CREATE INTERESTING BACKGROUNDS USING STAMPIN’ BLENDS + ALCOHOL

 Hi Stampers!

Are you looking for an interesting background technique for your cards? Grab some Stampin’ Blends, a bit of isopropyl alcohol, and some vellum cardstock. That is all it takes to make a great background piece for your cards! Here are some cards I created using this technique:

Let’s walk through the process. I will focus on the Magenta Madness card.

SUPPLIES FOR THIS CARD

*Magenta Madness card base

* Basic Black cardstock cut at 5 1/8” x 3 7/8” and 3 1/2” x 1 1/2”

* Magenta Madness cardstock cut at 5 1/4” x 4” and 3 1/4” x 1 1/4”

* Vellum cardstock cut at 5 1/4” x 4”

* Inks - Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin’ Blends - Magenta Madness, Melon Mambo, Polished Pink, and Blackberry Bliss

* Matte Black Dots - 3

* Adhesive of choice; to adhere vellum to cardstock adhesive sheet or multipurpose glue and a piece of sponge

* Other - Alcohol, Stampin’ Spritzer and / Or a Water Painter (or paint brush), and small container for alcohol

I have used 91%, 70%,and 50% isopropyl alcohol and achieved good results with each. To apply the alcohol you can fill a Stampin’ Spritzer with alcohol, put alcohol in a Water Painter or pour a bit of alcohol in a small container (I re-purposed a lid from a bottle of fabric softener), and use the Water Painter or a paint brush to apply the alcohol. It does not take much alcohol to create the effect. If using a Water Painter or paint brush remember to clean the brush after use.

The dark Stampin’ Blends work better for this techniques then the light ones. I cut my vellum a little larger than I want for my card and trim it down.

Scribble on the vellum with the Stampin’ Blends. I prefer to put all my color on the vellum at once, but you can do one color at a time if you like. Make sure to let the ink dry before applying another color.

Use the Stampin’ Spritzer to spray a bit of alcohol onto the colored vellum, or use the Water Painter to apply drops of alcohol to the vellum. The alcohol will begin moving the ink around. Allow the piece to dry, or dry it with a heat tool.

TO FINISH THE CARD:

* Adhere the vellum piece to the 5” x 3 3/4” piece of Magenta Madness cardstock using an adhesive sheet or multipurpose glue. Trim piece to 5” x 3 1/4. (I stead of Magenta Madness you can use Basic White. I found the Magenta Madness brought out the colors better.)

* Adhere this piece to the Basic Black cardstock

* Adhere this piece to the card base

* On the small piece of Magenta Madness stamp the greeting (the Happy Birthday is from the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set) Adhere this to the Basic Black mat, ad adhere this to the center of the card.

* Add the Matte Black Dots

DAISY BIRTHDAY

SUPPLIES FOR THIS CARD

* Daisy Lane stamp set and the medium Daisy Punch, and the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set for the greeting

* Daffodil Delight card base, one piece of Daffodil Delight cut at 3 1/2” x 1 1/2”

* Basic White cardstock (adhere to back of vellum), one piece cut at 3 1/4” x 1 1/4” for greeting, larger scrap for 3 Daisy shapes and flower stem

* Pale Papaya cut at 5” x 3 3/4”

* Inks - Daffidil Delight, Just Jade; Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker; Stampin’ Blends - Daffodil Delight, Pale Papaya, and Pumpkin Pie (all dark)

* Multipurpose glue and dimensionals

* Supplies to make alcohol background

BIRTHDAY FISH

SUPPLIES FOR THIS CARD:

* Biggest Wish stamp set, Sea Life Dies

* Night of Navy card base

* Shaded Spruce cardstock cut at 5” x 3 3/4”

* Vellum cardstock cut at 3” x 3” and small piece of Gold Shimmer Vellum

* Simply Elegant Trim (gold) about 26”

* Inks - Versa Mark and Gold embossing powder, Stampin’ Blends - Night of Navy, Shaded Spruce, and Balmy Blue

* Layering Circles Dies - 2 3/4” diameter

* Adhesive of choice; adhesive sheet for vellum

* Supplies to make alcohol background

Once I started making these backgrounds I just kept making more! I created two. Christmas cards using two more of the backgrounds I made. I used the Merry Snowflakes stamp set for the greeting on these cards. The snowflake was die cut using the Stitched Snowflakes Dies. Here are the cards:

SEASON’S GREETINGS WITH GOLD SHIMMER VELLUM

For this card I used Evening Evergreen and Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Blends (dark) to create the background, then I covered it with a piece of Gold Shimmer Vellum.

