World Card Making Day Blog Hop

Hello World! Today is World Card Making Day, and what better way to kick off the day than with the Hello World Blog Hop with 22 designers all coming together for one purpose – to inspire you by creating cards using a brand new special stamp & die set designed for a great cause! The best part is that we have a little giving back going on this entire week. AND…guess what – you can participate too!

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My good friend Catherine Pooler, Founder of StampNation – a world wide community of crafters & Catherine Pooler Designs, has been wanting to give back from her business for a while now. But there are so many great organizations and causes – where do you start?

Well, one day this past August, one of her crafty friends (who happens to be a rockin’ stamp designer – that would be Chaitali Narla) contacted her to come together and do a little good in the world. The very next day Catherine saw another crafty friend, Jennifer Ingle,  post about a little cause she and her husband Sean were trying to raise funds for….and the idea for Hello World was born!

Sean Ingle teaches Civics & Government, Geography and Debate to kids in grades 6-8 in the Boston area. Their school does not have the funds for computers, a computer lab or in a library. So these kids, who don’t have computers at home either (they are all on a free or reduced lunch program), don’t get to learn the way most kids do today. Let’s be honest – most kids are exposed to computers from a very young age. Can you imagine not having that exposure for basic life skills as a young teen?

Sean’s goals are to raise enough money to have Chrome notebooks for the classroom so two students can share and get the exposure they need in the classroom setting. Wouldn’t it be great if we could raise enough so that all students had one?!!

So Catherine and the team at Catherine Pooler Designs put their heads together and came up with the stamp set Hello World. Chaitali’s favorite sentiment is Hello or Hi, so this set is illustrated by her, and says Hello or Hi in various languages from around the world. It has great sentiments to go along with that making it a more versatile set. All the profits from this stamp and matching die set from today October 1st through Friday October 7th will be donated to purchase Computers and other supplies in Sean’s classroom in Boston. Now that’s a worthy cause!

Here are the two sets that are giving back:

Be sure to stop by Catherine’s Blog at the beginning of the hop (link below) to get her full story, and if you’d like to donate directly to Click Here for the Go Fund me page – Chromebooks for Urban Education.

Now for a little creative inspiration using the Hello World Stamps & Dies….

Hello World Project Tutorials: 

#1 – Wordy Hello

This clean and simple card is pretty easy to put together. You’ll want to line up several of the sentiments from the Hello World Stamp set. I first lined them up with the hello, then removed it to ink and stamp it separately. I wanted to have an ombre feel to it, do I inked it up in light from the middle outward in the following colors: Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy – all by Stampin’ Up!.

For a darker result, ink up the hello in versamark first, then directly into Midnight Muse by Stampin’ Up!.  Heat set it with clear embossing powder for an added effect. Matte your card front with your darkest shade – here in Midnight Muse.

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I wanted the background to show all the fun dots from the new CP Designs stamp set YAY Stripes! For a fun look, ink up the bottom of the dotted stripe in a lighter shade, and the top in a darker one. That way when you stack them – you have dark/light contrasts in color. It helps to make it stand out a little more. I layered mine three times.

A few fun little orange hearts from the Lovely Flowers Stamp Set and some white twine up top and you’re all set!

#2 Elegant Hello

For my second project today, I wanted to do another clean and simple card, but a little elegant – enter embossing! Start out by embossing the solid stripe from YAY Stripes in Black on Black card stock. I LOVE that look!

For a complete contrast, emboss the butterfly from Butterfly Notes by Catherine Pooler Designs in Gilded Gold by Brutus Monroe. I love this butterfly – the detail on the wing and the outline are different and unique. It looks so pretty embossed – almost foiled!

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Continue to add some golden touches by dragging your Versamark pad along the edges of your card front and emboss in Guilded Gold. Emboss the Hello greeting from Hello World in gold on black and cut out using the Hello World dies. Adhere to your card front, put your card together and add some sequins – that’s it!

#3 Hello World Word Cluster

This last project is my favorite. I love word clusters, and this set is PERFECT for this technique. Word clusters is simply that – clusters of words. Arrange them first, then drop your acrylic block or Misti on them to secure them.

