Tuesday Live with Fable Friends

Highland Hare and Happy Spring Card Tutorial

The Gingham Gala Designer Series Paper is perfect for spring and comes with 5 spring colors to make all sorts of projects.  This cute little bunny is also perfect for spring, and the Fable Friends Stamp Set comes with more fun springtime animals that are excellent for coloring with Stampin' Blends too.  I'll be sharing some coloring techniques on Facebook Live today at 11:00am EST.

 This little guy also reminds me of my sister.  She had a stuffed animal bunny when she was little, although hers was white.  Little Bunny was extra special too, because our grandma made Little Bunny with much love.  We are a family of makers, and I love that I can make cards for those who I love and care about to give them a little something special made from my heart.

Product of the Week: Stampin' Blends

Stampin' Blends are one of my favorite coloring tools.  I love using them because they blend together so well.  It's easy to create shading and even blend from one color to another with Stampin' Blends.  There are some good techniques to learn on how to use them and create amazing projects and I'll be discussing some of those techniques this week on my blog.

Using Stampin' Blends Part 2:  Work in Small Sections

The big thing about working with Blends is working in small sections.  That means picking one leaf or flower, or a small section of an image to work on at a time.  The ink in the Stampin' Blends work best if they are active or wet.  That means you want to be blending them together as soon as you put the ink on the paper.

It is also helpful to load most of your ink away from the lines of your stamped image.  I prefer to start by outlining my image with the light and dark colors, then fill in the image blending the two away from the stamped edges.  There may be points where you need to blend along the stamped image, but limiting how much you blend along the edges will help keep your ink within the lines (because that's the one thing we were all drilled on when we were kids right...color in the lines?).

Highland Hare and Happy Spring Card Tutorial
Fable Friends Stamp Set

Measurements:

Base: Whisper White Thick Cardstock, 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", score and fold at 4 1/4"
Layer 1: Gingham Gala Designer Series Paper,
3 3/4" x 5 1/2", cut lengthwise at 1 1/4" so you have two long strips that are 5 1/2" long
Layer 2: Highland Heather Cardstock,
2 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Layer 3: Whisper White Cardstock, 4 1/2" x 1"
Layer 4: Pearlized Doily
Layer 5: Highland Heather Cardstock,
die cut Scalloped Oval from Layering Ovals Framelits, ~ 3 1/8" x 2 1/8"
Layer 6: Whisper White Cardstock, Oval from Layering Ovals Framelits, ~1 3/4" x 2 3/4"

Embellishments: Pearlized Doily, Whisper White 5/8" Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

Instructions:

1.  Stamp "Happy Spring" sentiment onto Layer 3 with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on the right side.  Banner cut right end.

2. Stamp bunny image onto Layer 6 using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

3.  Color bunny image on Layer 2 using Stampin' Blends, use Dark and Light Highland Heather Stampin' Blends to color the jacket.  Use Flirty Flamingo Blends in light to color the inside of the ears, buttons, and the nose.  Use Crumb Cake Blends to color the rest of the bunny.

4.  Adhere both pieces of Layer 1 to the back of Layer 2 using Snail.  Pieces of Layer 1 should be touching on the back side, but make sure to use both patterns.  One should show from the front of Layer 2 on the top and the other pattern should show on the bottom.

5.  Adhere Layer 3 to Layer 2 with the left side lining up with the edge of Layer 2 and slightly lower than center on Layer 2.

6.  Adhere Layers 1, 2, and 3 to Base using Snail.  Adhere Layer 4 on the left side of Layer 2/3 using Snail.

7.  Adhere Layers 5 and 6 together using Snail.  Adhere both over the Layers on the Base using Dimensionals on top of Layer 4.

8.  Tie a bow using two pieces of the Polka Dot Tulle and adhere by the right foot of the bunny using Mini Glue Dots.

Supplies for Today's Tutorial:

Click on the images to shop with me!

