This week sees the welcome return of Otterly Amazing, a Stampin’ Up!® Online Exclusive stamp set and die bundle, which I fear has been overlooked by many.
Who could resist those cute little otters, and the coordinating Otterly Adorable Designer Series Paper (164936)? I showcased them last year ahead of their November launch and, happily, they are still available from my online store.
A little note about Stampin’ Up!® Online Exclusives: you don’t have to shop online to buy them. It just means you won’t find them in a catalogue, so be sure to check out that section when you’re browsing and, if you rae in the UK and would like me to place the order for you, I will happily do so.
So what have I made with this fun Otterly Amazing bundle (164933)? Two quick and easy cards because I was busy preparing for a weekend away and wanted to have something ready for today’s blog before I went.
How are these quick and easy projects? Well it helped that I already had the otters stamped and coloured in using Stampin’ Blends from a previous Otterly Amazing craft session. This is something I do a lot, particularly when die-cutting and/or colouring. I will make some spares and keep them in the stamp case with the stamp set. This mean I could assemble these cards really quickly.
My first card begins with a card base covered with Otterly Adorable Designer Series Paper. I used the watery design for a subtle look which doesn’t overpower the main design.
Next I cut three strips of Otterly Adorable Designer Series Paper from some scraps and positioned them vertically on the card front.
I used the new Stampin’ Up!® stamp set With You in Mind (164747) to stamp Best Wishes in Pretty Peacock on Basic White cardstock, which I punched out with a large circle punch.
To create the effect on the die-cut leaves, I scribbled on white cardstock with various green Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers before die-cutting. This gives it a more natural look.
I did the same with the rocks, but this time scribbled with various grey Stampin’ Blends on Smoky Slate cardstock before die-cutting. I find this results in a more natural look than trying to emulate the rock effect by scribbling afterwards. Doing it before is very freeing, too.
This lovely sleepy otter, from the Otterly Amazing stamp set, is also coloured using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers; Bronze and Ivory if I remember correctly.
The result is a fun otter card which took only a few minutes to put together.
My second Otterly Amazing card looks simpler but actually took a little longer.
I began with a panel of Stampin’ Up!® Basic White cardstock. On top of this I laid a circle punched from scrap paper and then stamped tiny fish in Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral.
This is a stamp featuring a small shoal of fish so I had to be a bit sneaky to get the two colours. I could have coloured them all using Stampin’ Write Markers but I took a quicker route. I inked them all using a Daffodil Delight ink pad, then cleaned off the odd fish using a cotton bud, before reinking the cleaned fish using a Calypso Coral Marker.
It’s really important to use Stampin’ Write Markers for inking stamps and not Stampin’ Blends. Stampin’ Write Markers are water based so work just like your usual ink. However, Stampin’ Blends are alcohol markers which will dry instantly so the ink doesn’t transfer onto the paper. All they will do is stain your stamps.
With my circle of fish in place, I mounted the panel onto a card base made made from Stampin’ Up!® Daffodil Delight cardstock, then started to add my features.
I added a couple of rocks, a happy otter and a Happy Birthday greeting stamped using Simply Said (163756), which is one of my most-used stamp sets. I stamped this in black ink on Smoky Slate cardstock to pick up the colour of the rocks.
I hope you like my Otterly Amazing cards and won’t overlook this fun Stampin’ Up!® bundle for a moment longer!
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