Welcome to my crafty blog. I’m back with my weekly lookback through the Claritystamp new design club, and I’m now up to #88 from February 2014.

I have to be honest, I haven’t used this one very much over the years – I’ve always struggled with how best to use it. I’m pleased with how this one turned out, though. I’ve used this week’s challenge over at Just Add Ink for the card design – I thought it worked perfectly with this stamp.

I started by stamping the image onto a circle of white card using black Archival ink and my stamping platform, and then restamped it with WOW clear ink so I could heat emboss it with clear powder.

I followed part Barbara Gray’s orginal project sheet for this, and so then coloured in the stamp’s background with an ‘azure’ Promarker, so the lettering stood out. Having it heat embossed meant that the colour didn’t bleed into the letters. I then edged the circle using a black Posca pen, but decided that the white card looked a bit harsh so softened it by blending Distress Oxides around the edge (‘mermaid lagoon’ and ‘picked raspberry’).

The next step was to pick up the line across the card from the sketch. I cut a strip of Clarity’s ‘sweet dreams’ designer paper for this, slightly narrower than the circle. I think this was one of the very first papers they released, and I thought the patterned effect on it fitted with the Sixties vibe of the sentiment.

All I then needed to do was add the topper using foam pads.

How many of you had a Beatles song running through your head on looking at this? It struck me, though, that this is also a great sentiment for Christians on Easter Day, as love is exactly what we have received. Coincidence or God-incidence that I was due to use this one today?