inkblending – Page 46 – SkyPaperScissors

I am in love with this Emma background stamp from Simon Says Stamp! It’s beautifully intricate but the way the pattern loosens at the edges is what I think sets this stamp apart from similar backgrounds.

I stamped the background onto Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock using VersaMark ink. I then poured Hero Arts white embossing powder over it, tapped off the excess, and hit it with a heat gun.

In contrast to the bright colors I used two days ago, I wanted to use some pretty blues and purples. I blended three colors of Distress Oxide inks (Seedless Preserves, Wilted Violet, and Faded Jeans), radiating out from the center of the pattern. I love that Distress Oxides allow you to quickly apply a rich layer of color. And, they’re so easy to blend!

With the background complete, I moved on to this beautiful sentiment from Neat & Tangled’s No Words stamp set. I trimmed a piece of vellum to be just wider than the card front and then stamped the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx ink. Since ink won’t dry on vellum, I poured Hero Arts clear embossing powder over the ink and then heat embossed it. This seals in the ink and gives a bit of a dimension. Another option would have been to use VersaMark ink and black embossing powder, but I find the combination of black ink and clear powder to give more subtle and less shiny dimension. Since this is a condolence or apology card, I didn’t want too much shine.

I finished by laying the vellum strip over the card front and folding the ends of the strip over the back where I adhered them with a bit of tape runner adhesive. Then I glued the entire card front to an A2-sized card base.

The next time I use this background for heat embossing, I’ll be sure to use my anti-static pouch to prevent embossing powder from sticking to where it shouldn’t. But in my mind, handmade beats perfection.

I bought the You Got This stamp set from Simon Says Stamp for this single sentiment. Though the set has a lot of other great sentiments that I know I’ll use, this one really spoke to me. When I’m suffering or inching towards a goal and feeling like I’m not making progress, a reminder like this helps keep me going.

Because the words themselves are so powerful to me, I wanted this card to be very simple. I started by cutting a scrap piece of Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock with the Paper Smooches Linked Hearts die. Then I did the same, three more times, using some inexpensive 110# white cardstock from Michael’s.

I pieced the Neenah die cut back into the positive cut and backed it all with some Post-It Tape to temporarily hold it together while I ink blended. I used three colors of Distress Oxide Inks (Candied Apple, Picked Raspberry, and Worn Lipstick) blending left to right.

Once that was done, I used the borders of the other three die cuts and adhered them to the inked border so that the heart borders would have some dimension. I adhered that to my card front, then pieced in inked hearts in a single layer.

I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black ink and trimmed the card front to a size just smaller than an A2-sized card. To finish, I added foam tape to the back of the card front and adhered it to a white A2-sized card base, for a white-on-white finish.

Keep on keeping on. You can do it!