Popping pastels and sponge fingers

I have new toys and I’m absolutely loving them! I would never have believed something so simple could be so fabulous.

They are… sponge daubers. I saw them demoed at the Stampin’ Up! Open Night in Birmingham and couldn’t resist. They are little round sponges on top of black plastic cylinders which fit on your finger… which led Jean, one of our guests at our cardmaking evening, to rename them “sponge fingers”. Love it!

I realise now why I’ve never managed to get good results with this popping pastels technique – sponge daubers make it so easy.

The technique appears to work like magic. You stamp your image in VersaMark® - it’s barely visible until you apply Stampin’ Pastels (chalks) with the sponge dauber. The image appears in all its bright and chalky glory. It leaves a soft shadow around the image which is a lovely effect. You can also use the daubers with chalk to sponge soft colours on to your cardstock, softening the edges or creating a night sky, for example.

On these cards I sponged Old Olive chalk onto the tree leaves and Close to Cocoa onto the trunk. The Stampin’ Pastels are excellent, especially if you want access to all the Stampin’ Up! colours quickly as you get all 48 Stampin’ Up! colours, plus white, black and grey.

For these cards I also used the Direct to Paper technique and some distressing for a “shabby chic” effect, plus some background stamping. If you want to see these techniques in the flesh, why not request them when you book a workshop? Alternatively, sign up for my class (see top right).

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree (p45), En Francais (p58)

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: VersaMark®, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Twill Tape (p87), ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Always Artichoke (p86), Hodgepodge Hardware® - Pewter (84)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.