techniques - nataliegramleystamps

blending and masking with after the storm

by nataliegramleystamps | May 19, 2021 | card samples, techniques

When I first looked through this new annual catalog, After the Storm stamp set caught my eye. I loved the sentiments and the possibilities with the set! Here is a card I made for my recent Facebook LIVE – which I will repost as a video at the end of this blog post!

Measurements:
Bumblebee Cardstock
5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ scored at 4 1/4″
Basic White Cardstock
5 1/2′ x 4 1/4″
5 3/8″ x 4 1/8″
scrap for the circle die cut
scrap at least 5 1/2″ long for the masking

Fold the Bumble Bee cardstock at the score line. Using the scrap for masking place the mask on the 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ Basic White cardstock piece about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom. Stamp the sun’s rays stamp multiple times above the masking line in a semi circle pattern. I used Daffodil Delight ink here.

Flip the mask above the line previously used and using Blending Brushes and blue ink (Balmy Blue ink used here) blend to a rich blue color for the water.

Stamp with the outline rays in a darker color – I used Mango Melody ink.

Die cut a circle from the Layering Circles Die set – I used the second smallest circle die for the sun. With the mask in place covering the water I used the Blending Brushes to blend color into the sky portion. I blended Daffodil Delight ink around the edges of the rectangle where the rays were stamped. I then came in with Calypso Coral slightly above the horizon line. Blend color onto the circle die for the sun.

Place the mask at the horizon line and cover the top portion of the card. With an old toothbrush I lightly splattered water onto the blue portion of the card so that the water would lift some of the color and create depth and dimension to the “sea” portion of the card.

Stamp the Sentiment in Memento ink. Cut the cardstock down to 5 1/4″ x 4″. Add Stampin’ Dimensionals to the sun and cover the convergence points of the stamps with the die. Layer the stamped and colored Basic White cardstock onto the Basic White cardstock and then onto the base card. Then embellish with the Artistry Blooms sequins and Wink of Stella. I used the Wink of Stella directly below the sun to create a reflection for the sun!

Product List

After The Storm Cling Stamp Set (English)

[155038]

$21.00

Bumblebee 8-1/2X11 Cardstock

[153077]

$8.75

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$9.75

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad

[147094]

$7.50

Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad

[147093]

$7.50

Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad

[147101]

$7.50

Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad

[147105]

$7.50

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

$6.00

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Bone Folder

[102300]

$7.00

Paper Snips

[103579]

$10.00

Stampin' Seal

[152813]

$8.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$120.00

Layering Circles Dies

[151770]

$35.00

Artistry Blooms Sequins

[152477]

$7.00

Blending Brushes

[153611]

$12.00

I love the way this card turned out!
Hopefully this card inspires you to create and create art one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’

Natalie

bleached hand-penned petals

by nataliegramleystamps | May 14, 2021 | card samples, techniques

Using bleach in Stamping always brings out fun results! This is one of the first “techniques” I learned when I first started stamping 20 years ago – crazy that I have been doing this for that long but I still love it as much as I did the day I discovered the craft!
Regular laundry room bleach will do fill a small cup or dish with bleach get a small paint brush and play! Different colors of cardstock will bleach lighter shades of the original color or sometimes surprise you with a totally different color altogether! Here we are using blending brushes to color on Basic White cardstock, stamping in Versamark and heat embossing with white embossing powder and then painting on the bleach! Simple as that!

Stamped with the large flower image from the Hand Penned Petals Stamp set (#155070) in Versamark (#102283) and embossed with White Embossing powder (#155554 – Basics Stampin’ Emboss Powders)

With Blending Brushes (#153611) I blended Balmy Blue ink (#147105), Pacific point ink (#147098), Misty Moonlight (#153118), and Night of Navy ink (#147110) on the Basic White cardstock (#159276)

Using a small paint brush I painted inside the embossing lines with the bleach.

And finished the cards…here are two different examples!

