Blending Brushes - The Maine Stamper

Wonderful Thoughts Card Class

July 11, 2023

Wonderful Thoughts Card Class

Wonderful Thoughts Bundle By Stampin’ Up!

Welcome to your Wonderful Thoughts Card Class! This week, I am using the Wonderful Thoughts Bundle by Stampin’ Up!. This bundle is a brand new release in the 2023-2024 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. I will be sharing these wonderful cards and giving you how-to assemble tips during my live cardmaking class on Monday, July 10, at 8pm EST on The Maine Stamper FaceBook page.

Did you know that when you purchase a bundle, you automatically save 10%? When in doubt, buy the bundle. Nothing is more irritating than buying just the stamps or just the punch (or dies) and going back later to purchase the other half of the bundle.

Want to see another card class featuring some bright and fun colors with items in the 2023-2024 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog? Click here.

The Wonderful Thoughts Bundle

The Wonderful Thoughts Bundle by Stampin’ Up! features the Wonderful Thoughts Stamp Set and the Wonderful Thoughts Dies. As mentioned earlier, by ordering the bundle (both stamp and punch together, (item #161494) you will save 10%.

Now, you don’t have to buy the bundle! You could purchase just the Wonderful Thoughts Stamp Set (item #161899) and have 14 meaningful phrases to use on your projects at any time. The dies are specific in shape to trim each sentiment (and more!), so purchasing just the Wonderful Thoughts Dies (item #161491) probably isn’t in your best interest.

Masking For Beautiful Backgrounds

This week our Card Class is also a Technique Class! We are exploring ways to use both the Masking Paper (item # 155480), and the Decorative Masks, Artistic Mix (item #159178).

There are a lot of ways to use either or both of these amazing products to create beautiful art in your creations. For this class, I am focusing on colorful assorted Ink Pads and Blending Brushes. When you create your cards at home, choose any color combos that you love!

Live Card Making Class On Monday

Every Monday at 8pm EST, I am live with your weekly card making class on my FaceBook page, The Maine Stamper. I create 3 beautiful cards and share tips and techniques along the way. This class serves as your tutorial when you receive your FREE card kits in the mail and need to put them together.

Yes, FREE. You will receive 2 each of 3 card designs (for a total of 6 card kits!) when you place an order of $35+ (before tax and shipping) in my online stamping store using Host Code HMUHPWHN thru July 14, 2023. I will mail the card kits on the Monday following the live class.

Want more details about what is in these kits? Check my blog post here for more info.

Get A Bonus Gift For FREE Too!

When you bump your order to $50 (before tax and shipping), I will send you the card kits AND a FREE Embellishment, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, just like I used on my cards. You will have plenty left over to use on your projects for days to come.

These adhesive backed embellishments are the “Little Black Dress” of gems. They go with everything!

Your Card Class From ME Awaits

I hope you enjoy the Wonderful Thoughts Card Class with my FaceBook Live Event on Monday, July 10 at 8pm EST. Please join me to see how easy it is to put your card kits together. If you miss the live, catch the replay on FaceBook or my YouTube Channel, The Maine Stamper.

I look forward to getting your weekly card kits from Maine in the mail to you. And I know you will be looking forward to receiving them and creating gorgeous works of paper crafted art!

Circle Sayings Warm Hello Card

May 2, 2023

Circle Sayings Card Class, Card 1

Circle Sayings Warm Hello Card

My Weekly Card Class From ME happens to showcase a pretty basic feature: circles. Our focus this week is the Circle Sayings Bundle by Stampin’ Up!. Need more info on this class? Click here.

It is no secret that I love circle punches. In fact, I have a large collection of them. For my first card in this series, Circle Sayings Warm Hello, I was so excited to play with a brand new circle punch, the 2-3/8″ one!

A Warm Hello To Boho Blue

This first card in my Weekly Card Class From ME also features a brand new color: Boho Blue. This is just 1 of 5 of the 2023-2025 In Colors by Stampin’ Up!. This beautiful blue is found in the Countryside Inn DSP collection. Shop for this paper pack here!

These trendy In Colors (IN for just 2 years and replaced by something even more IN vogue) are something to take note of. And this gorgeous blue does not disappoint! When compared to Balmy Blue, another soft core color, Boho takes on a periwinkle hue, looking slightly more purple. I am in love.

Sunshine and Blue Skies

I love that the stamps in the Circle Sayings Stamp Set feature sentiments and images. And I used both on my 2-3/8″ Circle Punch for my card. While I stamped most of these images in another new In Color, Wild Wheat, I also added some ink with Blending Brushes to do some quick and easy coloring (my favorite kind!).

While playing with color options as I designed my card, I tried 2 different color sets. The one on the left has Daffodil Delight and Balmy Blue, with the Small Blending Brushes. The one on the right (which is used on my card) has Lemon Lolly and Boho Blue, using the regular sized Blending Brushes. Check out the ink on these blending brushes for huge differences in tones!

Get Your Dainty Delight Card Class From ME

This Circle Sayings Warm Hello Card is just one card in my featured class this week. If you would like to see the video from my online class, click this link. For more details on what is in this week’s class from Maine and how to get yours, click here.