Here’s the biggest TIP to help you with word clusters – stamp them first on a piece of copy paper and keep as a guide. This way, if you mess anything up, you can easily and quickly re-assemble them and move on.

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To create this cluster, I removed the large hello, stamped the cluster in Soft Sky by Stampin’ Up!, added the Hello, stamped in Soft Suede, cut out with the Hello World Dies & popped it up for drama. The little word world never made my master – my master was always just the hello greetings. I stamped that in the open space after.

Matte your white card front so you have a 1/16″ border of Soft Sky on the top and bottom. Stamp the bold stripe stamp from YAY Stripes top and bottom so that you have a little peeking out. Adhere together and add a little Brown Bakers Twine up top with a bow – super simple and easy! This is a GREAT mass produced card. Just stamp all your pieces out at once and assemble factory line style.

So what did you think? I know they are easy for me, I was in a Clean and Simple mood the past few days. I have more coming this week with this stamp set, so be sure to stop back by!

Here’s the list of all 22 Hello World Designers to inspire you today. Be sure to stop by everyone’s blog. If you would like to purchase the Hello World Stamp Set & Hello World Die set, please visit the Store over at Catherine Pooler Designs. Here’s a link. Remember that all the profits from this stamp and dies set this entire week are going to fund this classroom – wouldn’t it be great if we could blast through the goal!  And if you want to directly donate, please click here.

Happy Hopping!!

Have a great creative World Card Making Day!!!

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World Card Making Day Weekend

It’s that time of year – World Card Making Day, and I thought this year….why not inspire you with projects all weekend long? Let’s kick it off today with a quick clean and simple card. I’m in love with angles and lines at the moment. So I thought it would be fun to get a little crooked today…

candy-cane-collection - clean and simple ingrid blackburn

This card is pretty straight forward. To duplicate it, stamp your favorite background stamp  – I used the new Peppermint Stick Background by Catherine Pooler Designs. For a muted look, use a deep red on kraft. Use the same color red for your candy canes. Now you can stamp these on white – but I thought I’d keep them deep red to symbolize love a little better.

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Did you know that if you criss cross facing candy canes they form a heart? Now you see it, don’t you! I layered multiple patterns, added a little holly & berries and stamped a cute sentiment. Keep it real simple – no sequins or embellishments. It helps to focus on the dies, angles and patterns.

Be sure you’re signed up for my free 12 Days of Christmas series coming soon – Click Here to sign up

What do you think? Tell me in the comments if you’re going to be creating this weekend for world card making day?

Over at StampNation, the Design Team and a huge list of guest designers are going to crazy inspire us all weekend long –  four times each day – that’s a lot of inspiration. There are tons of prizes for those creating along with us too – it’s a worldwide party….here are just a few of the cards I made for the weekend over at StampNation – and I plan to stamp along making more as well!

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Hope to see you there – or on your own blogs. Tell me if you’re creating this weekend in the comments below and I’ll stop by your blog this weekend!!

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And be sure to stop by tomorrow & Sunday – I’m part of a blog hop for a great cause – yup….cards & a fundraiser…how fun is that! There will be lots of designers and a ton of awesome inspiration! Hope to see you here tomorrow….

Till then, keep those fingers inky –

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The Perfect Christmas Tree

Are you always on the lookout for the perfect Christmas Tree? I am always striving for the perfect Christmas tree on my cards, and I think I’ve finally found it. After all, what’s more Christmas than a tree made of holly leaves and berries?

Today the Stamp of Approval Candy Cane Lane Collection is available to the public (while supplies last). We had three days of blog hops, and many of my fellow dream team members have been posting projects all week long. Click HERE to check mine out from a few days ago. I’ll have links to all three below.

Today everyone – including the guest designers all have another project on their blogs – so be sure to stop by all 16 blogs for more ideas! There was some serious inspiration going on, wasn’t there?

The perfect Christmas Tree - Ingrid Blackburn

Here’s a tutorial for a card that works for anyone – male or female. One of my favorite parts is the two toned embossing in the greeting.

