MASSIVE Thanks - Vote for My Card this Month!

Today I am playing in Kylie Bertucci's blog hop - Kylie is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in Australia. The blog hop is basically an international contest for projects made with Stampin' Up! product. There's a voting button below my first picture that will take you to a gallery of ALL the entries for June 2020, where you can submit your vote(s). My entry is currently #50.

I am participating from the United States, and this month's theme is 'Thank you!'. I am excited to use the brand NEW Massive Thanks Cling Stamp Set on my entry, which is an Explosion Card! 
{US Product Purchase Links can be found near the bottom of this post}

The Explosion Card is an oldie, but a goodie, and I thought it was perfect to use with the sentiments 'little card...', and 'MASSIVE thank you' from the Massive Thanks Cling Stamp Set. I chose to use the smallest mailable size of card in the US, which is 3-1/2" x 5" - which is the size of our Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes - to demonstrate the "little card". You get 20 Note Cards plus 20 Envelopes in the pack, and there are 48 sheets of patterned paper in the pack I used, so you can easily and inexpensively get 40 cards if you make sure to buy TWO packs of the Note Cards & Envelopes.

The Whale of a Time 6"x6" Designer Series Paper Pack is perfect to create the Explosion Card fold for the "massive thanks" inside. It's the ideal size, and the ocean theme really lends itself to the depths of your "massive thanks"! You can use any size square of patterned paper to make the fold, you'll just want to be sure the smallest dimension of your outside card when folded is at least HALF the size of the square you use. For instance, the smallest dimension of my Note Card is 3-1/2", and HALF the size of the 6" patterned paper square is 3", so it fits inside the card easily.

I wanted to make this project super simple, so I used only the colors of ink that are available in our NEW Classic Stampin' Spots Assortment. This is a collection of eight 1"x1" mini stamp pads, which can be reinked with the same Ink Refills as our standard-sized ink pads. The colors in the assortment are: Basic Gray, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape, Real Red, and Shaded Spruce. The sentiments are stamped in Basic Gray, and I actually used the Stampin' Spots themselves (in the other colors shown above) to "stamp" on the front of the card to get the colored squares.

Stampin' Supplies: Massive Thanks Cling Stamp Set, Classic Stampin' Spots Assortment, Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes, Whale of a Time 6"x6" Designer Series Paper Pack, Stampin' Seal Adhesive, Clear Block D, Paper Snips, Stampin' Scrub & Stampin' Mist (to clean red rubber stamps), Grid Paper.

Wanna get my Stampin' Up! Customer MEWSletter??

🐈🐾 SIGN UP HERE 🐾🐈

Stampin' Supplies Product Purchase Links:

Massive Thanks Cling Stamp Set	Classic Stampin' Spots Assortment	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes	Whale Of A Time 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
Clear Block D	Stampin' Seal	Paper Snips	Stampin' Scrub
Stampin' Mist	Grid Paper

JUNE Monthly Perks HOST Code: APQ2626Y
(if your order total in My Online Store equals or exceeds $150, please do NOT use my Monthly Perks Host Code...you will have earned Stampin' Rewards of your own!)

Click Image to Become a Demonstrator NOW

EARN $25 EXTRA Stampin' Rewards in JUNE!
CLICK IMAGE TO EMAIL ME AND ASK HOW...

Get your Stampin' Supplies in my ONLINE STORE, and Be sure to check out these Deals:
CLEARANCE RACK (Up to 60% OFF Retired Product)
BUNDLE & SAVE!!! (NEW Annual Catalog Product Bundles at 10% OFF Everyday!)
BEGINNER STAMPER?? (Click the link and Choose a PROJECT to BEGIN!)

~Kimberley Morris Colorado Springs, CO
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (SHOP ONLINE 24/7!)
BECOME A DEMONSTRATOR
SIGN UP to get my Customer MEWSletter
Connect with me on my FACEBOOK Business Page
Connect with me on PINTEREST
Connect with me on INSTAGRAM
Connect with me on TWITTER
SUBSCRIBE to my Blog via EMAIL

Faux Watercolor with Abstract Impressions

Today, I am playing along for the first time with Kylie Bertucci's International Blog Highlights contest, with Stampin' Up! Demonstrators all over the world. (I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the US) This month's theme is Encouragement...it's all about sharing love and building up others. You can help me participate in a Winners blog hop by VOTING for my card! The Top Ten winners will be doing a blog hop together later in the month, hosted by Kylie (who lives in Australia).{Links to purchase product in the US are included near the bottom of the post.}

