Wetlands and Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Sets

I had two stamp sets that were must have’s for me from the new Stampin’ Up! catalog – Wetlands and Gorgeous Grunge.  Wetlands is one everyone should get – it’s easy to stamp with and has three sayings.  Gorgeous Grunge on the other hand is going to become a staple of mine.  Gorgeous Grunge is made up of filler and background type images, which are worth their weight in gold!  Read through to see how you can get this very card sent directly to you!

For today’s project, I wanted to do something fun for you.  I spent all day yesterday cleaning my computer from a virus that had taken it over, so while the scans were running and keeping me from blogging, I stamped!  Go figure?! On a side note – as I just typed this sentence about having a virus, my husband calls me to come look at his computer, and lo and behold – he had one too!  Weird, right?!!  Okay, back to stamping….

I started to create some of the projects for my online brayer classes and I just had to do something that you would see with this stamp set!  I decided to launch a virtual brayer monthly club where those who become part of the CG brayer community will get exclusive projects each month – let me tell you, I was a sketching fool yesterday and then made some amazing cards!  That’s going to launch July 1st so stay tuned!

Creative Tips –

• I wanted to use the Canadian Goose stamp so I decided to highlight this amazing stamp by using one of the coolest new framelits that we have – Chalk Talk.  This is the large tag in this cool set. 
• I stamped the goose in Basic Black and hit it with my heat tool to set it.  The new black ink in this pad rocks.  The color is so rich.  Since it reacts with our Whisper White in a way that leaves it a bit wet, the best thing to do with it is to hit it with the heat tool to properly set it so that it doesn’t smear. 
• Once the goose was dry, I created a mask out of print paper and then added some grass.  TIP – You want to use printer/copy paper rather than cardstock when creating masks – they aren’t as thick and you will get a better stamped image of the back image.  When you use card stock, you get a white space because the card stock is thicker and your stamp won’t be able to get too close to the mask edge.
• I have to admit I didn’t know what kind of bird this was, so I googled wetland birds and there she was – a Canadian Goose.  I like my images to have some factual representation to them, so I colored it exactly as I saw it.  I used my Aqua Painter to get a light look using Sahara Sand.  Because I used our Basic Black instead of StazOn, I knew some of the black would smear with the water – I was looking for that.  It gave me just the right look that this bird had.  I added a little Smoky Slate to the neck and beak, and my bird was done.
• My grass was stamped first in So Saffron and then directly in Pear Pizazz before stamping.  I wanted the blend of color.  To finish the grass, I filled in a few blades on the left and right and wherever needed using my Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write Marker. 
• I sponged the edge of my Chalk Tag tag with Smoky Slate and sponged a little at the top of the tag like a cloudy day.  I have to admit, that was a result of my getting a little black on my tag from my finger.  It’s the perfect way to cover up an unwanted smudge.  I actually love the end result – I love when that happens!
• For a little texture behind the tag I added the lined stamp from Gorgeous Grunge.  I stamped this image four times top to bottom.  I trim my stamps, so I knew exactly where the edge was for perfect placement.  I love this stamp and I know you’ll see it a ton from me.  This stamp set will quickly become one of my most used along with Sweet Essentials.  I’m calling it now!
• For the greeting, I copied the white with Smoky Slate sponging and stamped it in Basic Gray.  I added an individual wheat stalk to it in So Saffron/Pear Pizazz to tie it back to my tag.  Learn how I create my Banner Flags
• Some drama was needed for this crisp looking card, so I popped up the banner and tag before matting my Smoky Slate card front to a piece of Basic Black cut just 1/16” larger.  I adhered that to a Pear Pizazz card base.  The proportion of color is just right. 
• For the finishing touch I added a few Pearl Basic Jewels in triangles.  It’s the perfect touch.

I hope you love the end result.  I have one of these cards that I’m going to send to a random winner!  All you have to do is leave me a comment.  Tell me what you like about it or the stamp sets I used.  Have a great stamping day!

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Stamp Sets – Wetlands (126697c, 126695w), Gorgeous Grunge (130517c, 130514w)  Ink – Smoky Slate (131179), Basic Gray (126981), So Saffron (126957), Pear Pizazz (131180), So Saffron and Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write Markers (131264) Paper – Whisper White (100730), Smoky Slate (131202), Basic Black (121045), Pear Pizazz (131201) Cool Tools – 1” Square Punch (124094), Chalk Talk Framelits (129983), Stampin’ Sponges (101610) Finishing Touch – Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430), Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)