Ways to use Irresistibly Yours DSP (Sale-a-Bration)

I promised to show you several ways to use the new Irresistibly Yours Designer Series Paper and here they are... I’d love to hear of more ways that I haven’t covered if you know any. There is one other way to use this gorgeous paper that I haven’t mentioned... and that’s to leave it completely untouched for a really subtle and classy look. But if you’re looking for subtle and classy, you’ve come to the wrong place!

For those who haven’t yet seen this paper, it’s white with a glossy white pattern, opening up a world of possibilities because most inks will stick only to the matt section. So you apply your colour then polish it with kitchen paper to expose the white pattern again. It’s like magic!

Let’s take a look at the methods I’ve used in more detail. Clockwise, from top left...

Stamp on it
We’re stampers, right? So why not stamp on this fab paper. I particularly like combining methods for this, eg brayering a background on the flowery or leafy pattern, then stamping with Hardwood on top. Here, I’ve simply experimented with stamping some solid flowers and leaves.

Spritz it
I used six drops of reinker in a half-filled spritzer bottle; Coastal Cabana at the top and Old Olive at the bottom. Use more drops (or less water) for a more intense colour. This does take a while to dry but you could speed things up by using alcohol instead of water.

Colour with markers
I tried both kinds and decided this method was probably best for the striped pattern. Both types of marker worked well, although you do need to clean off the glossy areas quickly if you’re using Blendabilities.

Brayer it
Perfect for larger areas and, if you’re after a uniform colour, you can forget all those pesky brayering rules about starting at the edge of the paper and working your way in. Just brayer away until you get colour saturation. If you prefer a graduated look, then you need to remember all those rules about starting off the edge of the paper. Just play around until you get something you like!

Sponge it
Sponge Daubers are perfect striped paper; for other patterns, use an actual sponge. You can sponge just one area, various colours, or do the whole lot. Although, personally, if I was going for a uniform colour, I’d brayer it instead (see above).

DTP (Direct-to-Paper) it
This is a grungier technique but I had fun here creating a night sky using various blue ink pads (Lost Lagoon, Coastal Cabana, Marina Mist). I find the old-style ink pads are easier to use as they slide along the cardstock better. But, for fun, I tried simply dropping the new-style ink pads onto the cardstock, which created quite a pleasing effect.

So, now it’s time to get yourself some Irresistibly Yours DSP - which is FREE with a £45 purchase before the end of March. And don’t forget to let me know if you come up with any more methods of using it! My challenge now, I suppose, is to make all of these pieces of paper into finished projects. Don’t hold your breath!

Big Day Make & Take

Without Pinterest, I’d be nothing. And I found the original idea for this card on Pinterest, created by SU demonstrator Joanna Hooper. I adapted it to suit my huge stack of Coastal Cabana cardstock (I over-ordered last year and am still wading through it!) and simplified it for the Make & Take, because the hostess is so good at pulling in a huge crowd. But I did love the Chalk Marker detail on the original card, so added this for my “stepped-up” version.

This stamp set is proving to be one of the most popular SAB freebies so far, with this paper going down well, too. What people love about the paper is that you can make it any colour you like to match your projects. At my launch, I demonstrated SIX different ways to use this amazing DSP... if I get chance over the weekend, I’ll put some pictures together for you to show you.

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Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Springtime Hello and Art in the Round

Ooh, I have a very busy day today because this weekend I and some of my team members will be taking part in Art in the Round, a brand new art event for Derby city. 

The Roundhouse in Pride Park will be teeming with artists, exhibiting and selling their work - and, upstairs, on the balcony, we will be offering workshops. We have a packed programme for adults and children, so please do pay us a visit to find out what’s going on. We’d love to see you there!

Meanwhile, I know you’ll be wondering what happened to all my projects, so here’s one using the gorgeous Springtime Hello stamp set. 

I’ve used the same technique which we used at the class I held last month; I inked up the stamp using markers, then spritzed it with water before stamping onto Watercolour Paper. I kept the card simple as it’s clearly a sympathy card; it’s for a friend who lost her beloved dog last week. I didn’t feel the happy puppy in Storytime Friends was appropriate in this case. 

Stampin᾿ Up! Supplies

Table built by craftingbecky.com

Springtime Hello	So Sorry Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Old Olive A4 Card Stock
Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	6 X 9 Watercolor Paper	Gingham Garden Designer Washi Tape
Jet Black Stazon Pad	Many Marvelous Markers	Stampin' Spritzer

Watercolour technique with Springtime Hello

Friday night’s class was a very relaxing one, even though we were playing with techniques which have the potential to cause stress if they don’t go as expected. A request had been made for “watercolouring techniques” and I had great fun designing the projects for the class. 

This technique is fun to do and produces really lovely results – even if they’re not always what you’re expecting. I had to keep reminding the ladies that there is no such thing as “wrong”, only “different”!

To produce this effect, I began by inking up my stamp with markers. I used Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Pool Party. Next I spritzed the rubber with water and stamped onto watercolour paper. The effect varies according to how many times you spritz and how far away you hold the spritzer, so it’s really best just to play around and see what you like best. The more water you get on the stamp, the less definition you’ll see in your finished image. 

I did the same technique with the Gorgeous Grunge speckles so that they’d look more painted than stamped. 

Oh, and if your stamped image isn’t quite as “watery” as you’d like, you can simply spritz directly onto the paper and see what happens. 

It has to dry fully before you can do anything else, so we speeded up this process with a heat gun. To finish off, I stamped the greeting and overstamped the bee in Black Stazon; using clear-mount stamps meant I could see where I was stamping, but it didn’t matter too much anyway as it’s that kind of relaxed card. 

Honestly, I could ink and spritz and stamp all day, it’s so relaxing. Give it a try!

By the time you read this I should be on my way to Broomfield Hall for the Food and Craft Fair. If you manage to get to this event, please do pop by and say hello. Apparently there will be an appearance by Jim the miniature Shetland pony at 1pm… and I have to confess that this is one of the reasons I booked a stall!

Product List

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Nautical but nice masculine card

Oops, just found another Sale-a-Bration project that I didn’t show you. Never mind, if you didn’t earn this stamp set (See Ya Later) during SAB, you could always substitute a different greeting as it would work just as well. 

Masculine cards often present a challenge to cardmakers - after all, we do love our ribbons and bling and pretty things, don’t we? But this was still fun to make without all of the bells and whistles!

I stamped the background with Off The Grid, a really useful stamp which doesn’t look much at first glance but which you will use over and over again. There’s also a hint of the “ship’s log” stamp on the background, but it’s stamped off for a paler look. The Ovals Framelits are perfect for stepping up your projects to the next level; I love the way you can layer them and there’s always one the right size for your project, too!

Product List

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