VOTE FOR MY CARD HERE!
(if you can't vote there, try the October InLinkz gallery HERE)

I love the look of Watercolor, but I will readily admit that I don't feel comfortable enough with my skills to do what I would call "real" watercoloring. Stampin' Up! does carry some *gorgeous* abstract "painted" Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper at the moment, but I wanted to create something using the colors that were in my head. So, I grabbed the Abstract Impressions Photopolymer Stamp Set, and decided to experiment!

I used Shimmery White Cardstock and just started stamping images from the set in a bunch of different ink colors. For the grass, I used Soft Seafoam, Granny Apple Green, and Call Me Clover. The big flowers were a mixture of Blueberry Bushel, Bermuda Bay, and Pacific Point. I used Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape for the daisy-looking flowers, and then layered Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody for the little round flowers.

It really looked pretty harsh and stiff when I was done stamping, but I was on a mission. I took that stamped piece into the bathroom and set it in the sink, and sprayed water on it with a Stampin' Spritzer. That's when the magic happened!!! I had some paper toweling ready, in case I got a little over-zealous. And I put it to use when the card stock started arching up, and a bunch of the blue ink started dripping down into the green of the grass. I dabbed off the extra drips - you'll wanna make sure you are always using a clean part of your toweling for that - and then actually spritzed the blue drips back in the direction I wanted to keep them, and dabbed off again. It was super cool.

Once I had all the colors in the areas I wanted, I dabbed the piece as dry as I could get it, and then dried it further with my Heat Tool. Because I got it so wet, it was still a bit crinkly after it dried. So, to adhere it evenly to the Blueberry Bushel Cardstock base, I used Foam Adhesive Strips in several rows all across the back, and then a few more strips up each side.

All that was left at that point was to stamp the greeting with the Blueberry Bushel Ink Pad, onto a scrap piece of Shimmery White Cardstock, and punch it out with the Everyday Label Punch. I wanted the greeting to stand out just a little bit from the background, so I added some edging around the punched piece using Stampin' Sponges and the Blueberry Bushel Ink Pad. Then, I grabbed some more of those Foam Adhesive Strips that I already had sitting out on my desk, and popped the punched piece up just a bit. The final touch is some simple Linen Thread wrapped around the bottom of the focal layer a few times, and tied in a bow.

This was my first experiment with this type of Faux Watercolor, and I think it turned out marvelously, even if I do say so myself! If you love the soft look of watercolor, but don't feel skilled enough to take brushes to canvas...then grab some Shimmery White Cardstock and a Stampin' Spritzer and run some experiments of your own. You may be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Wanna get my Stampin' Up! Customer MEWSletter??

🐈🐾 SIGN UP HERE 🐾🐈

Stampin' Supplies Product Purchase Links:

Abstract Impressions Photopolymer Stamp Set	Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock	Blueberry Bushel 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock	Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad
Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad
Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad	Stampin' Spritzer	Heat Tool (Us And Canada)	Foam Adhesive Strips
Everyday Label Punch	Linen Thread	Stamping Sponges	Grid Paper

OCTOBER Monthly Perks Code: 3EYU6Q7P
(if your order total equals or exceeds $150, please do NOT use the Monthly Perks Host Code...you will have earned Stampin' Rewards of your own!)

Get your Stampin' Supplies in my ONLINE STORE, and Be sure to check out these Deals:
CLEARANCE RACK (Up to 60% OFF Retired Product)
BUNDLE & SAVE!!! (Annual Catalog Product Bundles at 10% OFF Everyday!)
BUNDLE & SAVE!!! (NEW HOLIDAY Catalog Product Bundles at 10% OFF Everyday!)
BEGINNER STAMPER?? (Click the link and Choose a PROJECT to BEGIN!)

~Kimberley Morris Colorado Springs, CO
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (SHOP ONLINE 24/7!)
BECOME A DEMONSTRATOR
SIGN UP to get my Customer MEWSletter
Connect with me on FACEBOOK
Connect with me on PINTEREST
Connect with me on INSTAGRAM
Connect with me on TWITTER
SUBSCRIBE to my Blog via EMAIL