Back to Basics
Written by Mickey Jo ---- 

Materials Needed:
Sunflower Stamp (or another flower stamp) 
Word Stamp (Hello, Happy Birthday, I Love You. etc)
Solid color (not white) piece of 8 x 11 Cards stock
White piece of Card stock
Markers or colored pencils
Crimper
Deco Scissors
Piece of mail. grin Read more to find out.

I have a Sunflower stamp and wanted to be different. I took some c.s. (don't remember
whom I got it from) in color of brown with green tint to it. Cut it in half. I did this by
measuring half way which is5 1/2. Cut. Makes two cards. Fold them. Then took piece of White card stock. Stamped my Sunflower stamp all over it. (I made several cards like this.) I stamped in like starting in top left corner stamp first sunflower, then right below it, close, but not overlapping stamp the next one. Go all the way down the page like this. 

NEXT ROW: Stamp your first Sunflower of this row half off and half on the card stock.  That way when you start stamping the row of sunflowers, they will be centered to the right of but almost between the 1st row you did.

Example below. 

1st---- 2nd -----3rd Rows 

S ------S -------S

----S----- --S------ 

S------- S------ S

-----S-------S------

Do you see what I mean. And you will always run off the paper when doing these. Fill up your entire sheet. Color them all in. Great to take to doctors office when you know you will have to sit and wait. Now cut those into 3-3/4 x 2-3/4 pieces. Will get several for future cards. Use a pair of Deco scissors to trim around each one. Now lay these piece onto a piece of scrap paper. Take a marker that matches the leaves on your flower. Kind of lay the maker at an angle. Might want to practice this on scrap first. Putting marker up against the edge, half on half off of your cut stamped pieces of white c.s. Go down all 4 sides with it.  Now lay all of these to the side. 

Ok now here now for my secret piece of mail. grin You know all those manila folders that we send our swap cards back and forth in. Or rak someone in. Or if you have never done or received either yet. The 5 x 7 Manila Mailing envelopes. Trim the edges off of them and the flaps on each end. Do all of this until all you have left is 2 flat pieces.  Now turn them over onto your table so that the writing is facing down on the table. Do you see the writing through the paper? If you see it ALOT throw it out. If you barely see it, KEEP it. You will know which ones you can keep in the future. But the back is always good. Marker written ones only the backs are good.

Now using your ruler, make a straight line down one side. So that you have a flat edge to measure from. Now measure out and cut piece 2-3/4 x 4 inches. When you have all of these cut. STRAIGHT LINES ONLY. Run these pieces through your crimper. Ok ready for step number 2.

Putting it all together. I use several different types of glue or tape. But since I have a
crimped edge. I will use 2 way TAPE. Nope not acid free, but for cards I don't care. Take your Crimped Manila piece. Put pieces of 2 way tape on it. No need to tape all the way down each side. I put a piece about inch long in each corner on the long side. Angle it to the left. Meaning tilt the top half to the left and the bottom to the right. Center it on your cs.  Take your cut white piece of stamped and colored card stock. Apply your 2 way tape to the back of these.....Center it on the card. Putting it STRAIGHT. Same angle as the CARD is.
Do not angle this. Makes the person viewing it dizzy. grin. Now take a piece of white card stock. Stamp your saying onto it. Spacing them far enough apart that you can fit several. I would stamp up the same amount as you have your pieces of Stamped Sunflowers. Cut these out close to the written image, but not too close. Straight lines. DO NOT USE Deco scissors. Now pick the same color marker as you used for your leaves again. Run it down the sides of these little pieces. Apply 2 way tape to the back. Center it in the middle of your card. Ta da. You have made a very nice card. But it was very simple to make. Oh and if by chance your flower has a tiny bee buzzing above it. I took glittery yellow NAIL POLISH and dotted it on them before putting this all together. grin LOOKS great. Make sure you let them dry before putting card together.