Stamped Sunshine: Create a Coastal Summer Card with VersaFine Clair

By Ceal Pritchett

Hello crafty friends. It’s Ceal, here.  Today I am sharing a beachy card using some summer colors. When I think beach, I think lighthouses because the beach we go to has one on it.

Skill level: Intermediate to advanced
Time: An hour or more

Directions:

Gather your supplies. You will need a beach themed stamp, stencil and dies. Several colors of inks. Post-it notes or masking paper and a fine liner pen.

Step 1:

Die cut the postage stamp panel. This must be cut first with this particular set because you line up the stitched lines.

Step 2:

Place the stencil over the panel, lining up the stitched part, I circled it so you could see what I am referencing. Mask off other areas of the card so you don’t get ink on it. Ink blend green ink for the grass.  Remove and clean the stencil

Step 3:

Mask off the grass and ink blend blue for the ocean. Remove and clean the stencil.

Step 4:

Mask off the ocean. Ink blend brown for the sand, remove and clean the stencil.

Step 5:

Mask off the bottom portion of the stencil. Ink blend Yellow for the sun rays. Remove and clean the stencil.

Step 6:

Ink blend red for the lighthouse. Remove and clean the stencil.

Step 7:

Be sure to mask off portions of the card that may get inky. Place the stencil down where the sun is in the white space that was left after blending the sunrays. Ink blend orange in the circle and also at the base of the sunrays. Remove and clean the stencil.

Step 8: (optional)

This step s totally optional but I like the way it grounds the lighthouse. Place stencil back over the lighthouse and use a fine liner pen to trace the stripes.

Step 9:

Stamp the greeting in blue and the 25 cents in black.  Not pictured in this photo but you will need to die cut the flower and add it to the corner as shown in the finished card.

Craft Supplies:

Imagine Products

VersaFine Clair:
Strawberry, Summertime, Cheerful, Grass Green, Blue Belle, Bali Blue, Sand Dune and Nocturne

Other products

Seaside Post Stamp set – Concord & 9th
Seaside Stencil – Concord & 9th
Seaside dies – Concord & 9th
Fine Liner Pen

Watercolor with Sheer Shimmer Spray to Create an Elegant Wedding Card

By Jessica Lin

Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. I am so excited to share a wedding card idea with you today. We will be creating a romantic wedding scene by watercoloring some images. If you like adding shimmer and sparkles to your card, be sure to keep reading to find out how you can watercolor with the Sheer Shimmer Sprays!

Step 1:
The focal point of today’s card is the bride and groom images from Stampin’ Up’s Here’s to Love set. I stamped the images on watercolor cardstock with VersaFine Clair Morning Mist ink. Most of the time the VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink is my go-to for stamping image outlines. However, I wanted to create a softer look today, and I thought this dark gray color is a great alternative to the usual crisp, black ink. I also did a little bit of masking on the bride’s right arm, so that the groom’s suit outline does not overlay on top.

Step 2:
Now it is time to add some color. I wanted to try watercoloring with the Sheer Shimmer Spray to add some additional sparkle, since the card layout is quite simple. There are several metallic options to choose from for the Sheer Shimmer Sprays. I chose the color Sparkle, which is clear with a golden shimmer. I painted the bride’s dress with 2-3 coats, letting each coat dry before applying the next layer. For the groom’s suit, I mixed the spray with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. (What a coincidence with the ink’s name, ha!)

Step 3:
Then I stamped the floral images from Stampin’ Up’s Happiness Abounds set using the same gray ink. I mixed Memento Summer Sky ink with Sheer Shimmer Spray to color the base layer of the flowers, and added shadows with Paris Dusk. This color combination is so lovely and the perfect dusky blue for a wedding palette. The Imagine Craft Mat is also a great tool for mixing colors. Since the Memento inks are water-based, I can apply the ink directly onto the craft mat and clean the surface with a quick water rinse at the end.

Step 4:
The leaves were colored with Memento New Sprout and Bamboo Leaves ink. I hope you can see the shimmer from the spray a little better in this picture. It is hard to capture the fine sparkle on camera, but the shimmering effect is truly mesmerizing in person.

Step 5:
I also splattered some white acrylic paint droplets to add additional textures to the colored images.

Step 6:
Now we are ready to die cut the images. The coordinating Blossoming Happiness dies are compatible with the Mini Stampin’ Cut and Emboss Machine.

Step 7:
Finally, I stamped the “congratulations” sentiment with Delicata Silvery Shimmer ink. It complements the gray image outlines nicely and also adds a subtle shine to the project.

You might have noticed that I paired my stamping tool with Altenew’s SlimGrip Sticky Mat now. This Sitcky Mat is a game changer and I love how easy it is to line up narrow sentiment strips.

Here is the final card once I assembled all of the elements. You can recreate this layout with any floral stamps that you may have. I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial and the tips and tricks about watercoloring with Sheer Shimmer Sprays!

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • Stampin’ Up! – Stamps – Here’s to Love, Happiness Abounds
  • Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Blossoming Happiness
  • Stampin’ Up! – Tool – Mini Stampin Cut & Emboss Machine
  • Foam Tape
  • Watercolor cardstock

Wedding Day Blessings Card with VersaFine Clair

By Katy Ingram

Hello Friends! Katy here with another project for you. Today’s card features a wedding day theme, but as always you can use this design for what ever you need! In fact, I used it for a sympathy card when I first designed it.

In todays video I share how I used detail blending brushes to create a peach blend on some Lily florals using VersaFine Clair in Summertime and Charming Pink. I also add a bit of shimmer using Sheer Shimmer Stix Dauber in Frost. Check out the video below for all the details.