I will be sharing more cards from the Circle Sayings Card Class, as well as my bonus cards, as this week goes on. Be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook, for more cardmaking inspiration and ideas.

Dainty Delight Celebrate You Card

April 18, 2023

Dainty Delight Card Class, Card 1

Dainty Delight Celebrate You Card

My Weekly Card Class From ME happens to showcase some dainty and delightful flowers. Our focus this week is the Dainty Delight Bundle by Stampin’ Up!. Need more info on this class? Click here.

While Spring in Maine is being a bit fickle, one can dream of the delightful flowers that will be appearing soon as the seasons change. For my first card in this series, Dainty Delight Celebrate You, I am really in the spring-like mood! Read on to see how this card design came into being.

Fresh Freesia and Soft Seafoam

When you start with pretty colors, like Fresh Freesia and Soft Seafoam, it is so easy to make a pretty card! In fact, I had just recently played with these colors together and I was eager to pull them back out.

Fresh Freesia

I started by heat embossing the sentiment “celebrate you” from the Dainty Delight Stamp Set in White Embossing Powder on my Fresh Freesia die cut oval.

Next, I added additional Fresh Freesia Ink with my Small Blending Brush, right over the embossed words. By leaving part of my oval un-sponged, I was able to create a beautiful combination of purple tones.

Soft Seafoam

The Soft Seafoam color in this card plays a secondary, or supporting, role. I die cut the curved leafy frond with the Dainty Delight Dies on Soft Seafoam Cardstock. The natural curve of this die cut follows the outline of my oval perfectly.

Get Your Dainty Delight Card Class From ME

This Dainty Delight Celebrate You Card is just one card in my featured class this week. If you would like to see the video from my online class, click this link. For more details on what is in this week’s class from Maine and how to get yours, click here.

I will be sharing more cards from the Dainty Delight Card Class, as well as my bonus cards, as this week goes on. Be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook, for more cardmaking inspiration and ideas.

Gnome With Heart Card

January 25, 2023

Friendly Gnomes Card Class, Card 2

As my Friendly Gnomes Card Class continues, I am working with the gnome with a heart from the Friendly Gnomes Stamp Set. Did you miss the first card from my Gnomes Class? Click here to see it!

We are approaching Valentine’s Day, and hearts are on all of our minds right now.

But, I didn’t want this to be a red, pink or purple card…well, maybe a little purple. Instead of the traditional Valentine colors, I chose a different color palette altogether for my Friendly Gnomes card.

Brick Background

I love adding an embossed piece to the background of my card fronts. Embossing folders, like the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder I used on this Friendly Gnomes card, are an inexpensive way to add texture.

And, when you highlight the highs and lows left on the paper after embossing it with some ink, the most magical thing happens! Your card is now 100% unique. Even if you tried, you would not be able to add the same ink coverage on another card layer.

Watch my live demo for a comparison of the Large Blending Brushes and the brand new Small Blending Brushes! Get your 3 pack in my online store.

DESIGNER TIP: Use different color cardstock and ink to create a palette of bricks: White CS with Poppy Parade Ink; White CS with Sahara Sand Ink; Real Red CS with Cherry Cobbler Ink; or other combos in grays, reds, browns or more!

Butterfly Kisses Designer Series Paper

While I was looking for the perfect patterns to use on my Friendly Gnome cards, I knew I wanted bright and fun prints with flowers, hearts and butterflies. Perfect companions to friendly gnomes, wouldn’t you agree?

And the Butterfly Kisses Designer Series Paper was just what I needed! The splash of Calypso Coral flowers helped me draw on the color for my card base and brick embossed layer. And those adorable purple flowers in Fresh Freesia look a little like the purple hearts that I put on my card.

Speaking of hearts, there are even some built into the designer paper in the Butterfly Kisses pack. I chose one of those patterns for the Stylish Shapes stitched square die my gnome is placed on. Make sure you pay attention to this small print so you adhere it to your card front with the hearts going in the right direction.

A Gnome With Heart

This little gnome may be my favorite from the 3 different gnomes in the Friendly Gnome Stamp Set. Maybe it is his small stature (he is the shortest!), or the fact that his hat completely covers his face, other than his gnome nose! Perhaps it is that this gnome is holding a heart…

Regardless of his cuteness, this friendly gnome needed a little color after I die cut him using the coordinating Gnomes Dies. Just like the first card in my Friendly Gnomes Card Class, I pulled Stampin’ Blends in colors that complimented my cardstock and designer series paper.

Here is the color palette I used for my gnome:

HAT: Daffodil Delight (Light and Dark)

SKIN: SU 800

BEARD: SU 400

HEART: Fresh Freesia (Light and Dark)

SLEEVES/PANTS: Light Old Olive

SHOES: Dark Old Olive

Get Your Friendly Gnomes Card Class From ME

This is just one card in my featured class this week. If you would like to see the video from my online class, click this link . For more details on what is in this week’s class from Maine and how to get yours, click here.