Be sure to click the link to watch it on YouTube in High Definition. And be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you see more in the future!

The Perfect Christmas Tree Video Tutorial

Click HERE to view in HD on YouTube

To get this look, use the watercolor stamping technique. But for a slight difference, I used Distress stain rather than ink pads – at least for the leaves. The result is so cool, the photos and video just don’t do it justice. Because every leaf has its own nuances, it looks like you hand painted it – and that’s really something for a stamped image!

Watercolor Stamping the perfect Christmas tree

The greetings are from the Merry & Bright Boughs stamp set, but for an added little something, use the double holly berries to give it an added touch with pewter embossing powder. That’s a great combination with the gilded gold.

As much as you want to add sequins and something else to complete the card – with a real watercolor, I encourage you to refrain. Allow the watercolor to shine. But the project did need something – that’s where the simple border of dots and lines comes in. It adds to it without taking away from it.

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I hope you love this one as much as I do. Have you tried watercolor stamping before? I think over the past week you can see I LOVE the technique. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried it!

DIY Christmas Cards - Ingrid Blackburn

And if you missed my other two videos and four projects, here are some links for you to catch up:

CAS Peppermint Bark Watercolor            Peek-a-Boo & Christmas in a Box          Masculine Christmas Cards

Stamp of Approval - Catherine Pooler

And if you missed all the inspiration, go through all the Blog Hops for some great ideas. Each day features new designers and starts on Catherine’s Blog:

Blog Hop – Day One          Blog Hop – Day Two          Blog Hop – Day Three

Have a great time checking out all the other blogs for creative inspiration. It’s time now for you to get your fingers inky!

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Forest Stag – Masculine Christmas Cards

We all need a few different types of Christmas cards – especially Masculine Cards. So what makes a Masculine Christmas card? Well, color mostly! When I think masculine, I think neutral colors – earthy, and not too overly cutesy.

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Today’s project is just that – and my first to really feature the rockin’ Stag from the Hip Holiday stamp set in the Candy Cane Lane Collection by Stamp of Approval. I’ve shared a few projects this past week already from this great collection – that goes on sale if you’re on the Wish List or a StampNation member this morning.

Tomorrow – if there are any left, it will go live to the public. There’s still time to get on the Wish List – so don’t wait if you like any piece of the collection. We also had three great Blog Hops loaded with Holiday card ideas for you. I have links to everything you may have missed below – not to worry!

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Now back to our Masculine Christmas Stag….Here’s a quick tutorial for this great clean and simple card – another great mass producible one:

Masculine Christmas Cards: Forest Stag Tutorial

To keep with a masculine look – use neutral or muted colors. I chose to use Kraft card stock for the frame & card base. For the panel I used a dusky green – Always Artichoke by Stampin Up. For red accents – Cherry Cobbler and the Stag in White so that he really pops.

Once you’ve die cut your frame with the Merry Label Dies (CAS-ual Fridays for Stamp of Approval), edge it lightly with Tea Dye Distress Ink. This helps to accentuate the edge, give it a rustic look and showcase some of the debossing around the edges.

Masculine Christmas Cards - Ingrid Blackburn

Use the coordinating dies for the Hip Holiday set to cut the stag out in white. Next, stamp the stag in Soft Suede & Early Espresso for the patterned ears & neck. I just love him – isn’t he great! I made one with eyes and a smile, but ended up liking the one without a face better.

Rather than clutter the label die with stamped images – add some tone on tone boughs from the Merry & Bright Bough Stamp set. Keep it minimal so that it doesn’t overtake the card.

TIP – to get the bough placement just right, lightly trace the label die so you have a guide, then erase your lines once done! If you are mass producing cards, create a label out of masking paper, trim it down to the inner debossed line. That way you don’t have to keep tracing it!

Fold your card base in half and stamp the Peppermint Stick background stamp in Cherry Cobbler on the edge. Glue your Artichoke card front on.

Masculine Christmas Cards - Candy Cane Lane

Glue your stag to the label, emboss a greeting in gold onto Cherry Cobbler. I used the lower part of Sweetest Holiday Wishes from the Candy Cane Lane stamp set. TIP – I actually cut that one apart – there is a bit of space between the sweetest and Holiday Wishes – it easily lines back up if desired – but I’ll get so much more use from it this way without having to constantly mask it off!

