We are so happy to share this special project with you today as we celebrate and announce the arrival of the Mama Elephant stamp line to our store! Mama Elephant is a small business based in NY/NJ. For childhood buddies, Kryssi and Angela, art and creating have always been our lifelong passion. They bring a collaboration of their aesthetic to Mama Elephant. Their stamps are designed with card makers and scrapbookers in mind with all designs carefully curated to provide optimal versatility with a wide variety of styles - modern, trendy, bold, graphic and most importantly fun!
I just had to know how the name Mama Elephant came about as I find it strikingly sweet and have come to find out that both Kryssi and Angela are devoted mamas to two small girls. Coincidentally, their daughters are name Ellie and Ella. They wanted their name and business to reflect the love they have for their children and family. Above all, like elephants, they never want to forget that their families are the root of everything they work for.
I would like to thank Kryssi for sharing this special project with us today as we celebrate the addition of this fun new line to our store! As well you can find tons (get it - tons, elephant,... ha, ha) of inspiration on their Mama Elephant Blog! -Ellen
Take a closer look at your smaller stamps. They are great building blocks to create a graphic collage that makes a big, bold statement. With strategic placement and multiple sentiments, your finished work can make the same impact as larger stamps with a lot more visual interest. Choose stamps and sentiments that obviously work well together.
With CAS and one layered cards, placement of stamps is very important. You certainly don't want to overdo it. I wanted to create a "yahoo!" kind of card to celebrate Ellen Hutson carrying our line. And I was dying to use this luxurious linen cardstock that Ellen carries. It is as beautiful as I ever dreamed it was! CAS designers, listen up, this is perfect for you!
The first thing I stamped was the "That's What She Said" sentiment from the Say What set. It was easier to visualize where everything should go and balance out the card after the sentiment was stamped. I love that little bit of linen cross hatch pattern from the cardstock peeking out from the stamped image. I then went ahead and built a little collage using one of our newest sets, Rustic Spring. The little swing was designed to fit perfectly with the birdcage and birdhouse included in this set. I simply stamped the swing to suspend under the birdcage. I then stamped the small berry branch so the birdcage is hanging from it. Then I stamped the birdies. I usually take a step back after each image stamped. (Holding it at different angles and squinting your eyes works wonders!)
I then looked at my other stamps and picked sentiments that would either 1) work or 2) make my statement even cooler! "Oh yeah, baby!" played up my first sentiment so in it went! I also chose the little "I heart this" banner from Smitten because it helped me convey my message and because of it was a reverse solid stamp just like "That's What She Said". it helped balance the design out. Finally, I colored in the birds and berries. Since I made the berries colorful, I was careful not to give too much color to the birds or else it would "compete" with the rainbow berries.
