coloring with soft pastels

coloring with soft pastels

When I counsel new stampers I tell them that the most economical way to start is to get a multi pack of cardstock so they can try all the colors, a pack of Basic White, some clear envelopes, a Tuxedo Black memento ink pad, watercolor pencils and the soft pastels assortment. The Soft Pastels Assortment is a box of 8 different tightly compact pieces of chalk in 8 of our coordinating colors! The eight colors are: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Mossy Meadow, Night of Navy and Poppy Parade.
Today’s card describes a watercoloring technique with these great chalk stick!

Measurements:
BASE: Granny Apple Green 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
scored at 3 1/4″ and 4 1/4″
scrap for the bough punch
DSP: 3/4″ x 5 1/2″
Basic White: layer 3 3/4″ x 5 1/2″
scrap for the circle die

Place adhesive on the inside strip in between the two score marks, close the card and burnish the smaller panel to set the adhesive to create a book bind fun fold.
Adhere the 3/4″ DSP piece onto the outside of the card on the book bind smaller panel.
Run the Basic White layer through the Stampin’ Cut and Emboss maching with the Zinnias 3D embossing folder.
Using the spatula end of the Take Your Pick Tool scrape powder from one end of the desired colors of Soft Pastel sticks onto the flat surface of the F acrylic block. You will not need alot of powder. Squeeze a few drop of water from a Water Painter onto the bloc at the edge of the powder pile. Slowly incorporate the powder into the water a little at a time – these are hyper-pigmented powders and will get dark quickly – less is more! You can keep adding until you reach the desired hue.
I used one color at a time and started with the granny Apple Green and painted the leaves.
Using one color at a time, I painted the flower petals alternating flowers so that the flowers next to each other were different colors. When you are done with one color and want to move on to your next color. squeeze water out of the barrel of the painter pen and rub the brush onto a cloth or paper towel until the brush water runs clean and clear!
Adhere the Basic White panel to the larger panel on the card front – this is a close up of the watercoloring.
I stamped the hello sentiment onto a Everyday Details circle die in Granny Apple Green ink from the Layering Leaves stamp set and punched the bough punch with scraps of Granny Apple Green cardstock.
I attached the leaf punches to the back of the sentiment piece using Stampin’ Dimensionals.
I adhered the sentiment circle die to the card front over the water coloring. Make sure that the leaves do not protrude outside of the dimensions of the card so it still fits into a standard envelope!
I added the Parakeet Party colored Pearls from the 2022-2024 In Color Pearls embellishment pack – these will be retiring soon. I am so sad because of the iridescent quality the colors coordinate with more than just the 2022-2024 In Colors as shown here with the Granny Apple Green! Buy some before they sell out!
I made two samples with each side of the Flowering Zinnias DSP for the book bind “spine”

Now it’s your turn to try the Pastels! Go and create some art of your own – one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’
Natalie

more color mondays – old olive, melon mambo and bubble bath – fancy ruffle fold card

more color mondays – old olive, melon mambo and bubble bath – fancy ruffle fold card

Well this is what you call a happy surprise! I designed this card as a blog post to teach you all a fun fold technique called fancy ruffle fold or curtain fold, and I liked the color combination so much I decided to premiere this on Mondays and combine it with my More Color Mondays! Happy Accident! or a two-fer as some would call it!

Measurement:
BASE: Old Olive CS 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
scored at 4 1/4″
Basic White layer: inside 4″ x 5 1/4″
outside bottom 3″ x 4 1/4″
scrap for leaves and flower dies
DSP: 3″ x 7 1/2″
scored at 2 1/2″, 3 1/2″ 5″ and 6″
Melon Mambo: 1″ x 4 1/4″

Stamp two leaf clusters and two single flowers from the Simply Zinnias stamp set in Tuxedo Black Memento ink on scrap Basic White CS. Using Stampin’ Blends color the black highlight lines with the Dark Lost Lagoon Blend.