Glue your greeting over the stag and label – trim the edges and pop it all up with foam tape. Add a few gold sequins by Pretty Pink Posh (that large one is by Rico Designs) and you’re all set!

It’s cute, right? I’m in love with this color combo.

More Christmas Project Ideas

If you didn’t get a chance to see my two videos for this collection, here are the links to those pages. There’s a video on each!

CAS Peppermint Bark      Peek-a-Boo Candy Canes & Christmas in a Box

I also have a great Christmas in a Box project on there too. Tomorrow, you’ll get to see another video tutorial with a technique project right here, so stop on by.

If you would like to get even more Christmas ideas from me, check out my YouTube channel, plus subscribe to my Creative Tips E-letter below or to the right. In about a month, I will be starting my yearly 12 Days of Christmas series. You’ll only see those projects free in your inbox through Creative Tips.

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To see all the amazing creations from the past few days – don’t miss the blog hops….You can still win a free box! Leave comments along the way. Check them out here:

Blog Hop – Day One          Blog Hop – Day Two          Peppermint Watercolor

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And finally… if you’re a StampNation member – be sure to check out the Challenge this morning! It’s loaded with Stamp of Approval cards!!! Can you guess which one is mine?!

StampNation - Ingrid Blackburn

Now you have some serious holiday inspiration! See you tomorrow with even more…

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Quick & Easy DIY Christmas Card Tutorial

I’m all about the DIY Christmas cards – how about you? As card makers , we probably all make three kinds of cards…all the time – Christmas, Birthday and Thanks. I’ve been creating some amazing cards this past month gearing up for the big Stamp of Approval holiday release – Candy Cane Lane Collection. How cute is that name?!

Well, Catherine and the team did not disappoint with this one. Blog Hops begin today – I’m up the last day…and I have some beauties to share with you that day. But not to fret – I have a card today, tomorrow and knowing me, I just won’t be able to stop past the release….lol!

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Stamp of Approval is a curated box of stamps and dies that were designed to work together. Best part about it is that it works with previous collections as well. Those you can get in the store – of course…the don’t get released for a long time – so don’t wait thinking you can just get them in a few months – you’ll be sad you missed out!

The way it works is you want to be on the waitlist – that way you will get notified the moment the shop is open. They sell out quick – sometimes in a matter of hours – and this particular collection is REALLY good. It’s definitely my favorite so far – I can’t stop creating with it – so if you’re not on the waitlist – get on it right here.

In addition to all the great projects you’ll see over the next several days from the Blog Hops – Design Team member blogs….when you decide to get the box on Wednesday Sept 21st….you’ll also get a PDF cram packed with ideas to get you started. Boxes ship right away – so you could be crafting with these stamps by the weekend!

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Oh…and there are three boxes up for grabs too! Be sure to hop along each day and leave comments along the way – last time one of our commenters won a box!!! You can start the hop on Catherine’s Blog – but read this tutorial too…lol!

I’m kicking off my Candy Cane Lane creations with one of my favorite cards – and one of the best to mass produce too! I have it in traditional colors – but what about non-traditional colors? I bet it would look awesome in baby blue/brown, or Pink and Grey….it doesn’t just have to be red/green!

DIY Christmas Card Tutorial

DIY Christmas Card Tutorial

I did a ton of watercolor stamping in my creations this time – this Peppermint Stick background stamp just screams – watercolor stamp me! To mass produce it, you just need to cut several pieces of watercolor paper – twice the height of the final watercolor piece and you will get two cards with each one!

Enjoy the video tutorial:

Click Here to watch in HD on YouTube

So what did you think? I love it – it’s super quick and easy. And the watercolor stamped look is artsy and unique. When you mass produce yours – do all the embossing at once – die cut/stamping at once, etc…. Just throw on a good movie – and you’re set!

Be sure to stop by the blog hop today to see the amazing creations!!! Comment along the way and win yourself a box too. Come back tomorrow, and definitely Tuesday – I’m up then!

