Thursday, February 14, 2013

Love Simplicity

When it comes to cards I tend to lean toward simplicity.  Not that there is anything wrong with fancy, I just have to work very hard at it. This card was made in about 5 minutes and I think it is beautifully simple. Just three stamps,  a little ink and some cutting tools. If you like the stamps they are Sale-a-bration freebees!
Items used: Whisper White cs, Bloomin' Marvelous, Pretty Petites stamp sets, Raspberry Ripple, Pretty in Pink, Gumball Green ink,  Petite Curly Label punch, Big Shot, Adoring Accents Edgelit, Adoring Accent Embossing Folder;  

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

What I love about Stampin' Up! ~ 2-step Stamping

The thing that first got me excited about Stampin' Up! 9 years ago was their 2-step stamp sets.  No longer did I have to stamp an outline and color it in.  With 2-step stamping you can quickly make a beautiful watercolor-like image with absolutely no skill in painting.
1. Stamp a lighter color with the solid stamp.
2. Stamp a darker shade of that color with the detail stamp.
3.Add some leaves in a lighter green.
4. Stamp leaf detail in a darker green.
5. Add a little filler with the baby's breath stamp.

Finished!
The stamp set I used here is a retired set called Watercolor Minis. Although it is not longer in our catalog here are a few current sets that are also wonderful for 2-step stamping:
122765 (wood) 122767 (clear) Raining Flowers p. 73  
122760 (w) 122762 (c) Field Flowers p. 78
126445 (w) 126447 (c) Summer Silhouettes p.82
123802 (w) 123804 (c) Gently Falling p. 86