SUPPLIES

* Evening Evergreen card base plus a piece of Evening Evergreen that is about 4” x 2” for the greeting - this will be die cut using the 3 3/4” x 1 5/8” Stitched Rectangles Die

* Vellum cardstock 5” x 3 3/4”, Basic White cardstock cut at 5” x 3 3/4”, and Gold Shommer Vellum cut at 5 x 3 3/4” - these will all be cut with the Stitched Rectangles Die that measures 4 3/4” x 3 1/2”

* Inks - Versa Mark and gold embossing powder; Evening Evergreen and Cherry Cobbler. Stampin’ Blends (dark)

* Simply Elegant Trim (gold) about 20”

* Wonderful Gems - clear with gold flecks - 3

* Multipurpose glue, dimensionals

* Supplies to make alcohol background

MERRY SNOWFLAKES GREETINGS

SUPPLIES

* Shaded Spruce card base and piece of Shaded Spruce cardbase cut at 3 3/8” x 2”

* Basic White cardstock that will be cut down to cut at 5 x 3 3/4” to back the vellum and one piece about 3 1/2” x 2 1/ 4 “ for the greeting. This will be die cut with the Stitched Rectangles Die that measures 3 1/4” x 1 7/8”

* Gold 6” x 6” Metallic Specialty Paper cut at 5 1/4” x 4” - cut the two snowflakes from the center of this piece

* Wonderful Gems - clear with gold flecks - 1

* Inks - Versa Mark and gold embossing powder; Stampin’ Blends - Night of Navy, Bermuda Bay, and Shaded Spruce (dark)

* Multipurpose glue

* Supplies to make alcohol background

Why not give this technique a try. Every background is a unique creation! Word of warning - this technique is addicting!

That is all for today. Until next time…

Stamp Happy!

Kim

All stamps and stamped images ©️1990-2021 Stampin’ Up! ®️

USE EMBOSSING FOLDERS TO CREATE UNIQUE BACKGROUND PANEL FOR YOUR CARDS

 Hi, Stampers!

I love finding new and different ways to use my tools. Today’s technique uses an embossing folder a bit differently than usual. This technique creates a unique looking background with a bit of a distressed look. I am not certain what this technique is called, but I will call it the Embossing Folder Crayon Watercolor Background Technique! That name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it does describe the technique! The background on this card was created using this technique.

To create the background you will need:

* An Embossing Folder - I used the BRICK & MORTAR 3-D (annual catalog).

* A white crayon - I peeled off the paper label; this allowed me to use the side of the crayon as opposed to the tip. It takes less time to cover the paper with the crayon, and covers the paper better.

* A piece of Basic White cardstock. I used a piece cut at 5 1/2” x 4 1/4” then cut it down to the size I wanted for the card.

* Classic Stampin’ Pad (s)

* Acrylic Block 

* Silicone Craft Sheet

* Water Painter (broad brush)

* Stamps  

* Heat Tool

To create the background:

* Open the embossing folder, and place the Basic White cardstock on one side. For this card I used the side with the Stampin’ Up!®️ logo, but I have had similar results using the opposite side as well.

* Rub the crayon over the entire surface of the cardstock. 

* Place the cardstock on the silicone craft sheet.

* Open the ink pad and tap the acrylic block on the surface of the pad. The ink should almost cover the surface of the block.

* Use the Water Painter to add a bit of water to the ink, then pick up some ink and brush it on the paper. Continue until the paper is covered with the ink. As Basic White cardstock is being used instead of watercolor paper, take care to use no more “watercolor” then needed to add color. The wax from the crayon, will help keep the cardstock from pilling. 

* Use a heat tool to dry the paper. Once the paper is dry you can add more color if needed. Then dry the paper once again

Once the paper was dry I used the Stitched Rectangle Dies to cut out a card layer. This helped to flatten the piece as well as give it the nice stitched edging. Next I used images from the ENJOY THE MOMENT stamp set (mini catalog). The images were stamped with Early Espresso ink.

I mounted the focal piece on a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, and put that on an Early Espresso card base. I added the greeting, and called it good!

Here is another card I made using the same technique. For the background piece I used the ORNATE FLORAL embossing folder (annual catalog), and Bumblebee and Pumpkin Pie inks for water coloring. The focal image is from DAISY LANE, and the greeting is from ORNATE THANKS (both are on the annual catalog).

