What I Love

Mistakes and accidents happen  but can be disguised

This card took on a life of its own!

I had intended it to be a simple one layer sponged strip with the greeting, however, as I was sponging - my masks moved!

To cover up my mistake (once I'd stopped chastising myself!), I stamped more of the flowers onto Crushed Curry cardstock with black ink and cut them out.  Then I carefully arranged them to hide the worst of the problem!

The colours I used are Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze.  The greeting is from One Big Meaning and the flowers are from the Sale-A-Bration set called What I love (free with any purchase of $90).

I used Shimmery White cardstock for the card because I like it for sponging and watercolouring and it also has a good weight for a single layer card.

'Til next time
Stephanie

Click on the images below to purchase any of the supplies.

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By the Tide - an exercise in masking

A quick and easy card using masking

This single-layer card is all about masking!

I used Shimmery White cardstock because it has a good weight for a single layer card and also has a nice smooth surface that inks up well.

I protected the majority of the front of the card with scrap paper (masked it), leaving one strip ready for sponging with Pool Party, Marina Mist and Night of Navy.

With the masking still in place, I started stamping my fish.  Starting at the right of the card, I stamped a fish then covered with a mask that I'd prepared earlier (see below).  Then I stamped the next fish, moved the mask onto that fish and stamped the next fish and so on.
Tip: Remember that the image you mask will appear to be in front of what you stamp over it.

Once all my fish were stamped, I removed the scrap paper covering the card and stamped the greeting (from the exclusive Hostess set: Happy Birthday Everyone).

Once the ink was nice and dry I added some clear Wink of Stella to the fish to make their scales glisten - sadly it doesn't show in the photo though!

'Til next time
Stephanie

How to prepare a mask:
Stamp the image onto some scrap paper.  I like to use a thin paper (like printer paper).
Cut out the image - making sure to cut inside the lines.
Dab or coat the back of the cut out image with 2-way glue and allow it to dry.

FAQ:
Why do I need to cut inside the lines for a mask?
Well, the edge of the paper makes the stamp "skip" ie it doesn't print in the area immediately around the edge of the paper.  Cutting inside the lines allows for this unprinted zone and prevents a "halo" effect.

Why am using 2-way glue and allowing it to dry?
There are certainly other ways to go about it!  However, this is what I have found works best for me.  The 2-way glue is repositionable once it's dry and is only lightly tacky (if it seems too tacky, I stick it to my clothing a couple of times!) so it stays in place while necessary but is easy to remove without causing any damage to the project.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Crazy Crafters Blog Hop - Sale-A-Bration products 2016

 

Welcome to the first Crazy Crafters Blog Hop for 2016! Happy New Year!!

You may just be starting the blog hop here at my blog - Stephanie Fischer, The Crafty Thinker - or you may have come from the person before me in the list. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you to move along from blog to blog so that you see all of the projects.

This month we are showcasing the Sale-A-Bration products that are available until 31st March. These products are FREE - you can choose one for every $90 you spend - how great is that?!  And there's a great selection of stamp sets and papers.  

Some of them are only available for a limited time so don't delay!

My card today features elements of the Flowering Fields (141303) and Hello (141243) stamp sets.

A single layer card using Flowering Fields to create a border

Each of these stamp sets have a great selection of stamps:  there are 7 rubber stamps in the Flowering Fields set and the Hello set has a whopping 9!

If you like the Hello set - don't delay - it's only available until 15 February.

I used Shimmery White Cardstock (121717) because for a single layer card I like its weight and it's nice and easy to colour smoothly.

I decided that the butterfly from Flowering Fields could have a little rest on the word "Hello" and I added a bit of Wink of Stella so that it shimmers in the light.

A little bit of Wink of Stella makes the butterfly shimmer

Sale-A-Bration is also a REALLY good time to join the team as a demonstrator if you'd like to get your hands on the great Stampin' Up! products at the discounted demonstrator prices or even build a business.  Until 31st March you can build your own Starter Kit with a value of $295 for only $169!! Contact me if you'd like more information.

And if you'd like an excuse to meet up with your friends - host a qualifying party until 31st March and earn an extra $40 to put towards the products you'd like to have. Contact me if you'd like more information.

It doesn't show well, but there's also some Wink of Stella on the flowers

I hope you've enjoyed this card and I welcome your comments. 

Thanks for taking part in our blog hop. Remember that currently you are at my blog - Stephanie Fischer - so check the blog hop line up list to see who is next in the list and click on their name as you don't want to miss out on seeing any of the blogs and the amazing inspiration they contain.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog