A few months ago, I attended an online retreat offered by a team of other Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators. One of the presenters, Brandy Cox, demonstrated background stamping with rubber bands. I know – it sounds crazy! But wait until you see what you can create. It’s very simple and only requires a clear block, rubber bands and inks. My feature card uses three of the 2022-2024 In Color inks: Parakeet Party, Starry Sky and Sweet Sorbet to create a cheerful background for a sweet songbird.
How to use rubber bands for background stamping:
Using a variety of rubber band sizes, wrap the rubber bands around a clear stamping block. As you see in the photo below, you can crisscross and have the rubber bands going in a variety of directions. Try to not twist the rubber bands but sometime it’s unavoidable. Wrap as many or as few as you wish.
After wrapping, select the desired ink colors you wish to use. Working with one ink color at a time, ink the rubber bands by tapping the ink pad across the rubber bands. I found it easiest to apply ink this way versus pressing the block onto the ink pad.
Stamp onto your cardstock and gently rock (yes, in this case, we do slightly rock the block). At this point, you can reink or stamp off an additional time prior to re-inking the rubber bands. Using the same color, stamp randomly on the cardstock.
Once you’re satisfied with the coverage of the first color, clean the rubber bands by holding under running water or use a very wet Shammy to blot clean (do not wipe as it may cause your rubber bands to shift).
Repeat process for each of your selected colors. NOTE: if you wish, you could add rubber bands to multiple blocks and use a separate block for each color.
WARNING: This technique is addictive!!!
Here are two other cards created using the same technique. For both of these cards, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive and Granny Apple Green inks are used. TIP: start with light color and move to dark color if using same color family (in this case, green color family). The background is perfect for the animal images from the Wild & Sweet Stamp Set. No sentiment needed!
REMINDERS
The July – December 2022 Mini Catalog is now “live” and available for product ordering. In addition, one of the biggest promotions of the summer, Sale-a-bration has launched. Be sure to check out the July-December 2022 Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-Bration Brochure. During Sale-a-Bration, for every $50 and $100 you spend, you’ll earn FREE exclusive products from the brochure. Depending upon the amount you spend, you can mix and match products from the brochure. Best of all, several of the products coordinates with products from the July-December 2022 catalog. The Sale-a-bration promotion will end on August 31. Be sure to check out the FREE Sale-A-Bration Host set you will receive with a $300 order.
And if that’s not enough…If you’re considering joining the Stampin’ Up! team as an independent demonstrator, now’s the time to do it! Sign up during our Sale-A-Bration event and the Making Plans Collection will be automatically added to your Starter Kit for FREE. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy all the perks of being a demonstrator—early access to our products, the opportunity to earn a modest supplemental income doing something you love, and so much more! And personally, I think one of the best perks is meeting other people that enjoy being creative! It’s important to remember, it’s up to you if you wish to make it a business or if you just want to enjoy the discount on products and early access to products. Many enjoy the perks being “hobbyist”. Click here to learn more about joining the fun. Plus, you’ll become a member of my Playtime with Paper team and receive the rewards that I offer to members.
Margaret’s Customer Loyalty Program: Download the form (Customer Loyalty Form) for program details and start tracking your orders. Just a reminder: for orders over $150 you’ll also receive rewards from Stampin’ Up! You can order by clicking this link: Margaret’s Online Store. (please confirm that it says you’re shopping with Margaret Knight) Thank you for selecting to place your order with me. I truly appreciate your business.
“It’s a Tea Party” was the theme of the June card class and the Tea Boutique Suite was perfect for creating cards to fit the theme. One of the cards, stacked teacups, is cut using the Teacup Dies from the Cup of Tea bundle. The Tea Boutique Designer Series Paper inspired the color selection for the card base and layering panel. The combination of the 2022-2024 In Colors, Parakeet Party and Starry Sky, makes a stunning card. To add additional textural interest, the Starry Sky layering panel is texture embossed using the Gingham Embossing Folder. You can find a list of materials and an assembly video below.
Materials:
Parakeet Party Cardstock: 5-1/2″ x 11″, score/fold at 4-1/4″ for card base; 2-1/2″ x 3-1/4″ for decorative cup
Starry Sky Cardstock: 5″ x 3-3/4″
Gingham Embossing Folder Tea Boutique 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper: 3″ x 4-1/4″; Parakeet Party Print for die cutting cup 2″ x 3-1/4″
2022-2024 In Color Designer Series Paper: Parakeet Party design for die cutting cup (2″ x 3-1/4″)
Basic White Cardstock: 2-1/2″ x 3-1/4″ for cup base & scraps for sentiments
Parakeet Party Classic Ink Pad
Double Oval Punch
On the Horizon Stamp Set (note, retiring June 30, 2022 today is last day to order!)
Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine
Assembly Video:
REMINDERS
Today is the last day to order from the January – June 2022 Mini Catalog! Be sure to check the Last Chance products and order your favorites before it’s too late.
The new July-December 2022 Mini Catalog launches tomorrow. In addition, the Sale-a-Bration promotion starts. During Sale-A-Bration, you earn FREE product with orders of $50 or more (excluding shipping). Sale-a-bration ends on August 31 or while supplies last. Tomorrow, you’ll be able to shop the new mini catalog and the Sale-a-bration brochure via My Shop.
Margaret’s Customer Loyalty Program: Download the form (Customer Loyalty Form) for program details and start tracking your orders. Just a reminder: for orders over $150 you’ll also receive rewards from Stampin’ Up! You can order by clicking this link: Margaret’s Online Store. (please confirm that it says you’re shopping with Margaret Knight) Thank you for selecting to place your order with me. I truly appreciate your business.
Today I’m featuring the Starry Sky 2022-2024 In Color. This is another of the card samples from the May Monthly Card Class. In addition to highlighting the Starry Sky In Color, the card features elements from the Sun Prints Suite Collection. The Sun Prints Designer Series Paper contains prints using the Starry Sky In Color so all the elements coordinate. I love that Stampin’ Up! designs coordinating products – it make designing projects so much simpler!
Materials:
Nature’s Prints Bundle
Starry Sky Cardstock: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″, score & fold at 4-1/4″ for card base; 4″ x 4″ die cut using floral circle die from Nature’s Prints Dies
Fern 3D Embossing Folder
Basic White cardstock: 3″ x 4-1/4″ for layering; 2-1/2″ x 2-1/2 for sentiment – die cut with Layering Circles Dies
Sun Prints Designer Series Paper 2-3/4″ x 4″
Starry Sky Classic Stampin’ Pad
2022-2024 In Color Baker’s Twine Package (Starry Sky)
Assembly Video:
NOTE: fast forward to 6-7 minutes for start of assembly
Hope you enjoy creating this card. Have fun using the same design with more of the new 2022-2024 In Colors and other coordinating designer series papers!
Buy one kit and get the second kit 50% off—this is the perfect time to have buy kits for their friends and family! Kits are all-inclusive projects and make great creative gifts. You can order from the Kits Collection here.
Margaret’s Customer Loyalty Program: Download the form (Customer Loyalty Form) for program details and start tracking your orders. Just a reminder: for orders over $150 you’ll also receive rewards from Stampin’ Up! You can order by clicking this link: Margaret’s Online Store. (please confirm that it says you’re shopping with Margaret Knight) Thank you for selecting to place your order with me. I truly appreciate your business.
At the last quarterly Playtime with Paper meeting, team members were able to practice the no line watercolor technique. It’s a fun technique and during the meeting, I shared helpful tips to remember when using the technique and am sharing them below. For the meeting project, the Nature’s Harvest Stamp Set was used. It has the perfect image to use with this technique. After coloring, the coordinating Harvest Dies are used to die cut the image. Additional die cuts provide layers to showcase the colored image. Hope you’ll give this fun technique a try!
Tips for the no line watercolor technique:
Select an image with clean, defined lines (especially when beginning to do this technique).
Use a light color for stamping the image – such as Sahara Sand or Crumb Cake (for the project above, Sahara Sand was used)
Be sure to stamp off onto a scrap of paper before stamping onto the paper for watercoloring.
Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper or Shimmery White Cardstock should be used.
The Stamparatus is extremely helpful for stamping the image especially onto watercolor paper.
Before adding ink color to section, first dampen the area with your watercolor brush. BE CAREFUL – do not saturate the paper, just dampen it.
Work small sections at a time and when moving to a new section, leave an unfinished area between the sections. EX: for this project, 2-3 side by side petals were watercolored, then the adjoining 2-3 petals were skipped. The next section was then colored. As the areas with the watercolor added started to dry, the skip areas were then colored. By doing this, the area doesn’t become over saturated which can cause the ink to bleed.
Remember – less is more! Start with a small amount of watered down ink and as the image dries, you can add more ink.
Most important tip: Allow the watercolor image to dry before passing judgement on it. As the image dries, you’ll be able to view your success!!!
REMINDERS
Time is running out and many favorites have sold out. You can view the remaining retiring products here.
Margaret’s Customer Loyalty Program: Download the form (Customer Loyalty Form) for program details and start tracking your orders. Just a reminder: for orders over $150 you’ll also receive rewards from Stampin’ Up! You can order by clicking this link: Margaret’s Online Store. (please confirm that it says you’re shopping with Margaret Knight) Thank you for selecting to place your order with me. I truly appreciate your business.
Thanks for stopping by today. Happy crafting!
Project Materials:
The current host code is: BQ2376WH (good until May 2, 2022). Please use this code if your order is $150 or less (before shipping & taxes). Remember, if your order is over $150, you will receive the host rewards.