Color the whole leaf images in Light Lost Lagoon and go back over highlights with the Dark marker. Color the flowers with Flirty Flamingo, and Bubble bath as the bases and color in with Dark Melon Mambo and go over with the other lighter colors to blend.
Die cut the images.
Mark the right hand side of the 3″ x 7 1/2″ DSP piece with a tik mark at 1 1/2″ on the 3″ side.
On the bottom side of the 7 1/2″ side from the left edge mark at 2 1/2″. (See arrows)
Place the tik marks in the cutting grove of the Stampin’ Trimmer and cut the diagonal line from one tik mark to the other.
Score at 2 1/2″, 3 1/2″, 5″ and 6″. (See arrows)
Fold all score lines – fold at the 2 1/2″ back towards the left edge and place a piece of adhesive in the upper edge to the left of the first score line and fold the paper back to the left.
At the 3 1/2″ score line fold toward the right edge of the paper and just to the left of the third score line at 5 1/2″ place another piece of adhesive and bend back towards the left hand edge.
Place a piece of adhesive on the backside of the DSP as shown in the picture for the last fold.
Place the 3″ x 4 1/4″ Basic White layer in the Zinnias 3D embossing folder and run through the Stampin’ Cut and Emboss machine.
Adhere to the bottom of the card front.
Place a line of adhesive along the backside top and side that will be against the left hand edge of the card when adhered.
Adhere the ruffle to the left hand side of the white embossed layer.
Place adhesive on the bottom of the 1″ x 4 1/4″ piece of Melon mambo cardstock leaving the top un-adhered so you can slip the flower under it.
Stamp the sentiment on the left hand side in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Adhere one flower under the Melon mambo band and add one leaf cluster above it tucked under the upper petals.
Pop up the other flower on Stampin’ Dimensionals and tuck the other leaf cluster under the petals.
Color three Iridescent Pearls with the Melon Mambo Stampin’ Blends and adhere around the sentiment for the final touch of coordinating bling!

What an unexpected treat to love this color combination – see what unexpected pairings you can put together or try this one out! Now go and create some artwork of your very own – one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’
Natalie

Tomorrow this bundle as well as lots of other fabulous things become available in the latest Online Exclusives release – my shop-able click-able pictures below will not contain the Zinnias Collection until they become available tomorrow! But you can check out all the latest on my website tomorrow at https:nataliestamps.stampinup.net

more color mondays – flirty flamingo, pumpkin pie and mossy meadow

more color mondays – flirty flamingo, pumpkin pie and mossy meadow

Starting on March 5th, the new Online Exclusives become available. Flowering Zinnias Suite Collection is a beautiful new suite. It includes a bundle: a stamp set and coordinating dies, a coordinating 3D embossing folder, Beautiful new DSP and matching sequins.

Measurements:
Mossy Meadows CS: 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
scored at 4 1/4″
Basic White CS 1 1/4″ x 5 1/4″ scrap for
sentiment and focal piece
DSP: 3″ x 5 1/4″

Adhere the 3″ x 5 1/4″ DSP piece on the right hand side of the card front.
Run the 1 1/4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Basic White CS through the Zinnias 3D embossing folder and adhere to the left hand side of the card front.
Stamp the sentiment on 1 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ and adhere to the bottom portion of the card.
Stamp the Zinnia cluster stamp in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Using Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie and Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Blends to color the Zinnias stamp. Die cut the stamp and pop up with Stampin’ Dimensionals over the sentiment piece on the left hand side of the card.
Add the coordinating Adhesive-Backed Shiny Sequins to the card to finish with some bling!
I love the coordination in this suite! Cannot wait for you all to be able to see it and order it!

Now go create some artwork of your very own – one stamp at a time!

P.S. Because this is an Online Exclusives sneak peak the image links to my online store will not include the Flowering Zinnias Suite collection of products until March 5th when they become available! Check back then for the clickable links to order or better yet join my team before the 29th and Sale-a-bration is over and get the whole Suite early as a new demonstrator as part of your $99 Starter kit! Let me know if you would like early access to all our stamps as part of my team and I can help you with the process.

Happy Stampin’
Natalie