Love You Lots with Pop of Paradise and a splashy watercolour technique

It’s that frog again (I don’t even like frogs!) from Love You Lots, the gorgeous new hostess stamp set. 

This is the result of some experimentation at June’s Crafty Friday event, where we played with watercolour techniques again. Here’s how to recreate this technique:

1. Begin by stamping an outline image (ie, one you can colour in) twice in permanent ink; once on the watercolour paper and once on some thin scrap paper or sticky note. 
2. Cut out the image from the scrap paper to create a mask.
3. If using scrap paper, apply a temporary adhesive (Tombow is temporary if you allow it to dry thoroughly) on the back of the mask. 
4. An alternative method would be to skip the mask and use masking fluid (available from art shop) all over the image on the watercolour paper. It can be rubbed off when the project is complete. 
5. With your main image safely covered, now you can create the splashy background. Simply pick up ink with a paintbrush or aquapainter and tap the top of the brush.
6. A wetter brush will result in larger, paler splashes.
7. More concentrated ink, ie less water, will result in smaller, darker splashes. 
8. When you’re happy with the results, allow it to dry thoroughly, then remove the mask. If you’ve gone a bit mad with the splashing (easy done) you may find some of the colour has seeped through, but you can remove this to a certain extent with a paintbrush and clear water. 
9. Now you can paint your main image as desired. I soon realised that my frog couldn’t be green as he wouldn’t stand out, so went for So Saffron. Yes, this is So Saffron, you wouldn’t think it, would you? But when you use the ink in its concentrated form, with just a little water, it leans more towards Delightful Dijon. 
10. Finally, to make the frog stand out even more, I tested the theory that the Fine Tip Glue Pen can be used as a substitute for Crystal Effects (which we no longer carry). It worked! It takes a little longer to dry but has very similar results. 

SaveSave

Love You Lots Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141801] £8.00	Pop Of Paradise Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141581] £17.00	Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Wild Wasabi A4 Card Stock [111850] £7.25	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25
Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock [138345] £7.25	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock [106550] £8.25	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406] £8.25	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [105225] £3.00
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [100531] £3.00	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [122932] £3.00	Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309] £6.25

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Timeless Textures with Pop of Paradise

What kind of fevered mind put this colour combination together? It’s from the mind of one of my downlines and crafty friends, Patsy, who dragged me out of my comfort zone recently to create this card. I actually really like it – who would have thought I’d say that about purple, pink, red, orange and green together? It’s like a bag of Skittles!

The greeting was supposed to be stamped in the middle, but I didn’t leave enough room, so a Pop of Paradise banner came to the rescue.

Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] £18.00	Pop Of Paradise Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141581] £17.00	Real Red A4 Card Stock [106578] £7.25	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock [141422] £7.25
Old Olive A4 Card Stock [106576] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949] £6.00	Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad [141398] £6.00
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] £6.00	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad [141395] £6.00	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad [126950] £6.00	2016-2018 In Color Enamel Shapes [141410] £8.25

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Mix It Up Monday: Jar of Love

I had a lovely crafty session with a couple of stamping friends recently and had the opportunity to play with the Jar of Love bundle. These sessions can turn out to be expensive! I hadn’t paid any attention to this set at all but inevitably I loved it.

What I particularly liked was that SU have thought of everything. I cut out the jar, but was wishing I could make it transparent... then discovered that there’s a die to cut out the middle of the jar, too, so I could!

I used this colour combination, based on the ink pads that just happened to be on the table, and when I returned home, I realised it just happened to be a Mix It Up Monday combo, using a colour combination from my latest set of In Color charts! Well, it is if you discount the Soft Sky, which I am going to do as it’s very subtle behind the vellum. 

Jar Of Love Photopolymer Bundle [142342] £48.50	Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [138288] £7.75	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock [141422] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50
White Vellum A4 Card Stock [106584] £6.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] £5.50	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] £6.00	Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad [141398] £6.00	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975] £6.00
Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad [131181] £6.00	Linen Thread [104199] £4.25

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Caturday... late in the day

A little late in the day for Caturday but it is still Caturday nonetheless. I’ve had a really busy day, been out for most of it, running errands and whatnot. But we did call in at Aston-on-Trent Well-Dressings to have a look round and, while we were there, we bumped into this extremely friendly chap!

Detailed Floral Thinlits dies

A really simple and classy project today... no, you haven’t come to the wrong blog! It uses the Detailed Floral Thinlits dies and very little else. But really, what else do you need when the die does all the hard work for you?

Stampin’ Up!® recommends that you use the Precision Plate with your Big Shot for this die, and I’ve had a few people ask me about that. My advice is this: try it first. We used this without the Precision Plate and it was a bit of a pain, but we discovered that if we ran it through the Big Shot twice, it made life a lot easier. It’s easier with the Die Brush, too. And so worth it, I think you’ll agree.

Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies [141482] £26.00	Number Of Years Photopolymer Stamp Set [140653] £24.00	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock [141419] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25
Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] £6.00	Dapper Denim 3/8" (1 Cm) Ruched Ribbon [141424] £7.25	Big Shot Die Brush [140603] £10.00

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