Ink, Spray, SmashTutorial

The Ink, Spray, Smash Technique not only has a memorable name, it also produces a unique, groovy background. I've tried the technique a couple of times, and now I'm ready to share it with you!

Here is the card I made this weekend. I decided to use a nice big piece of the smashed background to show off the colors. I followed the color combination for the SCS Color Challenge for this past week, using Certainly Celery and Baja Breeze. I had to sub Pacific Point ink for Marina Mist, but stuck with Marina Mist card stock.



The first step is to cut Glossy White card stock to a workable size. For this project, the pieces are 3 3/4" x 5"; I've used pieces as small as 3" x 3". I wanted to cover the card front with the pattern, but still leave room to mat or frame the panel if I wanted.

Use your Classic Ink Refills for this technique. Start with a light color, and put at least 4 drops right on one of the Glossy card stock pieces. Depending on the size of your panel, you may want more or less ink. Also take into consideration how many times you will want to "smash" another piece on top: the more times you "smash," the more diluted your ink will get, and the more subdued your design.



Add up to 3 drops of a lighter ink.



If you are using 3 ink colors, add 1 or 2 drops of the darkest ink. (Note: it is pretty easy to let the dark color overwhelm the lighter colors, so go heavy on the light colors and easy on the dark inks.)



Now comes the fun (messy) part! Use a small misting bottle to SPRAY BOTH your base piece (that you just inked up) AND another piece of Glossy card stock with water.


Then SMASH! the clean piece on top of the inked piece. The ink will seep out the edges, so this part is a bit messy (but fun).



Peel the top piece back, set aside to dry, and keep going as many times as you want. (Remember, the more ink you put on, the longer your color will last.)



I wanted to use my background for some Easter cards, so I added a butterfly image from the Time Well Spent stamp set (I got this set free a few years back, and it is fabulous), and included the Easter Wishes sentiment from my new clear-mount Hostess stamp set Something to Celebrate.



I dressed up the butterfly by adding tiny drops of Crystal Effects to his wings. CE is a fabulous adhesive, and if you are patient, it also gives you the cool "dew-drop" look you can see here. I'll be honest: I had to do this part right before I went to bed, so I wouldn't stick my finger in it while it dried. Then in the morning, with a little ribbon and the sentiment, my card is finished!



Thanks so much to the folks over at Splitcoaststampers for helping me learn this technique. I modeled my tutorial on theirs. Also, my favorite 10 year old, HF, helped me with the photos for this post.

Bargello

I just had to try out the Bargello Technique featured this week on Splitcoaststampers. I always have a lot of very nice designer series papers, just waiting for me to find a good use for them! This is an excellent technique for me!

For this card, I used the retired Stampin' Up! dsp, Le Jardin. The colors in these papers are So Saffron, Always Artichoke and Bashful Blue. To start the technique, you cut several strips of the different patterns. Each strip is 3/4" wide and about 5 1/2" long. Line them up on a piece of plain card stock (I used Whisper White) and adhere (I used the 2-Way Glue Pen).



Next, cut strips of varying widths, across the grain of the original strips.


Offset the strips, so that the different patterns don't quite line up. Play around with the patterns until you find the look that is right for your project. At this point, you can either adhere the strips to another piece of card stock, or--like I did here--use Sticky Strip to hold them together.



After trimming the piece, I peeled off the red backing on the Sticky Strip and mounted the design on another piece of dsp. You could mount directly onto your card base, or onto a different mat, too. Another idea is to use a die to cut your Bargello piece in a particular shape. (I want to try this with the both the Top Note and with Butterflies Dies.)



As they say on SCS, finish your card! I stamped the flower image from Embrace Life in So Saffron with the bamboo leaves in Artichoke, rounded the corners and sponged with Artichoke and Bashful Blue inks. The Whisper White Satin Ribbon makes a nice square knot, and is balanced by a corner embellishment of 5 halfback pearls.



I hope you'll give this one a try. It will certainly be a featured technique for my Stamp Club to work on in the coming year.

Ruffled Ribbon

My new Whisper White Satin Ribbon from Stampin' Up! is so easy to work with, I wanted to try the Ruffled Ribbon Technique that was featured on Splitcoaststampers last week.

This technique produces an elegant border for your focal image, and is very simple. All you need is ribbon and Sticky Strip! Simply fold the ribbon and press it onto the adhesive on the back of your panel. The Satin Ribbon is very supple, so it is easy to create gentle folds.



The stamp featured here is from Salut a toi (French version of Hello There), which I earned FREE with an order of $50 during Sale-A-Bration. This fabulous annual offer ends tomorrow (3/31). I stamped the flower image with Pretty in Pink on Glossy White card stock, and then punched it out with the Scallop Oval Punch and sponged the edges a bit.

That beautiful, deep blue is Pacific Point. (There is a bit of Baja Breeze mixed in as well.)