DIY Christmas Card Watercolor Tutorial - Ingrid Blackburn

If you like what you see – subscribe to my YouTube channel and definitely get on the Creative Tips E-letter – I have exclusive video tutorials that go out to subscribers and coming up soon – my 12 Days of Christmas series! Don’t miss out!

See you tomorrow – happy hopping!

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CAS Watercolor Spritz

Have you tried Watercolor Spritzing much on cards before? I”ll be honest – I use my mini mister like it goes out of style, but mostly with water! This month over at Happy Little Stampers, the Clean and Simple challenge is Watercolor Spritzing. So here goes –

Sept 2016 CAS Badge

Adding Watercolor Spritzing to your Projects:

For this project, I kept it super simple and clean. Take any stencil you like – I used the Swirly Stencil by Create a Smile. Lay it over some watercolor paper – I used 140# Cold Pressed by Strathmore, an spritz! That’s it!!

Watercolor Spritzing

For my watercolor spritzing look, I used Vibrant Turquoise Dylusions Spray by Ranger. The bright and deep colors in that line are incredible. One thing I don’t like though is that my fingers get quite stained with these products – no matter how careful I am…lol!

TIP – Don’t over spritz it – you want just enough to get a good pattern. If you add too much, then it will seep under your stencil and color the pattern. A little looks good, but too much defeats the purpose. Fully dry it before moving on.

Spritzing Techniques

For a little contrast to the cool vibrant turquoise background, die cut and emboss one of the Happy Little Stampers butterflies in Iridium WOW embossing glitter and watercolor with the Purple Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pen by Kuratake. Blend it out with a water brush. I just LOVE the vibrant colors in that line.

They’re both popped up, add a quick sentiment and you’re good to go. Quick, easy and definitely mass producible!

Now it’s your turn – I can’t wait to see what you create for the CAS Watercolor Spritzing Challenge!

Go get those fingers inky – mine are….

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Supplies

I get asked a lot where I get some of my supplies. To make it easier for you, I’ve listed all the supplies below. I myself shop at various places and know you probably have your favorite online stores too! So I included choices where I could or if there is just one – it’s the best price I’ve found. 🙂

The letters below each image are links to stores where you can buy each of the products listed. EH – Ellen Hutson, SSS = Simon Says Stamp, AZ = Amazon, etc. I buy almost all my own supplies. To help support my blog, videos & allow me to keep creating for you, I use compensated affiliate links when possible.


CP Designs Shop Grand Opening – Blog Hop

Welcome my crafty friends! Today I have three projects & a video that showcase some great things now available in Catherine Pooler’s brand new online shop. How exciting! We always need good quality designs and products, right? And Catherine Pooler Designs does not disappoint.

CP Designs Store

Before we get creative here are a few things you’ll want to know. The shop will open this afternoon. To find out the moment the cyber doors swing open, you’ll want to make sure you’re subscribed to Catherine’s newsletter – she’ll be announcing the moment it goes live! Catherine also has a great video series and some cool PDF’s for new subscribers. So when you’re on Catherine’s site, be sure to subscribe so that you’re in the know.

Prizes – Of course we have some prizes for you too! Leave a comment on the blogs along the hop – there are three $25 gift certificates up for grabs between now and noon (EST) on 9/1.

Now for a little creative mojo for you today. I have three projects, all very different from one another, a little Stamp of Approval mixed in with some fresh Catherine Pooler Designs! Enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below!

Contemporary Crooky Cake

Okay – I know the stamp set is called Bring on the Cake…but I just can’t not call it crooky cake…lol! I wanted some bright, bold colors to pop off a neutral dark background. I’m into dark greys at the moment. And I thought this have great masculine look, while still being a little fun and funky.

Those streamer stamps totally rock – they’re embossed in Alabaster by Brutus Monroe, and are the perfect little something in the background. I also left the card as a single layer to keep with a minimal look.

Crooky-Cake---Ingrid-Blackburn

The cake is stamped in Distress Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers Wilted Violet, Salty Ocean & Squeezed Lemonade.

