both need to pay more attention to where we toss our stuff. (Incidentally, Dude is from the "Artful Artifacts" set.)

The background of this card is grey cardstock, stamped with one of Tim's new flourishes (from the "Urban Chic" set) in Versamark ink, then brushed with Antique Gold Perfect Pearls. To make Mr. Stamp Dude look "statuesque," I smeared Weathered Wood and Broken China Distress Inks onto my battered nonstick craft sheet, spritzed the ink with Bronze Perfect Pearls mixed with water, then pressed a sheet of glossy white cardstock into the inky, pearly mess. (We practiced this technique at Lynn Stevens' ATC class last weekend, and it's awesome! You can really get some sweet, marble-esque effects.) Once the ink was dry, I stamped Dude with black Archival Ink, cut him out and glued him down.

The text is the SBC Stone Inscription font, printed on light blue cardstock that was aged with some Denim Distress Ink and then layered onto a navy blue panel. I added some Idea-ology sprockets and gears, then edged the entire card with a gold Krylon pen.

Quick, easy, and a fitting homage to all us key-losers of the world.

As you probably surmised, I'm really looking forward to an ink-tastic weekend playing with all these new stamps! I'm also going to hit as many blogs as possible for the One World One Heart event, which ends on Monday. If you haven't placed a comment on my giveaway post, I hope you will. You just might win! And, please try to spend a little time checking out some of the other amazing blogs on this virtual magic carpet ride. There are so many talented people out there! You might discover a new favorite...or ten.