I will be sharing more cards from the Friendly Gnomes Card Class, as well as my alternate cards and bonus cards, as this week goes on. Be sure to check back here or follow me, The Maine Stamper, on FaceBook for even more card making inspiration.

Peaceful Cabin In Pale Papaya

November 30, 2021

In Color: Pale Papaya, Part III

What a wonderful long color journey this has been! As I have explored the new 2021-2023 In Colors with you, we have covered 5 gorgeous colors over 5 months. And now we are down to the end…

This last In Color, Pale Papaya, is one I have struggled with. But I have to say, this card using the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set in Pale Papaya, Old Olive and Balmy Blue is my favorite! I did not intend to save the best for last, but you can be the judge of that.

Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set

The Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set is just that. You have a cabin scene, some pine trees, a wooden fence and more. There are also 5 lovely sentiments, and all but one can be used year round. Because my chosen colors are not winter themed, I down-played the snowy scene aspect and made a card that spans different seasons.

I began by stamping the cabin stamp from the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set in Early Espresso Ink onto Basic White Cardstock. You can see that the imagery here is lovely as is, or can be colored in to suit your needs.

Stamping the cabin stamp from Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set

Next, I stamped the same image onto a Post-It note. I made sure the top of the image was stamped along a sticky edge. Then, I cut this out with my Paper Snips, creating a “mask”.

Creating a cabin stamp mask with a Post-it note

And with my newly made mask, I covered over my original stamped cabin. This way, I could stamp my pine tree stamps from the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set behind the cabin. I stamped the trees multiple times in Old Olive Ink to get good coverage, overlapping them slightly.

MAsking a stamped image to stamp another image behind it.

The Colors of a Peaceful Cabin Card

My pine trees needed a little more green after I was finished stamping them. I used a Blender Pen to shade more Old Olive Ink to fill them in. The majority of the color, Old Olive, comes from my pine trees on this card.

Using a Blender Pen to shade in the pine trees from the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set

I decided to add background color for this card by way of Water Painters. One of my favorite methods is to use ink refill drops on clear acrylic blocks and adding water. I find that wetting the paper slightly with water before adding the ink color mix provides a great medium.

Creating a background with Water Painters and Ink Refill

When I was happy with background, I tore the top and bottom of the paper to create an interesting edge. Next, I used Blending Brushes to add Balmy Blue Ink to the top, and Old Olive Ink along the bottom.

Applying ink to the cardstock edges with Blending Brushes

Sentiments And Such

As I mentioned earlier, the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set has some great sentiments in it. I chose the words “for you” for my card. After I inked up the stamp in Early Espresso Ink, I used it on a small scrap of Very Vanilla Cardstock. I then mounted my sentiment onto a scrap of Old Olive Cardstock and cut one side at an angle with my Paper Snips.

Using the sentiment "for you" from the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set

Embellishments in a very specific color can be hard to come by…unless you make your own color! I did just that with the Elegant Faceted Gems. I added some color to the clear gems, using my Dark Pool Party Stamping Blend. Now, I know this card features Balmy Blue, but that shade was so light I needed something slightly darker. In the end, the color is still very opaque, and quite beautiful!

A little twine makes this card divine! I relied on the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack (5 colors to choose from!). Because I am adding Very Vanilla to my card front, I chose the corresponding color twine. I wrapped it around my Peaceful Cabin scene and made a small knot in the front.

Creating a Peaceful Cabin Card

Pale Papaya is the main focus color for this card, so I created my card base using Pale Papaya Cardstock. To bring in more Balmy Blue, I chose a pattern from the Subtles Designer Series Assortments. Likewise, I added more Pale Papaya color using matching sized squares of 2021-2023 In Color Designer Series Paper. You can see that I layered my squares on Very Vanilla Cardstock.

My Peaceful Cabin Card front layers were so easy to assemble! Much of them went down flat, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

Assembled front layers of the Peaceful Cabin Card

I did add Stampin’ Dimensionals under my sentiment piece. I chose the mini version on purpose. In this way I could make sure my Baker’s Twine remained in between the dimensionals, so there was no issues with interference.

Adding the sentiment with Stampin' Dimensionals

The last thing I added to my card front was the pretty blue bling I created. I used my Take Your Pick Tool to lift the self-adhesive beauties onto my card. In symmetry, I used 3 smaller sized gems along the top, then 3 larger size gems along the bottom.

Adding Elegant Faceted Gems with the Take Your Pick Tool

My 2021-2023 In Color Tour

I hope you have enjoyed spending some time getting to know the new 2021-2023 In Colors with me! Each month we covered a different color and some coordinating combinations. And 1 out of 3 cards for every new In Color was a Christmas card. If you would like to see the Pale Papaya Christmas card, click here.

As always, products for the cards I create are available in my online stamping store. I showcased the Peaceful Cabin Stamp Set, but did you know there are also coordinating dies? The Cabin Dies and a Die Cutting Machine will help you cut the stamped images nicely, and the Peaceful Cabin Bundle will also save you 10%. I encourage you to check out any sales or specials when you shop…earn yourself some amazing deals. Your creativity is worth it!