Variations on a Theme

Oh boy, Very Vanilla took an impromptu vacation this past week. Bad blogging behavior indeed but the end of summer needs to be savored! I spilt my long weekend with time on the Cape, for a last bit of beachy fun, and time at home, for a much needed burst of productivity. To round out the weekend, I crossed another item off my to-do list, making cards to accompany my batch of wedding gifts. This has been a long process. Said presents have been lingering in my dining room for weeks, just waiting for the finishing touches. Since I had several cards to make, a series was a great way to stick to a theme yet let each card maintain its individuality. This year's are the Love is Everything edition. Here's to getting in touch with my romantic side! I generally favor greeting cards without the greeting, rather, where the personal message inside is the only text, but the phrase had popped into my mind and so aptly described my feelings that I think it was meant to be. 


As you can see, I have continued to find uses for my beloved paper punch but I now also have a newfound appreciation for stamping. After years of frustration towards rubber stamps which always seem to have finite possibilities for hefty price tags, I have found middle ground. This set is perfect, even if you do not end up using each one. The look of the ink drew me in just as much. Turns out a lot has changed since my kindergarten days. Much more suitable for crafts than dye ink, pigment ink yields a very pure color that sits on top of the paper rather than soaking into it (hooray for less mess!). For a general stamping/inking overview, head over to this tutorial. I also can't wait to play around with these pastel pads that I just ordered from Inkadinkado. Now to find the perfect alphabet stamp set...