Melanie Muenchinger - A Year of Flowers: Creative, Stamped Cards for Every Occasion

PAPER
CRAFTS

A Year of Flowers

Creatively Stamped Cards for Every Occasion

By Melanie Muenchinger

A Year of Flowers

Masking

Flower Lattice

Direct-to-Stamp

Sponged Scenes

Paper Tole

Faux Finishes

Embossing

Reverse Masking

Easel Cards

Crayon Resist

Bleach Stamping

Vellum

I fell in love with card making in the spring of 2003 at a stamping workshop. Little did I know then that this passion for stamping would develop over the years into opportunities to eventually illustrate my own stamps for Gina K. Designs and share my vision for them with people around the world on my blog, and now, through this book! My favorite stamp set that Ive created by far is A Year of Flowers, which is used in every sample in the pages that follow. With this one timeless floral set that lends itself to a multitude of techniques, youll be able to design cards for every season and occasion. It was a joy to create this year of cards with you in mind, organized by month and holiday, and showcasing techniques that build on each other throughout the year. This book brings a variety of colors, styles and levels of difficulty that I hope will appeal to all crafters, regardless of how new or seasoned you may be.

Choosing a store-bought card will never bring the satisfaction that making a card does, nor will it have the meaning for your recipient as something you poured a little bit of yourself into. Beyond a few basic design principles, there really are no rules about what to do or when to use certain colors; the art just needs to reflect what makes you (and the person you are creating it for) unique! Personal touches that make YOU happy are what will make your designs shine.

Additionally, youll never forget a birthday or anniversary again with the built-in Dates to Remember pages Ive included in the back. Youll have all your important dates at your fingertips, with layouts, ideas and step-by-step instructions for cards right in front of you! You can bet Ill be using this throughout the year to remind myself not only of days to remember, but of tried-and-true techniques that enable me to jump-start a design with a particular layout or color combination. This will help when I need a card (but might not be feeling so creative), as well as inspire me to tweak an existing design to make something entirely new.

My prayer is that the projects in this book will make you feel more confident and excited about creating your own cards, whether its following a tutorial to make an exact copy of a design, making significant changes, or just browsing for ideas. I encourage you to take a design you like and adapt it to any other occasion or season you see fit. The flower images are so flexible, for example, that you can substitute the rose and pink in a May design with a sunflower and autumnal color scheme to create a beautiful Thanksgiving card. Peeking ahead is encouraged! Im excited to see where this book takes you! I invite you to visit my blog, melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com and email me photos of your own creations, and I hope you will share them online to inspire others. The joy of crafting and stamping is all about passing it on.

Hugs and blessings,

Melanie Muenchinger

PHOTO COPYRIGHT MARTY EISENBERGER

I began stamping in 2003, but have had a lifelong love affair with paper crafting and flowers! In 2008, I started working as a senior designer and illustrator for Gina K. Designs. Upon publication of this book, Ive created almost 50 stamp sets exclusively for Gina K. Designs. With sets ranging from clean graphic to realistic nature images, whimsical animals and decorative elements, I am always working to put a fresh spin on a theme or to start a trend. A Year of Flowers is one of Gina K.s best-selling stamp sets, and it has been featured on PBS and in various crafting publications by numerous designers. My design work can often be found in the pages of CardMaker and Crafts n Things. You can check out more of my past work and ongoing projects, tutorials and inspiration for all my stamps and other fabulous Gina K. Designs sets on my blog, Hands, Head and Heart, at www.melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com. I live in Austin, Texas, with my husband and two sons, and Im grateful to be a stay-at-home mom who gets to draw and play with stamps and paper for a living. Many thanks to all our Gina K. and StampTV fans and customers who add new life and inspiration to these floral images every day through their stamping, and to those who made me believe this set could be a whole book! Thanks to friends and family too numerous to mention who have supported this project, given advice, offered encouragement and lifted up prayers for me all along the way. Thank you God for your unfailing love, abundant gifts and gorgeous flowers!