Geo Hugs & Kisses

For this project, I kept with my grey and added a little Pale Pink to the mix. Don’t you just love this geometric pattern used throught. It’s on the card base, card front and tag. The Geobuilders Stamp Set is so crazy versatile…it’s easy to see why it’s a favorite.

For this project I paired it up with the And Dies & And Sentiments set – two new sets recently released by Catherine Pooler Designs. They go quite well with the Tag Buddies by CAS-ual Fridays for the first Friendship SOA collection.

I love making cards that can be used for lots of occasions – and Hugs & Kisses covers that!

Geobuilders-And-Sentiments---Ingrid-Blackburn

Ring in the Birthday

And last, but definitely not least – my favorite. I just recently got my hands on this Pattern of Rings stencil by Winnie & Walter for the first SOA Friendship Collection. I have wanted to make this card for FOREVER! It’s no secret that I love water & Distress Inks – so I did a little sponge/direct to paper combo with some really bright and vibrant Distress colors. Here’s a video of the technique:

Watch in HD on YouTube

You’ll want to use Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire, Twisted Citron, Mustard Seed, Candied Apple & Carved Pumpkin. Isn’t this combo cool?! Once the colors were added over the stencil, I spritzed it lightly with a mini mister being careful not to add too much water. You’ll want just enough to activate the ink and get that watercolor look, but not too much that it runs under your stencil. If you do find that you’ve added too much, just quickly sop it up with a paper towel.

Pattern-of-Rings-Birthday---Ingrid-Blackburn-001

Dry your project and then flick some water droplets at it. I did this two ways – one with my hands and another with a paint brush for some smaller more purposeful droplets.

Once dry, add your greeting (HB2U by SugarPea Designs for the Young at Heart Collection) by embossing it in black onto vellum card stock. I cut it out using the larges tag from Tag Buddies by CAS-ual Fridays – yup the same one as above!

Pattern-of-Rings-Birthday---Ingrid-Blackburn-002

Add some embellishments and you’re all set. I added two little circles, cut out using Friendly Flowers Fri-Dies by CAS-ual Fridays – both die sets are from the Friendship collection. By adding those black circles and another strategic Sparkling Clear Sequin, you’ll be able to help secure that piece of vellum down. I also wrapped the top of the tag around to the back.

I love bright vibrant Birthday cards – and this stencil really didn’t disappoint.

Don’t miss out on all the crafty goodness!

I hope you enjoyed those three projects! If you liked that, be sure to sign up for my Creative Tips E-letter to get an exclusive video series with more. Up next – have fun hopping along to the talented Chaitali Narla. Be sure to leave comments along the way for a chance to win!

Here’s the list of all the talented designers for today’s hop!

BLOG HOP LIST:

Now go get your fingers inky –

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CAS – Masked Vines

How much do you love the masking technique? I love masking – it’s one of my two go to basic techniques that I use over and over again. There are so many ways to mask and I always love the end result.

cas august badge

This month over at the Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge, masking is the hot topic. So I created a fun project utilizing some great new stamps from Create a Smile.

CAS-Vines-Masking-Technique-Ingrid-Blackburn-001

As you can see, I embossed the Clustered Vines stamp which created not only a fun interesting look – they’re embossed in Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint Distress Inks with clear embossing powder. They provided a great protective mask for the Color Your Polka background stamp which here is only partially stamped in areas over a torn masked edge, ensuring a clean and simple look.

To help accentuate that area, lightly sponge a little tumbled glass to color the background, fading out as you near the white edge.

A fun die cut from Stamplorations paired up with my absolutely favorite little Birthday stamp from Everyday Sentiments by Happy Little Stampers and you’re all set!

CAS-Vines-Masking-Technique-Ingrid-Blackburn-005

Simple Sparkling clear sequins and a white on white card completes the look. I love this card – it’s clean, it’s simple and makes an impact. Now it’s your turn! Create a fun masked clean and simple card for the challenge – you have till the end of the month!

cas august badge

But before you go, I’m totally curious – what’s YOUR favorite way to use the masking technique? Tell me below in the comment section!

Till next time!

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