Coloring Darling Donkeys With Stampin’ Blends

Sale-A-Bration Stamp Sets Are Here!

Are you ready to color some Darling Donkeys with Stampin’ Blends, like I did for these adorable cards? The Darling Donkeys Stamp Set is a Sale-A-Bration freebie, and one not to be missed!

Cards made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set and colored with Stampin' Blends.

I love that one of the best times of the Stampin’ Up! year is here! It is time to Sale-A-Brate, and between now and February 28, 2021, your purchase of Stampin’ Up! products earn you a FREE item(s).

Question: What’s the big deal, you may think, everyone has the ability to earn free product any time of the year. What makes Sale-A-Bration special?

Answer: During Sale-A-Bration (or SAB), a minimum order of $50 earns you a free product from the select offerings. During the rest of the year, you would need an order totaling $150 before you earn something for FREE.

Quick and Easy Cards

Card made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set in Seaside Spray, and colored with Stampin' Blends.
I colored each donkey’s inner ears and muzzle with the Light Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blend.

My time is extra short right now, and I need to make quick and easy cards. With the Darling Donkeys Stamp Set and Stampin’ Blends, I was able to do just that, and made 3 different cards in under an hour.

First, I stamped the 3 donkeys from the Darling Donkey Stamp Set using Memento Black Ink on White Cardstock. If there were more images, I would have kept stamping, these donkeys are so cute!

The Darling Donkey Stamp Set

I could have easily left the stamped images as plain rectangle shapes, but decided to die-cut them with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies instead. This adds another sweetness to the Darling Donkeys!

Stitched So Sweetly Dies
I used the second to the largest rectangle die for my cards.

Just Add Color, With Stampin’ Blends

Card made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set in Terra-Cotta Tile, and colored with Stampin' Blends.
On this card, I used Stampin’ Blends in Dark Calypso Coral and Light Old Olive for the flower and stem.

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of coloring. I like to keep it simple. The Stampin’ Blends really brought out the artist in me for these Darling Donkeys. And I didn’t need every color in the spectrum to create these colorful donkeys.

Memento Black Ink and Stampin' Blends used to color the Darling Donkeys.
Minimal supplies and minimal efforts is my motto when it comes to coloring.

I started coloring the outlines along the Darling Donkey stamped images with the Dark Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blend. Next, I blended in some Light Smoky Slate, leaving blank space in the middle of each donkey. I filled in that space with the Light Crumb Cake, and added more of this color to each donkey’s face. This creates lots of depth and highlights with little effort!

More Color Choices

As card-maker artists, color choice is important. But to be honest, I was in a hurry when I created these cards. So I based my color selection off of what was sitting on my desk at the time…the 2019-2021 In Color Designer Series Paper.

2019-2021 In Color Designer Series Paper
These colors are retiring in a few short months! Get yours before they are gone for good.

Sometimes laziness pays off, and these color choices worked great for my Darling Donkey Cards. From the 5 available colors in this collection, I chose Terra-Cotta Tile, Pretty Peacock and Seaside Spray. I thought the wood-grain style design worked best with my donkey cards.

These soon-to-be retired colors represented my card bases and the designer series paper. I also used like colored ink to add a little tone on tone stamping on my card base, as seen with the small asterisk or star or flower stamp (however you like to interoperate it!).

Card made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set in Pretty Peacock, and colored with Stampin' Blends.

Creating Drama With Paper Scraps

My stamped and colored Darling Donkeys would look pretty plain without a fun background to kick around on. Stripes are super popular right now, and using paper scraps is not only economical, but fun!

I used a 3 x 4″ piece of Gray Granite Cardstock, and adhered 3/4″ strips of Crumb Cake and White Cardstock to it. I made sure that no matter which direction (horizontal or vertical) this piece worked for my card, that the stripes were horizontal in direction. Just personal choice, really.

Crumb Cake and Gray Granite Cardstock
When making the stripes for my card, I relied on small paper scraps on hand, stored separately in my craft room.

So Darling!

I hope that I have inspired you to create some Darling Donkey cards! They were quick and easy, and turned out so stinking cute. The reality is, you could substitute any stamped image for the donkeys and have just as much fun, with great results.

Make sure you stop by my online store while Sale-A-Bration continues to scoop up this great Darling Donkeys Stamp Set. Whether you use it for birthday cards, get well cards or thinking of you cards, it will make a sweet addition to your crafting projects.

Cards made with Darling Donkeys Stamp Set and colored with Stampin' Blends
Who could pick a favorite?

To see another blog post that showcases the use of Stampin’ Blends, click here. Looking for great Stampin’ Blends organization tips? Check out this blog post! Get ready to color your world!

Introducing New 2021 Stamping Products

January-June Mini Catalog

Wishing you a New Year filled with health, happiness, and creativity!

Personally, my creative heart feels like it’s truly a New Year on January 5th, when the new January-June Mini Catalog and Sale-a-Bration make their happy debut. I love getting my hands on new stamping supplies!

The January-June Mini Catalog is blooming with everything you’ll want for your Spring holidays and occasions from Valentine’s Day on through to Father’s Day. There are so many great suites to check out.

Don’t wait to plan a catalog party or event, you’ll want to get your hands on the fun new stamps and accessories right away! Whether we gather in person or online, crafty fun is always in store.

Sale-a-Bration

Sale-a-Bration is our most popular sale. You’ll love the bonus goodies you receive when you shop, host, or join. This year, the first Sale-A-Bration runs January 5th thru February 28th. As always, the products offered will only be available until the end of the sale.

** SHOP **

Choose exclusive reward stamp sets or other items with each qualifying purchase of $50. There are 3 lovely paper packs to choose from, or 4 different stamp sets, with your qualifying order. Buy more and earn more for free!

For example, if you spend $100, the rewards are even greater! You can choose from A Touch Of Ink Stamp Set, or the Berry Blessings Stamp Set with Berry Delightful Designer Series Paper.

** HOST **

Place your own order or host a virtual party with friends and you can earn a bonus Host Exclusive stamp set that coordinates with 3 popular punches! The Punch Party Stamp Set (FREE to qualifying hosts) could be yours in addition to all the other host benefits you earn!

**JOIN**

Choose your custom selection of $125 USD of Stampin’ Up! products for only $99 and get free shipping! Plus, you’ll receive an exclusive gift – an assortment of five 6″ x 6″ stacks of our newest Designer Series Paper. Sale-A-Bration is a great time to join the Stampin’ Up! family.

Just ask me for more details on becoming a demonstrator and earning your own personal discount on great stamping products. These offers end on February 28, 2021.

Holiday Catalog Retiring List

2020 Giant Year-End Closeout

Stampin’ Up! is kicking off Christmas a little early this year with their Giant Year-End Closeout event. From 8 December 2020–4 January 2021, you can grab your favorite retiring August–December 2020 Mini Catalog items at a deep discount. This offer is valid while supplies last only.

To see the complete retiring list, click here. The retiring list will show you the discounted sale prices. Who doesn’t love a good sale?

To see a list of carry-over items, click here. Keep in mind, some carry-over items may no longer be offered as a bundle, with the bundled 10% savings of the product’s premiere price.

Hop over to my online store to get your supplies while they are still available. By shopping early, you will have the best selection to choose from. Don’t miss getting your 2020 wish list fulfilled!