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$9.75

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Bone Folder

[102300]

$7.00

Paper Snips

[103579]

$10.00

Stampin' Seal

[152813]

$8.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$120.00

Scalloped Contours Dies

[155560]

$35.00

Artistry Blooms Sequins

[152477]

$7.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[144220]

$5.00

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad

[147098]

$7.50

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$7.50

Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad

[147105]

$7.50

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[147110]

$7.50

Hand Penned Petals Photopolymer Stamp Set

[155070]

$22.00

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154885]

$9.00

← pop out window fun fold card blending and masking with after the storm →

dandy laser-cut paper

by nataliegramleystamps | May 10, 2021 | card samples, techniques

Stampin’ Up! catalogs are always so graphically beautiful and packed with visual stimuli that sometimes it is a bit overwhelming! There are great things in the catalog that I think go unseen or missed! I believe the Dandy Laser-Cut paper is one of those beautiful items that gets lost in all the visual elegance of our catalogs! This gorgeous laser cut paper is stunning and there is so much you can do with it! Tonight at 7pm I will be demonstrating how I made these card in a Facebook Live – so if you are available join me and if you are reading this blog post after the Facebook Live airs I will be attaching it to the end of this post later on tonight after the Live is over so you can view it at your leisure!
For the cards I made I used colored cardstock that corresponds to the color combinations in the Dandy garden Designer Series Paper (#154297) – Bumble Bee (#153077), Misty Moonlight (#153081) and Mossy Meadow (#133676) cardstock. Stampin’ Up! does the color coordination work for us – so I use those pre-designed color combinations to me advantage – why reinvent the wheel as they say! Below is one of the 2 sheets that come in the pack!

The Dandy Laser Cut Paper (#1154300) is so dainty and detailed. It comes with 2 sheets each containing different card front images and accents. I made a total of 13 cards with the designs and accents. The pieces can be colored with our Blending Brushes and here is my tip for the day! – Place a quarter sheet of Basic White or other neutral cardstock directly under your image and color onto the paper – not only will it keep your work surface clean but will create a lovely masked image – two cards for the price of one!

Above is one of the geometric designed card fronts that I colored in Misty Moonlight ink (#153118) with our Blending Brushes (#153611) and to the left is the Basic White quarter sheet of cardstock (#159276) I used to color the stencil on creating a masked image that I cut now cut down to 4″ x 5 1/4″ to use on a Misty Moonlight card base! The following two photos are the cards I created with the card front and the mask.

Here is another example of that same technique!

On this second card not only did I use the card front image as a stencil but I also used the flower image negatives to create an image overlay! Easy and a great layered effect.

There are separate pieces that come in the laser cut paper pack including dragonflies, flowers and leaves. Here are some of the cards I made using the separate pieces.

The card below uses the Pale Papaya Open Weave Ribbon (#155672) dyed with Blending Brushes (#153611) and Bumble Bee Ink (#153116)! Remember with lighter color ribbon you can achieve almost any coordinating color!!

Here is another card created using another card front image and some of the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper (#154297) dragonflies that directly coordinate with the Dragonflies Punch (#154240). I also used the Double Oval punch (#154242) in Misty Moonlight for the sentiment piece.

Lastly I created some more Water splattered paper like my previous paper pumpkin post – So Cool. This technique is a little addictive and thought it would make a fun background for the laser cut images!

Product List

Dragonfly Garden Bundle (English)

[156224]

$36.75

Dragonfly Garden Cling Stamp Set

[154411]

$23.00

Dandy Laser Cut Paper

[154300]

$11.50

Dandy Garden 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[154297]

$11.50

Bumblebee 8-1/2X11 Cardstock

[153077]

$8.75

Misty Moonlight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[153081]

$8.75

Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[133676]

$8.75

Soft Succulent 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[155776]

$8.75

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$9.75

Bumblebee Classic Stampin' Pad

[153116]

$7.50

Evening Evergreen Classic Stampin' Pad

[155576]

$7.50

Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad

[153115]

$7.50

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$7.50

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

[147111]

$7.50

Soft Succulent Classic Stampin' Pad

[155778]

$7.50

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

$6.00

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Bone Folder

[102300]

$7.00

Paper Snips

[103579]

