Just a Note

Welcome back, Stamping friends! You may know that besides being a paper crafter, I’m a musician. I started taking piano lessons when I was about four years old. My older brother (by 14 months) was taking lessons with our cousin (who is an amazing pianist). Almost from birth, I was always trying to do everything Mike could do, so I would take his piano books and “teach” myself how to play. My parents were concerned that I’d learn the wrong things, so they signed me up for lessons as well. Although my brother is much more musical than I am, he moved on to other things, but I continued with music, eventually majoring in piano in college. I started off in Music Education. After two years, I realized I really didn’t want to teach, so I switched to the only other option at the time – Performance. I was a really good sightreader, so it didn’t take me long to learn music. But memorizing was a whole other ball game. I can memorize poems and scripts, but music? Not as easy. (I think this has a lot to do with the fact that I’m a visual learner, so I should be doing more in the visual arts. But I cannot draw. At all! This is why I love Stampin’ Up!®.)

When I started my junior year, the college added quite a few new degrees. One was Piano Accompanying. These days they call it “Collaborative Piano,” but it’s the same thing. One pianist and one or more singers or instrumentalists. And maybe even more pianists if you include piano duets or two piano music. I realized this was my calling. I love working with others to create beautiful music – and best of all, I didn’t have to memorize anything. I have continued accompanying groups and soloists since I graduated, but for over 40 years, I’ve mostly used what I learned in classes I thought I didn’t need. What a shock to find out that I, a college junior, didn’t know as much as the professors who created the requirements for the degree! (Yes, I am much more humble now that I’m older and wiser.)

Because of my background in music, and mostly piano, I usually purchase all the music related stamp sets from Stampin’ Up!®. I was thrilled to see the Music from the Heart Stamp Set in the January-June Mini Catalog. Here’s my latest creation.

This is a very simple “fun fold” card. First, create a card base from 8-1/2″ x 11″ Old Olive Cardstock. Cut it in half so you have a 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ rectangle, then score the 8-1/2″ side at 4-1/4″ to form a card base. Next, score the card front at 2-1/8″ and fold that part back to form a Z-fold card.

Adhere a 2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Peaceful Poppies Designer Series Paper to the front flap of the card. Next, stamp the piano image on a piece of Whisper White Cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Color the heart using a Poppy Parade Stampin’ Blend. Die-cut the image using the Layering Squares Dies.

Next, cut a slightly larger scalloped circle from Basic Black Cardstock using the Layering Squares Dies. Layer your stamped image to the scalloped square and then to the card front. Be sure you only add adhesive to the left side of the stamped/scalloped layers.

On a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Whisper White Cardstock, stamp the sentiments using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Don’t glue the card stock to the card yet, but use the squares on the card front as a guide for placement. The sentiment should be hidden by the front flap and the squares.

Stamp the heart/eighth note in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, and color the heart with the Poppy Parade Stampin’ Blend. Adhere the Whisper White panel to the inside of the card.

This is a simple and fun card to create! Thanks to Brian King for the design. Brian is one of my favorite bloggers and Stampin’ Up!® demonstrators because his designs are clean and classic and his blogs are fun.

Just an FYI – the Music from the Heart Stamp Set is a design from a Million Dollar Achiever, Dawn Olchefske. Dawn is another of my favorites, and her videos and blog posts have helped me immensely in my crafting journey.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy! Have a beautiful day.

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