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Clear Block Stamping; a fun & easy background for quick cards!


Have you ever tried Block Stamping?  If you have a clear block and ink pads you can do this!  

I shared these cards on Facebook Live last week Tuesday.  You can watch the replay below.  Remember every Tuesday morning at 11 am CT I'm Live on FB here. 

I chose a few different stamp sets and inks for the cards I made.  I also have a few tips for you when doing this technique. 

The above card features Soft Seafoam and In The Pines stamp set.  The White layer is 4 3/4" X 3 1/2".  I inked the 'H' block in Soft Seafoam ink and spritzed it with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and Champagne Shimmer Paint. 

You can use water but that takes longer to dry and I wanted a bit of shimmer. Shimmer Paint mixes well with rubbing alcohol. I added random strips of Shaded Spruce CS across the card.  Quick & easy! 

This card features Calypso Coral (2" X 5 1/2"), Petal Pink and the Queen Anne's Lace stamp set. The textured layer is from the set of Wrapped in Texture embossing folders.

Can you see the marbling effect here? I inked the block in Seaside Spray ink and then added a few swirls of Misty Moonlight with a Stampin' Write marker. *Watch the video below. 

I used the Snowflake Wishes set on this card and the Flowers for Every Season ribbon/twine combo pack.  The colors are Seaside Spray & Misty Moonlight.  The White layer is 3 1/2" X 4 3/4" and the Misty Moonlight is 3 3/4" square – a scrap I had. 

Tips on the Clear Block Technique:

  • Use a light color of ink
  • Choose a block that fits on your card stock
  • Ink it and spritz with either water or rubbing alcohol until it almost starts to puddle.
  • Add a swirl of darker color with a marker after inking the block and before spritzing. 
  • Alcohol dries faster than water 
  • Add a bit of Shimmer Paint to your alcohol for additionals glitz! 
  • Whisper White card stock works just fine; no need for thicker papers

 

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  • Clean & Simple Blog Hop; Pretty Pop-Up dies


    Welcome to the Control Freak's May blog hop!  The theme is Clean & Simple projects. 

    You may have just arrived or hopped over from Wendy's blog.  I'm sure you loved her unique projects. 

    For some reason when I think of clean & simple I lean towards mostly white projects.  I've been wanting to play with my new Pretty Pop-Up dies so here is what I came up with for my first project: 

    It's almost all white; just a few accents of Balmy Blue & Petal Pink.  These Pretty Pop-Up dies do not cut all of the way through; they provide detailed texture and a 'peak' behind the die-cuts.  

    I added a bit of color to some of the flowers and butterflies with Balmy Blue & Petal Pink light blends markers.  To get them to pop up a bit I pushed each die-cut outward with my Take Your Pick tool.  I adhered this 4" X 5 1/4" piece to a smaller piece of Balmy Blue card stock using mini dimensionals.  

    The greeting is from the Nature's Thoughts stamp set and on a die-cut from the Natural Prints dies.  I added a 1/4" strip behind this to bring in a bit of Balmy Blue. This card might not be considered true clean & simple but it does only have a few layers!  Ha!

    I stuck with the Balmy Blue & White them for my second card but added a bit of Gray Granite with the Abigail Rose designer paper. 

    I used the smaller oval die for this card and used one of the single dies for the White butterfly.  

    The greeting is stamped on a circle die from the Picture This dies and is from the Nature's Thoughts stamp set as well. There is a piece of Vellum card stock behind the Balmy Blue layer. 

    You can see some of the dies I used in the photo below: 

    Thank you so much for stopping in today; I hope you enjoyed seeing these Pretty Pop-Up die projects!  

    I hope you'll stick with the 'hop' to see all of the projects!  Click here to see Melissa's projects or on the icon below.  

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  • Sending Smiles card; a fabulous & versatile bundle with video


    I made a bunch of these cards for a swap in April and also demonstrated it on FB Live last Tuesday here.  

    I LOVE the colors of Parakeet Party & Orchid Oasis together.  This new lime color of Parakeet Party brightens up our color line and it works with blues & purples beautifully! 

    The Sending Smiles bundle seen here is wonderful and was #1 on my list of 'must have's'.

    I made three projects on last week's Facebook Live using this fabulous bundle.  See it here. 

    I love the fact that they provided two sizes of the die-cut 'Sending'.  The larger one fits under the finer die-cut like seen on the card below.  But it also fits the stamped greeting image too.  So smart!  

    You can create a variety of flowers with this bundle as you can see.  This flower can be falling like wisteria or growing up like these here; they remind me of grape hyacinth.  

    Click here or on the photo below to watch the video for this card and TWO MORE as well. 

    ~~~

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    It's $99 for $213 in products!!!  And Free Shipping! Click here. 


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  • Unique diagonal card layout using your Designer Paper


    I've made a few of these cards lately; I just love the diagonal layout and how easy it is to stamp your greeting directly on the White layer.  

    It's made with the beautiful Hues of Happiness designer paper seen here.  It's been my top seller this month!  So far it's not on the low inventory list but I fear it will be the way it's going! 

    I cut some of these flowers directly from the DSP using the Blossoming Happiness dies; they match up perfectly to many of the flowers in the paper.  

    I made a bunch of these cards for swaps in May in both colors seen below. This way I could use two different sheets of paper since they provided flowers in many hues. 

    Tip: The nice thing about this layout is that you don't have to measure your diagonal cut on the White CS perfectly.  Mine are about 3/4" from the lower left and the upper right. 

    The Melon Mambo card on the upper left is part of my Hues of Happiness card kit to go seen below.  You get 1/2 pkg of this pretty DSP, a share of ribbon and Glossy dot gems in the kit for $28 plus shipping. Tomorrow (May 18th) is the last day to opt in for this pre-cut kit to go.  See details on it here.  

    I used the Happiness Abounds bundle for these cards.  See that here.  

    This card below is made with Fresh Freesia as it's card base.  There are a nice variety of colors in this designer paper; so many card stock & ink colors will work with it.

    Here are the measurements: 

    • Card base 5 ½” X 8 ½” scored at 4 ¼”
    • White front 5” X 2 ¾” cut in half about 3/4" from the lower left and upper right
    • DSP – 5” X 2 ¾”

    ~~~

    Get a bunch of NEW In Color products FREE in your Starter Kit! 

    It's $99 for $213 in products!!!  And Free Shipping! Click here. 


    Host codes: HUNR9DB6

     *click here to order 

    If your order is over $50 you'll receive a set of NEW embellishments from me.

    Don't forget about my loyalty rewards! 

    Click here to download yours and earn a $50 shopping spree!  

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