Make It Monday with All That You Are

Blended Floral Birthday Card Tutorial

The large images in the All That You Are Stamp Set are perfect for letting out your inner child who loves coloring....or maybe your adult version of coloring too!  The set includes three sentiments that are perfect for many occasions and also include images that can build on one another to create many diverse looks.  I opted for Flirty Flamingo, Highland Heather and Granny Apple Green for coloring with Blends, but there are so many wonderful choices the sky is the limit!  

A Quick Note:  I'm switching up some of the days I do specific blogs to be able to do them more effectively and help with the needs of my family.  Specifically, my YouTube tutorials will be moving to Thursdays and my Facebook Lives will be moving to Tuesdays.

Product of the Week: Stampin' Blends

Stampin' Blends are one of my favorite coloring tools.  I love using them because they blend together so well.  It's easy to create shading and even blend from one color to another with Stampin' Blends.  There are some good techniques to learn on how to use them and create amazing projects and I'll be discussing some of those techniques this week on my blog.

Using Stampin' Blends Part 1:  Supplies and Preparation
Stampin' Blends are a really fun way to color, but be sure to take some time to prepare your work area and practice first.  Preparation is easy: you just need to protect your work surface.  Stampin' Blends contain alcohol based inks, which will bleed.  That's why then blend so well.  So you want to make sure you have something under your paper you're working on to protect your desk or work space, and definitely be sure you have some scrap paper underneath.  Your project could turn out lovely on the front, but if you're working on top of the rest of your project, the rest of it could be stained!

Supplies you'll need are good quality paper and a water-based and fade-resistant ink.  I recommend using Stampin' Up! Whisper White Cardstock and Tuxedo Black Memento Ink for stamping your images.  You want to use a water-based ink because the Stampin' Blends use alcohol ink, which means the water-base ink is more likely to stay put. 

If you want to try working with some other paper, be sure to test it first.  In my experience, papers that have properties that are good for watercolor techniques are NOT good for Blends.  Stampin' Up Shimmery White Cardstock and Watercolor Papers would not work well for this, in fact, the ink in the Blends will bleed much farther than you anticipate! 

Blended Floral Birthday Card Tutorial

All That You Are Stamp Set

Measurements:

Base: Highland Heather Cardstock, 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", score and fold at 4 1/4"
Layer 1: Flirty Flamingo Cardstock,
3 3/4" x 4 1/4"
Layer 2: Whisper White Cardstock, 3 1/8" x 4 3/8"
Layer 3: Flirty Flamingo Cardstock, die cut Oval from Layering Ovals Framelits, ~ 1 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Layer 4: Whisper White Cardstock, Oval from Stitched Shapes Framelit Dies, ~1 1/4" x 2 1/4"
Inside Panel: Whisper White Cardstock,
4" x 5 1/4"

Embellishments: Granny Apple Green 1/2" Textured Weave Ribbon

Instructions:

1.  Stamp "Happy Birthday" sentiment onto Layer 4 with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

2. Stamp large floral image onto Layer 2 using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

3.  On the stamped floral image on Layer 2, use Dark and Light Highland Heather Stampin' Blends to color the medium flowers and the edges of the large petals on the large flower.  Use Flirty Flamingo Blends in light and dark to color the small flowers and the center of the large flower.  Use Granny Apple Green Blends to color the leaves and stems.

4.  Adhere Layers 1 and 2 together using Snail.

5.  Wrap Base with a length of Granny Apple Green Ribbon and adhere ends to the FRONT using Mini Glue Dots.  You will cover up the ends with the Layers.  Adhere about 1 1/2" from the fold.

6.  Adhere Layers 1 and 2 over the ribbon using Snail.  Adhere Layers 3 and 4 to the bottom of Layers 1 and 2 with the Ribbon just to the left using Dimensionals.

7.  Tie a bow to the ribbon on the card at the bottom of Layers 1 and 2.

8.  Adhere Inside Panel to the Base on the inside back of card using Snail.

Supplies for Today's Tutorial:

Click on the images to shop with me!