Stamping Techniques 101 Blog Hop - Stampin' Blends

Hello and welcome! 

I'm happy to share the news that I've been invited to join a fun blog hop comprised of some stellar Stampin' Up! demonstrators from across the globe. The first Wednesday of each month, we'll be bringing you creative ideas that focus on simple, basic techniques; how-to's and design basics. 

Creativity is for everyone - no matter how seasoned a crafter you may be! 

If you are taking the January 2018 hop in order, you will have arrived here from the talented Pam Jorgensen's blog. 

This month, we are focusing on the use of the Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. These markers are really wonderful coloring tools. They make it easy to achieve realistic looking images with rich depth of color

Here's my card project for this month:

You should know first of all that coloring is NOT my specialty! 

I've always said I am a lazy stamper, and I've always gotten frustrated when it came to coloring - lets just say I didn't think too highly of coloring books when I was growing up. :)

BUT...I've had a blast playing and coloring with the new Stampin' Blends! Being able to add layers of color without making a big, blotchy mess is awesome and the Blends make it super easy. 

For this card project, I stamped the image using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, the recommended ink for use with the Stampin' Blends. 

Tip #1 - allow to dry completely before coloring in the image to help prevent bleeding OR do what I did and heat set the ink using your Heat Tool. (I'm lazy AND impatient! Ha!)

Then, I just chose my colors and began to color in the images! 

For the little piggies on the background piece, I colored their bodies with the Ivory Skin Tone blend, mainly because I couldn't find my Crumb Cake ones - grrr....

I deliberately added more color on their bellies and in a few splotches on their bodies -they are pigs after all. Ears and noses and tails and hooves were colored in with the light Pink Pirouette marker.

Tip #2 - I learned pretty quickly to NOT color all the way up to the inside edge of the image. If you do, you risk the ink color spreading beyond the edge. If you look really closely at my card, you can see evidence of that, but it wasn't awful and I was like "It's handmade, might as well look like it!"

For the wings, I colored even further back from the edge, but this was to leave more of the white showing on purpose. I did add some Clear Wink of Stella to the wings for some shimmer, but it's hard to photograph well - it's there though, promise!

The focal piggy is colored in entirely with the Light Pink Pirouette blend adding more color where you see darker patches. 

Honestly friends, I'm never gonna be a master watercolorer, but the Stampin' Blends helped me create a sweet card with some pretty realistic colored images - and if I can do it, anyone can!

Plus, it made me smile, which is the most important thing anyway, right? :)

One more thing:

Tip #3 - I cut my stamp apart into two images, separating the greeting from the piggy image. That made it easier for me to stamp the piggy randomly. Don't be afraid to customize your stamp images - they're yours! Make them work for YOU!

Well, you made it this far - thanks! 

Next up is the lovely and talented Tamra Davis - click on the 'next blog' picture below to visit her blog. 

Here's the entire line up for the Blog Hop:

Stamping Techniques 101 – January Blog Hop – Stampin Blends 

• Amanda Fowler
• Ann Craig
• Carmen Sahadat-Morris
• Delys Cram
• Heike Vass
• Leonie Schroder
• Libby Dyson
• Pam Jorgensen
• Robin Merriman
• Tamra Davis

Here are a few of the supplies I used to create this card - 

This Little Piggy - 143922

Thick Whisper White Cardstock - 140272

Pink Pirouette Light Stampin' Blend - 144593

Ivory Stampin' Blend - 144606

Smoky Slate Light Stampin' Blend - 145054

Cookie Cutter Builder Punch - 140396 (used for the iridescent glimmer paper embellishments!)

Bunch of Banners Framelits - 141488

Layering Circles Framelits - 141705

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