$10.00

Stampin' Seal

[152813]

$8.00

Blending Brushes

[153611]

$12.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

Dragonflies Punch

[154240]

$18.00

Label Me Lovely Punch

[151296]

$18.00

Double Oval Punch

[154242]

$18.00

Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

[146912]

$7.50

Pale Papaya 3/8" (1 Cm) Open Weave Ribbon

[155672]

$7.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$4.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

[144220]

$5.00

Artistry Blooms Sequins

[152477]

$7.00

Join me Monday, May 10th at 7pm for the Facebook Live where I will demonstrate the Masking and Water Splatter techniques used to make some of the cards above or if you are reading this post after that time the replay is linked below!

Did you know that if you loved any of the products show you can just click on the pictures above and they will take you directly to my Shop With Me page!
Technology is pretty cool!
I love to show my customers how to use all of the items in the catalog – so many pretty items and so many pretty ways to use them! Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions I am here to help you stamp at your best and achieve the results you desire! Hopefully this inspired you to go and create a little art yourself ONE STAMP AT A TIME!

Happy Stampin’

Natalie

← so cool - april 2021 paper pumpkin alternative projects 19-16-9-2 pop out window fun fold card →

so cool – april 2021 paper pumpkin alternative projects 19-16-9-2

by nataliegramleystamps | May 7, 2021 | card samples, paper pumpkin/kit collection alternatives, paper pumpkin/kits collection, scrapbooking, techniques

April Paper Pumpkin came a little late do to some supply issues – just another COVID interruption – but boy was it worth the wait – it is potentially my favorite paper pumpkin stamp set to date! I love that it coordinates with the Sweet Ice Cream set and Designer Series paper! You are probably wondering about the blog post title – what in the world is the 19-16-9-2?
Well this paper pumpkin kit makes 12 cards – 3 each of 4 designs IF you follow the directions and make the cards exactly as is…but there are many demonstrators (including myself) that take the opportunity each month to show everyone just how versatile these kits can be. I made one of each of the 4 original kit designs and then I went to work creating my own works of art and came up with 19 – 3 x 3 cards using the stickers in the kit, 16 full size cards using mainly the kit components (including the 4 original designs) , 9 cards using paper that I made and the stamps included in the kit and 2 scrapbooking pages (a 12″x12″ and an 8 1/2″x11″!) PHEW! That is a total of 44 cards and 2 double page layout scrapbooking pages!

Here are the four pre-designed original shape cards from the kit:

Using the 2 sticker sheets that came in the kit – I cut 12″x12″ cardstock into 3″x 6″ pieces scored at 3″ to make 8 cards from one sheet of 12″x12″ cardstock. I used my blender brushes and matching shades of ink to create a subtle colored background on the cardfront. I adhered the stickers and stamped sentiments and viola – easy cards to attach to a gift/gift bag or a lunchbox note or a million other ways to use these adorable 3″ x 3″ cards!

Next I cut most of the cards in half and mounted the shape cards onto full sized cards and added sentiments and sequins! I colored the plain card backs with ink and distressed them with water droplets.

Finally I created paper to mimic the backgrounds of the popsicles – I used my blending brushes and covered an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of cardstock with Mambo Melon ink, Gorgeous Grape ink, and Pacific Point ink, overlapping the colors. I took an old toothbrush and a small cup of water and dripped and splattered the water onto the inked cardstock. The water droplets lift the color and make a great distressed look!
I stamped the popsicle and watermelon image onto the paper I created and created the cards below!

And finally I created two scrapbooking pages – one 12″ x 12″ and one 81/2″ x 11″!

This was such a fun paper pumpkin – I hope this inspired you to go out and create some art of your own – one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’,

Natalie

← simply elegant suite card - coloring foil DSP and ribbon dandy laser-cut paper →

simply elegant suite card – coloring foil DSP and ribbon

by nataliegramleystamps | May 5, 2021 | card samples, techniques

The Simply Elegant Suite is just that – SIMPLY ELEGANT!!! The Suite (#155764) comes with one of each of the following items: Elegantly Suite Bundle (#155753) (which is the the Elegantly Said stamp set (#155095) and the Elegant Tag punch (#155762)), the Simply Elegant Specialty Designer Series Paper (Specialty because one side of each of the 6 designs is metallic foiled!), and Simply Elegant Trim (#155766) ordering made simple with just one item number!
This card uses the Stamp set, Punch and DSP paper to create – well, a Simply Elegant thank you card!

