And now for something completely different...

I thought it was time for something a bit more elegant... a style that doesn't come naturally to me! But as soon as I received this stamp set in my Demonstrator Starter Kit I couldn't wait to play with it! I used a few techniques on this card:

Two-step stamping: This is the technique I used on the butterfly card. You stamp once in a pale shade, then again on top with a co-ordinating stamp in a darker shade. Accuracy is not important!

Distressing: I distressed the edges of the card by running the blade of my scissors along it to roughen it up. You can do this as much as you like until you're happy with the effect. It does create a lot of paper dust so do it over some scrap paper to catch the bits! This technique comes in REALLY handy when your paper cutter blades are getting blunt. If you're not happy with the cut, just distress the edges and nobody will know!

Direct-to-paper: This is when you hold your ink pad in one hand and apply it directly to the edges of the cardstock for a shabby chic effect. Stampin' Up! ink pads are designed to make this easy as they have non-slip sides for your fingers.

Stamping off: This is a great way of getting the most out of your ink pads and is perfect for two-step stamping. On the sample above I only used this method on the leaves but the example below (sorry about the ropey picture) shows you just how many shades you can get from one ink pad. For lighter shades, stamp your inked stamp on scrap paper once, twice or even three times before stamping on your project. The roses are stamped in Rose Red (what else?) and the leaves are stamped in Sage Shadow.



And, finally, here's the recipe for the Roses in Winter card above:

Stamps: Roses in Winter (p47), En Francais (p58).
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Rose Red, Very Vanilla.
Ink: Sage Shadow, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink.
Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware - Pewter (p84).

(All page numbers refer to the UK Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue 2007-2008)