Here is one more background. For this one I used the SEABED embossing folder (annual catalog *retiring item). I used Seaside Spray to watercolor. The greeting is from HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS (annual catalog) and stamped with Highland Heather ink.

Here is a look at all three cards.

Why not grab an embossing folder and give this technique a try? That is it for today. Until next time...

Stamp Happy!

Kim

All stamps and stamped images ©️1990-2021 Stampin’ Up!®️

HOW TO MAKE AN INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARD

 Hi Stampers!

Today I have several gate fold cards to share with you. To be more precise, I am sharing INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARDS. Let’s take a look at the cards:

INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARDS are easy to make, and can be made in portrait or landscape versions. The cards below were created using the DAISY LANE stamp set and the coordinating, MEDIUM DAISY PUNCH.

DAISY LANE (Annual Catalog)

MEDIUM DAISY PUNCH (Annual Catalog)

INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARD (FRONT)

PORTRAIT VERSION

INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARD (OPENING)

INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARD (INSIDE)

INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARD - LANDSCAPE VERSION

HERE ARE THE CARDS MADE USING GRANNY APPLE GREEN

SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THESE CARDS:

*Card Base: Garden Green or Granny Apple Green

*For the Portrait Version: 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” scored at 2 1/8” and 6 3/8”. 

*For Landscape Version: 4 1/4” x 11” scored at 2 /4” and 8 1/4”.

*Other Cardstock: for both versions Basic White cut at 5 1/4” x 4” (for inside card). Scraps of Basic White and Daffodil Delight.

* Inks: Garden Green or Granny Apple Green and Daffodil Delight

* Layering Dies

* Daisy Lane stamp set and Medium Daisy Punch

TO ASSEMBLE THE CARD:

* Fold the scored sections toward the center of the card. Burnish folds with bone folder.

* Close the card and stamp the leaf image randomly on the card front.

* On the Basic White cardstock stamp a leaf in the upper leaf hand corner and lower right hand corner with Garden Green or Granny Apple Green ink. Stamp “ Happy Birthday” just below the upper right hand corner with the Daffodil Delight ink. Adhere this panel to the inside of the card.

* Punch out three daisy shapes from Basic White using the Medium Daisy Punch. 

* With the Daffodil Delight ink stamp one of the Daisy shapes that coordinates with the punch. Punch out the daisy. Cut away the petals and use a glue dot to attach it to a punched daisy shape.

* Attach the other two punched daisy shapes to the back of the other punch out. 

* Focal Die Cut & Frame:

   For the Garden Green card - Use the Layering Circle Dies (annual catalog) - to cut out a Daffodil Delight circle ( 2” diameter circle). Use the scalloped circle die that measures about 2 1/2” in diameter to make a frame for the Daffodil Delight circle. To make the frame, place the scalloped die on the Basic White cardstock, and then place the circle die inside the scalloped die, center it, and die cut. See the photo below for reference. (The frame for the Garden Green  card will be narrower.)

* Next place adhesive of your choice on the left hand side of  the frame and on he right hand side of the circle.  I close the card, turn the frame and circle upside down on top of the card, and use the card seam as a guide: with a pencil lightly draw a line at the top and bottom of the frame, and all the way down the circle. These lines will help you place the adhesive where it should be.

* Open the card, center the frame on the left hand card flap - use the line you drew to line up the frame.

* Now do the same on the opposite side of the card with the circle.

* Close the card by slipping the die cut through the frame. use glue dots to attach the daisy to the center of the Daffodil Delight circle. The card is finished!

Here are other renditions of the Interlocking Gate Fold Card.

These use the  CAMPOLOGY and ZANY ZEBRAS  stamp sets (annual catalog). The color combination is Crumb Cake and Basic Black.

These use the HEY BIRTHDAY CHICK stamp set and coordinating dies. The DSP is from the WELL SUITED collection (mini catalog). I used the LAYERING SQUARES DIES (annual catalog) for the frame and focal piece. The color combination is Poppy Parade and Smoky Slate.

I hope you give the INTERLOCKING GATE FOLD CARD a try. The card is easy to create, and will wow the recipient! It’s a win -win!!!

Until next time...

Stamp Happy!

Kim

All stamps and stamped images ©️1990 - 2021 Stampin’ Up! ®️