To celebrate the official start of baseball season, I created a bag of treats for my son. He’s an avid Atlanta Braves fan so what better than Cracker Jacks, peanuts and Baby Ruth candy bars to enjoy while watching the ballgames. And of course, the treat needed a baseball themed tag! By using the Your Biggest Fan bundle and the Hey Sports Fan Designer Series Paper, the Hey Sports Fan tag comes together quickly. Do you see the baseball on the tag? Be sure to watch the assembly video below for tips on making a baseball. I also used the Hat Builder Dies to add a small baseball cap to the tag. (NOTE: The Hat Builder Dies are retiring so if you don’t have the dies, you may want to consider adding them to your die collection.) While adding the hat is optional, it definitely adds a finishing touch!
Here’s the Hey Sports Fan tag on the treat bag of goodies…
Even if you aren’t a baseball fan, wouldn’t you like to receive these goodies?
Project Materials: (Product links for ordering are at the end of this post)
Your Biggest Fan Bundle
Hey Sports Fan Designer Series Paper
Hat Builder Dies (optional)
Very Vanilla Cardstock: 4-1/4″ x 2-3/8″ to cut base
Scraps of Evening Evergreen Cardstock (for ticket strip) and Night of Navy Cardstock (for baseball cap)
Basic White Cardstock: 2-1/2″ x 2-1/2″
Bumblebee Classic Ink Pad
Sahara Sand Classic Ink Pad
Sponge Dauber
Real Red Stampin’ Marker or Red Pen/Sharpie Marker
Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine or Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine
Margaret’s Customer Loyalty Program: Download the form (Customer Loyalty Form) for program details and start tracking your orders. Just a reminder: for orders over $150 you’ll also receive rewards from Stampin’ Up! You can order by clicking this link: Margaret’s Online Store. (please confirm that it says you’re shopping with Margaret Knight) Thank you for selecting to place your order with me. I truly appreciate your business.
Thanks for stopping by today. Happy crafting!
Project Materials:
The current host code is: BQ2376WH (good until May 2, 2022). Please use this code if your order is $150 or less (before shipping & taxes). Remember, if your order is over $150, you will receive the host rewards.
In the March card class, the focus was using the Hey Sports Fan Product Suite. Included in the project suite is the Your Biggest Fan Bundle. The bundle includes the Your Biggest Fan Stamp Set and coordinating Sports Event Dies. Even better, the Hat Builder Dies complement the Hey Sports Fan products and add a perfect touch to today’s project. The Father’s Day sentiment can easily be change to fit another occasion. What’s great about this card is that many of the layered elements are die cuts from the Hey Sports Fan Designer Series Paper. Since the card front features many elements, the card base is the 4″ x 6″ size from the Memories & Mores Cards & Envelopes pack. You’ll find a list of project materials and an assembly video below.
Take note – the Hat Builder Dies are on the retiring list so you may want to consider adding these versatile dies to your “must have” list. But don’t delay, the coordinating stamp set has already sold out.
Hey Sports Fan Father’s Day Card Project Materials:
Your Biggest Fan Bundle
Hat Builder Dies
Hey Sports Fan Designer Series Paper – background layer: 4″ x 6″, select other elements & use coordinating Sports Events Dies to cut shapes
Assorted Memories & More Cards & Envelopes
Poppy Parade Cardstock: 3-3/4″ x 2-1/2″ for hat
Night of Navy Cardstock: 3-3/4″ x 1-1/2″ for brim of hat
Very Vanilla Cardstock – scrap to cut ticket for sentiment
Evening Evergreen Cardstock – 3/4″ x 4″ to die cut small strip of tickets
Bumblebee Cardstock – scrap piece to die cut star from Hat Builders Dies
Evening Evergreen Classic Stampin’ Pad
Resin Stars
Multipurpose Liquid Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine
ASSEMBLY VIDEO
The Hey Sports Fan Suite of products are great to use when creating projects for your baseball sports fans. And the Sports Event Dies coordinating with the Hey Sports Fan Designer Series Paper makes it even easier!
Margaret’s Customer Loyalty Program: Download the form (Customer Loyalty Form) for program details and start tracking your orders. Just a reminder: for orders over $150 you’ll also receive rewards from Stampin’ Up! You can order by clicking this link: Margaret’s Online Store. (please confirm that it says you’re shopping with Margaret Knight) Thank you for selecting to place your order with me. I truly appreciate your business.
Thanks for stopping by today. Happy crafting!Project Materials:
The current host code is: BQ2376WH (good until May 2, 2022). Please use this code if your order is $150 or less (before shipping & taxes). Remember, if your order is over $150, you will receive the host rewards.
The content in this blog is the sole responsibility of Margaret Knight as an Independent Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrator. The use of and content of classes, services or products offered is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up!®