Skill: Intermediate, Advanced
Time: 30 minutes

Art Supplies

Imagine Products

VersaFine Clair – Cheerful
VersaFine Clair – Warm Breeze
VersaFine Clair -Summertime
VersaFine Clair – Charming Pink
VersaFine Clair – Spruce
VersaFine Clair – Grass Green
VersaFine Clair- Rainforest
VersaFine Clair – Morning Mist
VersaFine Clair – Nocturne
VersaFine Clair- Pinecone
Brilliance Moonlight White
BrushStix
Sheer Shimmer Stick Dauber – Frost
Tear It! Tape

Other Products Used

Affiiate links below at no additional cost to you.
Thank you for your support

The Greetery Botanicut Lily
The Greetery Ruscus Die
Honey Bee Stamps Vintage Labels
Hero Arts Script Background Stamp
Spellbinders 3D Tufted Embossing Folder
Simon Says Stamp Sea Glass Cardstock
100 lb White Cardstock
Craft Foam
Altenew StampWheel

Elegant Card for a Wedding or Engagement

By Ceal Pritchett

Hello crafty friends!
It’s Ceal, here. Today I am sharing how to create a simple but elegant wedding card. 

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Time: 45 Minutes

Directions:

Gather your supplies. You will need a stamp set with a floral image and wedding sentiments. An A2 sized die and some wedding themed dies, a stamp positioner and a shimmer ink pad.

Step 1:
Using a Misti or stamp positioner and a grip mat place the cardstock panel in the center. Place the floral stamp on the corner of the panel and ink with shimmer ink (I used Delicata Silvery Shimmer) stamp, you may have to stamp more than once to get a clean image. Turn your paper, no need to move the stamp thanks to the Misti and ink it up and stamp again on the other corner. This ink is a pigment ink therefore it takes a little longer to dry, you can speed that up by heat setting it.

Step 2:
Cut the panel with the die keeping both pieces. Also cut out the wedding themed dies.

Step 3:
Place the card base in the corner of the Misti and then glue the borer of your die cut pieces down first. I always place it in the corner of the Misti, this helps me line it up.

Step 4:
Add the main die cut piece using foam tape to give it dimension.
Tip: after adding the foam adhesive to the panel also add some liquid glue, this allows you to move the panel to get it in place.

Stamp the greeting on a strip of paper and cut it out. Add all of the elements to the card.

Carft Supplies:

Imagine Products:
VersaFine Clair – Chianti
Delicata – Silvery Shimmer
On Point Glue

Other Products:
Scrapbook & Cards Today – Celebrations Delivered Stamps/Dies

3D Stenciling Technique | Whimsical Father’s Day Card

By Tracy Fear

Hello Friends! Tracy here and today I am excited to share this fun and quirky little Father’s Day card created with a family funny bone element!

In today’s video tutorial I am sharing how to get dimensional effects out of your lettering stencils and how to create background noise using our #8 Stippling Brush and our Brushstix along with some of our most popular inks!

Tracy

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1 hour

Directions:

Art Supplies

Imagine Products

Other Products Used

  • Chunky Alphabet Stencil by Vaessen Creative
  • Guinea Pig and Fly stamps by Vaessen Creative
  • Cricut Black Fine Line Pen
  • Sticky Paper
  • Accent Opaque 120lb Cardstock
  • Blue Card Base
  • Stencil Brush
  • Blending Brush
  • Sticky Pad
  • PVA Adhesive

ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE USED TO RECREATE SOMETHING SIMILAR

  • Any Pigment Inks
  • Any Dye-based Inks

To learn how to make this silly Father’s Day Card, click here!

Comparing VersaFine Clair Inks – Brown & Earthy Shades 

By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner
Time: 30 minutes

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Today’s project is inspired by the Pantone color of this year – Mocha Mousse. It is such a warm, rich shade that is perfect for a coffee card! I decided to compare the different brown and earthy tones in the VersaFine Clair ink line as well. There are many options to choose from, and each is special on its own.

Step 1:
Today I will be using an acrylic stamp set from iCrafter. It is called Latte Coffee and has several sets of coffee cup images. Since the image outlines are superfine, I chose VersaFine Clair inks to stamp with to ensure crisp, clean images. I typically stamp the outline images with Nocturne (the black color of this ink line). However, when I was experimenting with the colors, I found that Fallen Leaves is a great alternative. The dark brown color adds more warmth than black and complements the other earthy tones well. I love VersaFine Clair inks and use them very regularly, but Fallen Leaves was probably the one I reach for the least. I think I will start using it to stamp outline images from now on!

Step 2:
I used Sand Dune to stamp the first latte art image. This is one of the newer VersaFine Clair colors. I am really happy that they added a lighter earth shade to this collection.

Step 3:
For the second latte art stamp, I used Pinecone. This is also a rich, dark brown color. It is just a bit lighter than Fallen Leaves.

Step 4:
I used Acorn for the bottom coffee image with the swirl. It is a great middle-tone that completes the brown color gradient.

Step 5:
Today’s card is simple and beginner-friendly with easy layered stamping. However, you could also add a little flair by embossing the front panel of the card base. Embossing folders are easy to use and add such a great wow factor to your project. The one I am using today is called Brick & Mortar. I think it reminds me of the walls of a cute coffee shop!

Step 6:
Finally, I stamped this super cute sentiment with Sand Dune, and that completes today’s coffee card!

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • iCrafter – Stamps – Latte Coffee
  • Stampin’ Up! – Embossing Folder – Brick & Mortar
  • Foam Tape