Perfect Pairs is designed to make cardmaking easier. The coordinating stamps and ephemera cuts give you a ready-made combination, so you can create a cohesive card without spending a lot of time figuring out what goes with what.
But once you've played with the collection on its own, there's no reason you can't take it further.
That's exactly what STAMPgirl Chris did with Perfect Pairs: Party & Wishes. She brought in other stamps, stencils, dies, and coloring supplies to create three cards that take the collection well beyond its quick-and-easy core style.
I like to call this Extended Style -- starting with a Perfect Pairs collection and then building on it with other products to create a more layered, personalized design.
Put Your Own Spin on the Pair
For her first card, Chris added stamps from the Art Marks stamp set and took a little inspiration from one of my cards. She masked the Party & Wishes sentiment stamp so she could use just the word Celebrate in the bottom corner, then stamped it again using second- and third-generation stamping.
I love what that does to the card. The repeated, faded impressions add a grungy feel to the design, while the Party & Wishes ephemera gives it a colorful focal point. And yes, Chris really did put her own spin on it. That's exactly what Extended Style is about.
Build Your Own Background
For her second card, Chris started by stenciling a rainbow of colors through the Confetti #1 slimline stencil. She then die cut the stenciled piece using a Curly Labels/Tags Nesting Die and used it as part of her card design. She white heat embossed sentiments from the Sweet Cravings stamp set and used foam squares to pop up both the sentiments and the delicious-looking cake ephemera. She even carried the celebration to the inside of the card with the Celebrate Big stamp.
It's a great example of how a Perfect Pair can provide the focal image while you create a completely different supporting background around it.
Turn the Ephemera Into a Scene
For her third card, Chris took the party theme in another direction. She started by stenciling clouds onto her card base, then heat embossed a bird from the Birds of Paradise stamp set onto mixed media paper and colored it with a water brush and Derwent Inktense Blocks. She stamped a sentiment from the same set and then added the Party & Wishes balloon ephemera and the bird with foam squares. To finish the scene, she hand drew the lines connecting the balloons to the bird.
I love the personality this adds to the card. The balloons aren't just decorative elements anymore. They become part of the little scene Chris created around the bird.
Creative Takeaway
Perfect Pairs gives you a coordinated starting point, but it doesn't have to determine where you finish. Once you know the colors, images, and sentiments work together, start looking around your stash for things that can add to the same idea.
A texture stamp can change the mood. A stencil can give you a completely different background. Another stamp set can add a character or image that turns your ephemera into a scene.
And don't be afraid to borrow an idea and put your own spin on it. Chris did exactly that with her first card, taking inspiration from one of my designs (the birthday candles card in this post) and making it her own.
Think of Perfect Pairs as your foundation. Then add whatever helps tell the story you want your card to tell.
Discover What's Possible
Every Perfect Pairs collection is designed to work beautifully on its own, but there's plenty of room to take it further. Use the coordinating stamp and ephemera cuts for quick and easy cards, or bring in your favorite STAMPlorations stamps, stencils, dies, and other supplies for an Extended Style design like Chris's.
Perfect Pairs: Party & Wishes is available as the coordinating stamp set, the coordinating ephemera cuts, or the complete Perfect Pairs collection.
Explore Party & Wishes and the other Perfect Pairs collections in the STAMPlorations store.
Until next time, keep creating with confidence -- and let Perfect Pairs do the coordinating.
