Product Spotlight: Soft Pastels--#tgifc344

The TGIF Challenges Team challenged this week us to share projects using the Soft Pastels Assortment (#154585).  I decided to use them with a new stamp set coming in the January to June 2022 Mini Catalog and a piece of designer series paper which will be a FREE Sale-a-Bration choice in the January-February Sale-a-Bration.

The stamp set is Daffodil Daydream (#157786).  The stamp set can be bundled with a coordinating die set, Daffodil dies (#157794), but I chose not to purchase those. . . yet.  With my new Mini Catalog pre-order, I was able to add on a Free Sale-a-Bration designer series paper, Daffodil Afternoon (#158127). It coordinates with the bundle and I adore it!!!  The black and white paper layered behind the focal image is from that paper pack.

I stamped the daffodil image in Jet Black StazOn ink on Shimmery White card stock and colored it with the Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody and Daffodil Delight pastels.   I have experimented with using the pastels in different ways and coloring with a damp (#151298) water painter is my favorite way.  I use the Shimmery White card stock because it takes water better than Basic White.

To use this way, I scrape a bit of the pastel bar using the spatula end of my Take Your Pick Tool (#144107) onto a clear block. Then I squeeze a bit of water out of the water painter and mix the powder and water together to form a bit of a paste.  I will add more water as needed while I am coloring an image.  Once you use you these tools with the powder, be sure and clean them thoroughly as the powder does tend to stick to them and you don't want the powder to mess up your colors on your next project. 

I stamped around the Daffodil Delight card base in VersaMark in using the random dot image from the Daffodil Daydream stamp set.  The greeting is from the Biggest Wish stamp set (155052).  I stamped it in Versamark onto Basic Black card stock and heat embossed it with White Stampin' Emboss Powder (Basics Assortment, #155554).    I added a piece of Black & White 1/4" gingham ribbon (#156485) under the greeting and a trio of black Classic Matte Dots (coming in the new mini catalog in January) to finish the card.

For more cards and tips for using the Soft Pastels Assortment, check out the TGIF Challenges blog here.

I hope you are getting excited about the new Mini Catalog--but don't forget our Last Chance Sale going on now to pick up your "have to have" items from the July to December 2021 Mini.  The favorites sell out fast, so shop early--they will all be gone on January 4.  

--Sara Nell

    

 

To a Wonderful Man--#tgifc319

It's color challenge week over at TGIF Challenges with the color combo of Basic Gray, Night of Navy and White.  The colors are a great combo for a masculine card, so I made a Father's Day card using the retiring Soar Confidently stamp set (#154531): 

On my focal piece, I created a cloud-filled sky as my background.  I used a cloud outline shaped mask (I cut my own out of Basic White card stock), a Blending Brush (#153611), and Night of Navy ink. After lightly filling the brush with ink from the ink pad, I brushed most of it off on scrap paper before blending the color over my mask and onto the Basic White card stock.  I used the mask three times, placing it randomly over the card stock.

The balloon was stamped using the Stamparatus, first in Basic Gray and then in VersaMark.  I colored the stripes on the balloon using the Night of Navy soft pastel stick (Soft Pastels Assortment,#154585) and a small dry brush.  TIP:  To use the pastel stick with a dry brush, just shave a bit off the end of the stick onto a clear block with the mini spatula on the Take Your Pick Tool (#144107).   The pastel powder will stick to the VersaMark ink when you brush it on.

The focal piece was layered over a piece of Night of Navy card stock embossed with the Bark 3D embossing folder (#155431) and then layered on the Basic White thick card base.

The greeting was stamped in Versamark on Night of Navy card stock then embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder (Basics pack, #155554).  It was die cut using a Stitched Rectangle die (#151820) and run through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (#149653) a second time to shorten the length of the die cut.

Be inspired by wonderful projects created with this color combination over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a wonderful day!

--Sara Nell

Flowers for Your Birthday--#tgifc316

This week's TGIF Challenges sketch challenge gave me an excuse to play with some new Stampin' Up! products.  These were at the top of my new Annual Catalog wish list:  Soft Pastels Assortment (#154585) and Plenty of Patterns Decorative Masks (#155553).  

One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten from artists in various mediums is not to be afraid of experimenting and using up supplies.  Nothing is wasted when you are learning how products work and you will make happy discoveries that inform your work.  So my first step was to play: to see how the pastels worked with different coloring tools and mediums and with the masks.  It was a fun morning and I learned what would give me the best outcome for my project idea:

I love how this card came out and especially love the happy Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green color combo!  

To start my card, I watercolored on a light layer of Balmy Blue ink for the background and then let it dry completely.  I ended up using Embossing Paste (#141979) with the mask because it was easier to get the pastel color evenly on the flowers.  I filled the entire piece of Shimmery White card stock with the flowers on the mask and then colored every other row to create the stripes in my background.  I used Shimmery White card stock because it can stand up to moisture better than Basic White.

To use the pastels, I shaved a bit of the color from the stick onto a clear block, using the mini spatula on the Take Your Pick tool (#144107).  Then I used a barely moist water painter (##151298) to slightly dampen the pastel grains and and paint the flowers (being sure to wipe the painter off regularly while painting).  I kept the mask on the card stock while I was coloring to help keep the images well defined.  (It made clean up a bit harder, but I thought it was worth it!).

The greeting is from the new Biggest Wish stamp set (#155052).  It was stamped on Basic White card stock and die cut using a Stitched Rectangles die (#151820).  This was layered over a scalloped frame die cut using a die from the new Scalloped Contours die set (#155560).  A piece of Faux Linen ribbon (from Flowers for Every Season ribbon combo pack, #153620) colored with the Poppy Parade Light Stampin' Blends (Combo pack, #154958) completes the card.

Head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to get lots of inspiration for using this sketch:

Have a great time playing with your new products today!

--Sara Nell