Hello friends, It’s Ceal, here. Today I am sharing a project using our inks along with the BetterPress machine. I love how well VersaFine Clair inks work with this machine. They are so crisp! I do have the inks that are made for the BetterPress, but in my opinion, the VersaFine Clair inks work so much better.
Skill Level: Intermediate Time: 1 to 1.5 hours
Directions:
Step 1: Place a panel of letterpress cardstock on the platen (clear top plate) using the registration marks for an A2 card and tape down the corners.
Letterpress cardstock is 100% cotton cardstock with a thickness to it.
Step 2: Place the BetterPress plate on the magnetic platform where you would like using the registration marks for an A2 card and ink up with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink.
Step 3: Place the platen (clear top plate) on the chase (magnetic platform) using the magnets to line it up. Run it through the die cutting machine
Step 4: Using ink refills and a brush, paint or color the image. I used Pink and yellow, and blended the two together to achieve an orange. I didn’t have a green ink refill so I smushed the VersaFine Clair Verdant ink pad on my palette and picked it up with my brush.
Step 5: Cut down the front panel to 4 X 5.25 and adhere to a 4.25 X 11 card base with Tear-It! Tape.
The sentiment I added is also a BetterPress plate and you would use the same steps as the floral bouquet.
When it comes to coloring with alcohol markers, the ink you use to stamp your images becomes very important. Choosing the right ink will ensure that the image lines stay sharp without bleeding into each other. My personal choice is the Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad. A light beige color like Desert Sand could be a great choice as well for no-line coloring.
Skill: Intermediate Time: 1 hour
Step 1: Stamp some floral and leaves images with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I love the Happiness Abounds set from Stampin’ Up; the roses are so elegant and the perfect sizes to create a floral wreath. Then color the images with your choice of alcohol markers. I used Stampin Blends in Pale Papaya, Soft Seafoam, and Old Olive.
Step 2: Die cut the colored images with Blossoming Happiness dies and arrange them in a circle. Then adhere them to the card base. I used Tear-It Tape to adhere the leaves in the background, and used Stampin’ Dimensionals to create layers and depth for the flowers.
Step 3: For the sentiment, I chose a simple circle to tie in this elegant design. The fonts for these stamps are just so pretty! I always grab VersaFine Clair Nocturne to stamp my sentiments; the lines are so crisp and dark, and they’ll never look splotchy! Don’t use them with alcohol markers though, the pigment ink will react with alcohol inks.
Coloring takes time, but it’s such a relaxing experience… I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I do.
Hello! This is Alison Heikkila. My second video for Imagine this month once again focus on dies and how to use them creatively with inks. We’re making a pretty floral encouragement card, and I hope it gives you some ideas on how to use your dies and inks together.
*Some affiliate links are used in this post. That means that if you shop through these links, I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you.
Skill Level: Intermediate Time to Complete: 20-30 minutes
I hope this inspires you to make stamps out of your dies. And don’t forget to try double-dipping into embossing powder! The effect is so pretty. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!
Let’s make a cheerfully bright and fun birthday card with a stamp, two stencils, and lots of ink!
Skill Level: Intermediate Time: 1.5 hour
Step 1: Use magnets to secure a piece of white Bristol paper to the base of a stamping platform.
Use Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink to stamp the bird stamp from the “I’m Fine” image twice — once onto the image panel and once onto repositionable sticker paper. Heat set the stamped image panel.
Step 2: Fussy-cut the sticker paper version and place it onto the image panel as a mask.
Step 3: Use low-tack tape to secure the Sunshine Small Stencil onto the stencil so that the “sun” is over the bird’s face. Use a Sponge Dauber to apply Love Letters Memento ink over the mask and masked image onto the image panel (3A).
Use a separate Sponge Dauber for each color to apply Tangelo, Dandelion, Bamboo Leaves, Bahama Blue, Danube Blue, Lilac Posies, and Grape Jelly Memento inks in rainbow order (ROYGBIV) counter-clockwise over the stencil onto the image panel (3B). Not all stenciling is shown. Remove stencil.
Step 4: Use low-tack tape to secure the Confetti Stencil over the image panel. Use a Sponge Dauber to apply Silvery Shimmer Delicata ink over the stencil and masked image onto the top left and bottom right of the image panel (3A).
Use a separate Sponge Dauber to apply Golden Glitz Delicata ink over the stencil and masked image onto the top right and bottom left of the image panel (3B).
Remove the stencil and heat set the image panel. Set aside.
Step 5: Secure a piece of black cardstock to the base of a stamping platform. Place the “You’re the best” sentiment from the Whatcha Saying? Clear Stamp Set, the “Happy Birthday”, “Celebrate”, and “Happy Birthday” sentiments from the Classic Sentiments Clear Stamp Sets facedown on the black cardstock.
Press the platform’s lid onto the back of the stamps, lift the platform, ink the stamps with the VersaMark Dazzle ink, and stamp. Remove the black panel from the stamping platform.
Step 6: Sprinkle White MBoss Powder onto the stamped sentiments, slide the the excess powder back into the bag, and heat set the sentiment.
Step 7: Use cutting dies to die-cut the sentiments. Trim the left side of the “celebrate” flag and the right side of the “happy birthday” flag. Use Silvery Shimmer Delicata ink to edge the trimmed sides. Heat set the ink. Put the sentiment die-cuts aside.
Step 8: Use watercolor markers to color the bird’s eyes and beak. Use a white gel pen to add highlights to the eyes and beak. (No photo, sorry!)
Step 9: Trim the image panel to 3.75” x 5”. Use a Sponge Dauber to edge the top left and bottom right with Silvery Shimmer Delicata ink (9A).
Use a separate Sponge Dauber to edge the top right and bottom left with Golden Glitz Delicata ink (9B).
Step 10: Use Tear It! Tape to adhere the image panel to a black panel cut to 4” x 5.25” and to adhere the matted image panel to a white A2 card.
Use Use Tear It! Tape to adhere the sentiments to finish the card.
Hello! It’s Alison Heikkila. Let’s play with Memento Inks today! I have a bunch of fun ways you can use them to enhance your die cuts. Plus, I’ll explain some ways to use patterned paper with die cuts and inks as well. You can use any dies you have for these techniques, so I encourage you to experiment and play!
*Some affiliate links are used in this post. That means that if you shop through these links, I may receive a small compensation, at no cost to you. For more information, please see my Affiliates page, where I also have some coupon codes.
Skill Level: Intermediate Time to Complete: 60-75 minutes
Small dies like this can be a little fiddly, but it’s so fun to alter them with color and paper. I hope you enjoy trying some of these ideas! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!
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