Yikes! Our last Stamp Group night was VERY LONG!
Note to self:
Do not attempt to teach two involved projects to stamp group on the same night!
I had been really looking forward to presenting my two projects to the group and the projects themselves were well received WHEN I presented them. When the ladies were still finishing their projects at 10:30 pm, they weren`t loving the projects quite so much :(
Be that as it may, the projects turned out very nicely and they got to practice a variety of techniques.
The first project of the evening was similar in style to the card in my
Play MISTI For Me post. I chose this project because I thought it was a simple project that provided a lot of impact.
Also, I wanted the give the group the chance to work with my MISTI tool as well as the Lotus Blossom stamp set from the soon to be ending Sale-a-Bration catalog.
When I created the card, I utilized the MISTI so that I could use the magnets to hold the Sun Rays mask from the Hooray It's Your Day Project Kit on top of the matte. The ladies in class first adhered their matte to scrap paper using repositionable adhesive and then used Washi tape to adhere the mask over their matte.
Using Crushed Curry with a sponge dauber, color was stroked onto the matte, with a heavier application of ink applied in a type of "Corona" around the circular area of the mask.
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| Adding Crushed Curry |
Next, the mask was rotated so that only half of the yellow ray was showing in each opening. Tangerine Tango was now stroked onto the matte.
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| After adding Tangerine Tango |
Finally, the mask was repositioned a third time, showing an inked strip on either side of the opening with a white area in the middle; Real Red was stroked onto the matte.
After the application of each of Tangerine Tango and Real Red inks, the matte had to be carefully repositioned a the edges to ensure proper ink coverage all the way to the edge of the matte. Also, the Corona was enhanced each time with the new ink.
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| Completed inking |
Once the matte was inked using the stencil, the card was edged with Cajun Craze.
The MISTI was used to stamp the sentiment from the Lovely Amazing You photopolymer stamp set, using Jet Black Stazon ink.
The MISTI was also used to stamp the lotus blossom on a 3.5" square of Whisper White.
The flower was stamped in reverse order from the directions for using the stamp set. The #3 stamp was inked with Crushed Curry and stamped first. Next, the #2 stamp was used to stamp with Tangerine Tango. It was reinked and stamped again to provide a rich, vibrant orange. Finally, the #1 stamp was used with Real Red to provide the final details of this amazing flower.
Using the 4th from centre Circle Collections Framelits Die, the lotus was cut out using the Magnetic Platform on the Big Shot. The 3rd from centre die was used to cut out a circle from Gold Glimmer paper. Another circle of Real Red was cut out using the 2" Circle Punch.
The Lotus was adhered to the Real Red circle using adhesive and then mounted with Dimensionals on the Gold Glimmer circle.
The inked matte was adhered to the Real Red card base using Dimensionals and then glue dots were placed in the un-inked white circle. Gold cord was adhered in a pleasing circular arrangement and then the Lotus stack of circles was adhered using Dimensionals to finish the card.
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| Adhering gold cord below embellishment |
The second project was a 3D Book Card. I was inspired by the gorgeous card by
Dawn Heuft that I pinned long ago on Pinterest. Following
Dawn's video tutorial, I was able to create the Under The Sea card I had envisioned.
I used both Stampin' Up! and non Stampin' Up! materials to create this card.
To begin with, the inner "frame" of the card needed to be created by scoring and accordion-folding pieces of Lost Lagoon card stock. The folded pieces were then intertwined at each corner (easier to do than to describe with words!) and adhered with a drop of Tombow.
Next, the backdrop for the card was created by sponging ink onto a 4.25 x 5.5" piece of Whisper White. The colors used were, from the top, Pool Party, Lost Lagoon and Marina Mist. Using the coral stamp from the By The Sea stamp set, bits of coral were stamped using both Crisp Cantaloupe and Calypso Coral. The backdrop was adhered to the back of the frame using Sticky Strip.
I provided each lady with three shells and one seahorse (
Sea Animals from Lin & Lene Design) die cut from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper as well as a lobster (
Deep Ocean Lobster from Memory Box) and a crab (
Coastal Crab from Memory Box) die cut from Whisper White. A starfish was die cut from sandpaper.
A variety of inks were used to color each die cut, using sponge daubers:
- Shells: Blushing Bride, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral and Cajun Craze
- Seahorse: Daffodil, Hello Honey, Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango
- Lobster: Marine Mist, Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant, Cajun Craze, Calypso Coral, Pacific Point
- Crab: Blushing Bride, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Cajun Craze and white dots from a White Signo Uni-Ball Gel Pen
- Starfish: Baked Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip and white dots were added with a Chalk Marker
To create the three fish, we had to use a Mirror Stamping Technique to be able to create fish that were swimming to the right instead of the left.
The fish stamp in the By The Sea stamp set was swimming to the left and would not work right with the card. To bypass this obstacle we needed to use the leaf stamp from the Sheltering Tree stamp set.
This large photopolymer stamp was mounted on a clear block
face down. This provided us with a large, smooth surface.
The fish stamp was inked using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then stamped onto the leaf stamp! This was then immediately stamped onto Whisper White card stock to produce a fish that was swimming in the correct direction!
The Mirror Stamping Technique does not have to be done using the Sheltering Tree stamp set; any photopolymer stamp set that has a very large stamp can be used. This is a handy technique to have in your stamping arsenal!
The fish was stamped three times and then was colored using Stampin` Write Markers in colors of Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana, and Bermuda Bay. Each fish was fussy cut.
The cover of the book was cut from Lost Lagoon like the frame, 12 x 4 9/16`` in size and scored at 5.75`` from each end. Using Calypso Coral, the sentiment, from the now retired Sweet Essentials stamp set, was stamped on the front cover of the card.
The back of the cover was adhered to the back of the frame/backdrop using Sticky Strip. As well, Sticky Strip was placed on the spine of the frame and adhered to the cover.
A 30`` piece of Calypso Coral ribbon from the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack was adhered to the cover using Sticky Strip. The shells were adhered over the ribbon using Dimensionals.
The various sea creatures were temporarily arranged into the creases of the frame to find the best arrangement. They were then adhered using Crystal Effects. The seahorse and the starfish were adhered to the front of the frame.
A small amount of Crystal Effects was mixed with a drop of Soft Sky Party reinker and then droplets were placed on the backdrop to produce bubbles. In my card, the color of the bubbles was a bit dark. I should have used a bit more Crystal Effects.
Finally, the ribbon was tied in a bow to close the book card.
In retrospect, this book card project was much too involved to pair with the first card at a stamping class! However, it would work fine as a single project for a class. Live and learn!
I really like this 3D book card idea. I already have another idea that I hope to be trying soon–stay tuned to the blog to see it!
I have a mostly non-Stampin' Up! card for you today. 