In addition to the ribbon embellishment, I added two halfback pearls from the Basic Jewels.

You might notice that the fold on this card looks a bit different--it is a Buckle Fold card. It looks pretty nifty, but is actually one of the easiest folds to master. The only special tool you use for this is a slot-type punch. Here I used the Slot Punch several times to created a longer opening, but the Word Window Punch is your best bet for this task.

I created the marbled background panel using the Ink, Spray, Smash Technique, which is messy but fun. I'll post another card using this technique and include the instructions in that post.

I'm gearing up for my Workshops in April and May, so please let me know if you are interested in earning some FREE product! I'd love to come stamp with you.

Reflection Technique

My, it has been a long time since I've gotten a chance to sit down and blog.

I wanted to share an example of the Reflection Technique, which I'll be using at the March meeting of my Techniques Club next Friday. (We have room at the stamping table, so let me know if you are interested.)

I've tried this technique before, but was always hampered by the need for an acetate sheet. Now that SU! has the clear-mount stamps, I thought I'd give this fun technique a shot with the acrylic blocks. It works!



I love techniques that help us expand the ways we can use tools we already have, and this one is great for that. To make my card, I used just one stamp (the cat from C is for Cat), one acrylic block and aquapainters, in addition to card stock and inks.

Using the aquapainters and different ink colors to create the scene can give a whole new look to a familiar image. I love it!

We're in the last two weeks of Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion of the year. If you're interested in earning some free product with an order of $50 or more, let me know. There are some really nice stamp sets available this year. It is also a great time to start your own business as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. SAB ends March 31.

Creative Crew Debut

There is a whole new Challenge horizon over at Splitcoaststampers.com. I pulled out my stamps, card stock and ink this weekend and played along.

Here are the four Creative Crew challenge categories for January:

Catalog Focus * Spring Showcase using any Spring Occasions/SAB product

DSP/Color Focus * Love Letter DSP or color combo of: B. Black, V. Vanilla, Riding Hood Red

Holiday/Seasonal Focus * Show me your SU! Heart - punch, sizzlets/dies, stamp sets, Mover & Shaper heart, etc. Wow us with hearts.

ScrapBook Inspiration Focus * What I Love About You – spouses, children, pets, parents, friends, ice cream, stamps, etc – something you love and why.

I managed to make time for three of the challenges, and here they are.

For the challenge to use NEW products:



I have 2 new stamp sets from the Occasions Mini Catalog, and I am very happy with both of them. This bookmark card uses the Take a Spin set. The next card also uses a new set.

Here's the color challenge: Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla and Basic Black.



The stamp set here is called Sew Suite. I am going to have a great time making cards for all of my friends and family who love to sew! (We got our 13 year old a sewing machine for Christmas, and she has started creating.)

Finally, a challenge to use hearts.



I used both the J'aime les coeurs stamp set as well as the Full Heart Punch for this card. (Sorry that this is sideways!)

Will you play with me? Please do, and I'd love to see your creations.

Need some of these cool new products? Let's schedule a Workshop duirng Sale-A-Bration! You and your guests will earn FREE stuff!

Wacky Color Challenge

This is a pretty cool color combination that was part of the WICKED Challenges in the Demo forums at Splitcoaststampers.

I made several projects using Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzazz. Nice! The Pear Pizzazz is a nice calming touch to balance the deep tones of the Rich Razzleberry and the brightness of the Tempting Turquoise.



Here I decided to keep it pretty simple, and just wove a background with a few strips of card stock. I used the Scallop Square and Scallop Oval Punches to create the sentimet panel. This card was quick and easy to make, and I really like having a "different" look.



This second card is more traditional, and I actually used some stamping in the design! The snowflake images are from the Snow Swirled stamp set. I stamped them with all three of the colors, and also did some "stamping off" or "shadow stamping." Restamping the image without reinking it first gives a gradual decrease in the intensity of the color. (Just make sure that you haven't stamped the image partly off the card stock. If you try to restamp then, you'll be able to see the line where the card stock edge hit the stamp.)

I've been making a lot of Christmas cards lately, but mostly not for me! Will any of my friends and relatives receive a card from us this year? I certainly hope so, but I won't be holding my breath.

Have you made some fun cards this season? Send me an image, and I'll post it here!

Pre-Ordering

One of the fun aspects of having my own Stampin' Up! Demonstratorship is getting a sneak peek at the new products before they are available to everyone.

Right now, Demos can place "pre-orders" for stamp sets, Designer Papers and accessories that are featured in the upcoming Sale-A-Bration and Occasions Mini Catalogs.

I'm off to snuggle up with my advance copies and pick a few fun new items to play with. Stay tuned for projects made with the new products!

Want to earn some SAB products free? Remember, every $50 spent during Sale-A-Bration (starts Jan 5, 2011) earns you one free SAB item. There are additional Hostess Benefits available, too. I have a few dates open for Workshops in January and February, so contact me soon to schedule your date.