Sponge worthiness and other worries

Last night, as I was putting off making dinner, I ran across this fun challenge at Handmade with Love: "Create a project using any stamping technique that you fear or haven't tried yet. It could be as easy as just stamping, if you are really afraid of it till now." To be honest, I'm pretty fearful of stamping in general. Stamping seems like a true art to me, a hailing to classic arts and crafts like Batik and Kings' Seals. Although I possess the kind of personality that leads me to boldly stamp away, I still haven't lost that pang of fear every time I hover a wet stamp over the paper: Eek what in the heck am I doing‽

In the spirit of this challenge, I thought I'd try the Retiform/Grid Technique. That makes me really nervous. Not only does it require precision stamping, it includes sponging and more precision stamping. I decided that I had to try this when I also saw the Are You Sponge Worthy? challenge at Drunken Stampers.

Well, I'm glad I met my fears: I'm so tickled with how this turned out. In fact, I can't wait to try it again! Now! If you go to the tutorial, you'll see that I copied it almost exactly (I took classic colors to mean primary), but now I feel like I can combine other colors too.

I distressed the edges of the retiformed piece just for fun and also because that technique makes me nervous. Hey, why not go all the way‽ I did a little paper piecing and image popping too, because dinner was in the oven for 10 more minutes.

I'd also like to mention that I love Seinfeld pop culture references, but I mentioned the show to a group of 20-year-olds the other day and they looked at me like I was referencing Maude. Sigh, time does go on!

Inspiration:
Handmade with Love: Stamping technique that you fear
Drunken Stampers Challenge #61: Are you sponge worthy?

Retiform/Grid Technique tutorial: Splitcoast Stampers

Supplies: stamps by StudioG, Hammermill and Recollections cardstocks, Smirk For Him paper, Offray ribbon, Memento, Inkadinkado and Versamark inks, ZipDry glue, MS detailing scissors, Fiskars papercutter, emery board

...And that happy little doll in the background is something Mom found in the rummage sale; it's stuffed with sand or something, so it has a wonderfully precious weight that I think reminds us both of childhood, motherhood, and all that stuff. I could tell "he" wanted to celebrate this card and his favorite book!