CHF's Bracket Block

I just love, love, love Cornish Heritage Farms' new Scrapblock, called "Bracket Block," which is being released Friday. I have always been addicted to this general shape, a square that is totally curvaceous :). You've probably seen this same general shape in punches, papers, and dies (Nesties Labels One is similar, but smaller). I was so excited to see this 6x6 inch stamp version in my CHF box!

There are, of course, endless possibilities for this stamp - what immediately came to mind was a journal box for 12x12 scrapbooking. But I want to show you something different, an idea that I got from THIS POST by Ali Manning on Gingersnap Creations. She urged us to get out those gorgeous patterned papers (that I tend to hoard, LOL!), and use them as the star of the show on a card. Well, I've been hoarding this bluebird paper, "Verdot," from Basic Grey's Periphery line for, um, well, a while. This card came together VERY quickly. I inked up the edges of the stamp, but left the journaling lines in the center uninked. I didn't stress over this... you can see that there are parts of the lines showing up in the corners, but that's okay, in fact, it fits in well with this type of collage-look paper. I stamped over the area of the patterned paper that I wanted to feature (I'll give you a tip on this in a little bit). I also stamped the shape onto coordinating cardstock, then cut out both images and adhered them together to give the patterned paper front more stability. For the actual card, I cut a 4.25 inch square card out of the same cardstock, and adhered the Bracket image to the front. Then it was time to have fun with embellishments! I chose some Basic Grey paper flowers, some Prima flowers (including the "centers" of the blue paper flowers), one of those great velvet-look leaves from Making Memories Vintage Findings, and some rhinestone bling. I also stamped a sentiment from The Homestead (Scene It! line from CHF) in the upper corner. Done - easy peasy!

So, how do you make sure you'll like what you see after you stamp your precious patterned paper? Here's what I did. I stamped the Bracket Block onto a piece of scrap cardstock (you can see I didn't do a great job, LOL, but that's okay, as long as you get the general outline!). Cut it out along the outside edge, then cut out the inside along the inner border, removing the journaling lines. This will give you a window, which you can use to eye up where you'd like to stamp your patterned paper. The first pic shows how I did that with my bluebirds.


Here are some other possi- bilities that I con- sidered. A gorgeous K and Co. paper from the Blue Awning collection.



Here's some pretty butterfly paper from My Mind's Eye. You can see that by making the template, you'll be able to tell if the area of the design you are interested in will fit nicely into your Bracket, or whether it's too close to the side, or includes something funky that you don't want. Be sure to keep your template! You can slip it in the bag with the stamp so that you'll always have it ready to go.

Thanks for visiting, and have fun using those fabulous papers!