Nature's INKspirations

Angie McKenzie | Independent Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator - USA | Making others smile... one creation at a time.

Christmas Blessings with Blended Seasons

Have you seen any sneak peeks of the new Stampin' Up! 2018 Holiday Catalog?!  If not, then today is the day that you can your SNEAK PEEK!  Each year the catalog keeps getting better and better.  Today's card features three new product were on my "must have" list (items that had to pre-ordered)!  ♡♡♡

Say hello to Buffalo CheckMerry Christmas to All and 3/16" Braided Linen Trim!  I love these new stamp sets as much as I do Blended Seasons so why not combine them together for a card...


After stamping the Buffalo Check on Whisper White cardstock and running it through the Big Shot with a Stitched Seasons framelit die, the outline of the opening was traced onto another piece of Whisper White cardstock with a pencil.


The Holly from Blended Seasons was stamped in Tranquil Tide along the pencil marking using a Clear Block H.  The holly was watercolored with an Aqua Painter using the ink lid technique with Tranquil Tide and Merry Merlot.  Multiple layers of watercoloring were done to achieve the depth of color. 


The sentiment from Merry Christmas to All was stamped with the Stamparatus as repetitive stamping was needed for accuracy since I had already done the watercoloring.  The Buffalo Check layer was adhered to the watercolor layer with Liquid Glue.  The incredibly soft Braided Linen Trim was strategically placed on the right side to cover up one of two smudges from the watercoloring.   (HINT:  Watercoloring can sometimes be messy around your work area even if it's just the paper towel you use to clean your aqua painter... so don't assemble cards where you watercolor to avoid accidental smudges. **wink**)


The Tranquil Tide card base was stamped with the holly stamp from Merry Christmas to All around the front edge.  The assembled card front was adhered to the card base with Stampin' Dimensionals.


For the inside of the card, the sentiment and flourish from Merry Christmas to All was stamped in Sahara Sand onto Whisper White cardstock.  The stamped layer was adhered with Snail Adhesive onto a Sahara Sand layer.  The holly stamp was used again to stamp around the inside edge of the card base.  The inside layer was then adhered with Liquid Glue.

I hope you are inspired by this Christmas card but before I go, I would like to share some tips with you for using the large background stamp that I love so much - the Buffalo Check.  I had a lot of fun playing with stamp before picking my favorite colors...  way too many to share at the moment.  So when you use for the first time, play with it for awhile with lots of ink colors!  It will be worth it, I promise!


To get the best impressions of the stamp, there are a few tips I would like to share from my own attempts:
  1. Use a "juicy" (or heavily inked) ink pad...  if your ink pad is low on ink or stamping on the light side, please be sure to re-ink it before using this stamp.  I actually had better coverage with the NEW ink pads vs the OLD ink pads... I think it has something to do with the new ink formula.  ;)
  2. Apply the cardstock to the stamp not vice versa.  In other words, have the rubber impression facing up.   Do not use the Stamparatus for a standard 4.25" x 5.5" card front as the stamp face is slightly larger and you cannot use the magnets unless you cut the piece to be significantly larger as in at least 2" around the perimeter.  An unattached Stamparatus plate or Clear Block F will work great with the clear mount.  Otherwise, use the wood mount.
  3. Use a clean piece of paper to cover the cardstock so you can rub your hand over the stamp.  You can apply pressure, if you'd like.  It's all a personal preference as to the look you want to achieve.
  4. If you're into watching videos, Janet Wakeland has a great one here for this stamp.
Thanks for hopping by my little corner of the world!
Have a blessed day!



YOU CAN MAKE THESE CARDS, TOO!

I would love to be your Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator and Creative Coach!  Please click here to purchase any of the following supplies so you can create the card featured in today's blog post.

CARD RECIPE:
Stamps:  Blended Seasons, Buffalo Check and Merry Christmas to All
Ink:  Tranquil Tide, Merry Merlot and Sahara Sand
Paper:  Tranquil Tide, Whisper White and Sahara Sand cardstocks
Other:  Stitched Seasons framelits; Big Shot; Acrylic Blocks; Stamparatus; Aqua Painter; Stampin' Trimmer; Bone Folder; Stampin' Dimensionals; Multipurpose Liquid Glue; Paper Snips; Snail Adhesive; 3/16" Braided Linen Trim; Simply Shammy
I would love to be your Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator and Creative Coach!  Please click here to purchase any of the following limited time, exclusive Color Your Season products so you can earn a Bonus Days Coupon today!

    • Click here to Shop with Me in the comfort of your own home 24/7.
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