Measurements:
*Cinnamon Cider (#153078)
Cardstock: 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ scored at 4 1/4″
*Basic White Cardstock (#159276) : scraps for
embossing and the tag punch
* Simply Elegant DSP:L cut to 4″ x 5 1/4″ and
4″ x 1/2″ piece for the inside of the card
* 16″ piece of Pale Papaya Open Weave ribbon
(#155672)

Using a blending Brush (#153611) in Cinnamon Cider ink (#153114) add color to the gold foiled white background DSP. When desired tone is reached adhere to the base Cinnamon Cider Cardstock.

With a Basic White scrap punch out the Elegant tag punch.

Stamp the corner image in the Cinnamon Cider ink and stamp off 1-2 times and stamp the lightened image onto the edge of the tag.

Stamp the sentiment full strength onto the tag, using the blending brush add a little color to the edges and pop up on dimensionals, placing it in the lower right hand side of the card.

Using the other scrap piece of Basic White cardstock stamp the flower image twice in Versamark and pour the Gold Embossing powder and heat set it with the Stampin’ Heat Tool.

Fussy Cut the flowers and layer them under the tag on the front of the card.

Open up the card and stamp in Cinnamon Cider ink the corner stamp in the upper right hand corner, the sentiment in the middle and then adhere the 4″ x 1/2″ sheet of DSP paper that is colored in the same way as the larger piece to the bottom of the card inside!

Using a Blender Brush place the new Pale Papaya Open Weave ribbon on the ink pad, apply pressure and pull the ribbon through the space below the blending brush- dragging it across the ink pad surface – do this on both sides to color both sides evenly.

DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THIS MEANS!!!!!!!

Open Weave ribbon in virtually every Stampin’Up! color!!!

YAY!!

The finished card – I think it really did turn out … Simply Elegant!!

Inspiring you to go out and create art one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’

Natalie

Product List

Simply Elegant Suite Collection (English)

[155764]

$59.25

Elegantly Said Bundle (English)

[155753]

$36.75

Elegantly Said Cling Stamp Set

[155095]

$23.00

Elegant Tag Punch

[155762]

$18.00

Cinnamon Cider 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[153078]

$8.75

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$9.75

Cinnamon Cider Classic Stampin' Pad

[153114]

$7.50

Simply Elegant 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[155761]

$15.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Bone Folder

[102300]

$7.00

Paper Snips

[103579]

$10.00

Stampin' Seal

[152813]

$8.00

Pale Papaya 3/8" (1 Cm) Open Weave Ribbon

[155672]

$7.00

Blending Brushes

[153611]

$12.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

[129053]

$30.00

Metallics Embossing Powders

[155555]

$18.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

← tie dye background so cool - april 2021 paper pumpkin alternative projects 19-16-9-2 →

tie dye background

by nataliegramleystamps | May 3, 2021 | card samples, techniques

Another great use for the stamparatus tool! Special thanks and acknowledgement to Cheri’s Cards for the inspiration for these “tie dye technique” cards!

Using one of the plates of the Stamparatus you have a nice sized plastic surface for this technique.

Remove one of the plates from the Stamparatus tool and cover the plate with any colors of ink you choose, (it is best to start light and go darker – which I did not do in the video!)

Fill a Stampin’ Spritzer with rubbing alcohol and spritz the inked surface of the stamparatus plate until the colors just start to touch.

Place a piece of Shimmery White cardstock onto the alcohol sprayed ink.

Remove and with the remaining ink use another sheet of Shimmery white until most of the ink is used . Allow to dry and stamp with memento Tuxedo Black ink a stamped image – here I used the flower outline image from the new Color and Contour Stamp set.