When I discovered a sample card in the Stampin’ Up! January-June 2022 Mini Catalog, I just had to recreate it. There it was, nestled on the page displaying the Happy Hedgehogs Stamp Set and Hedgehog Builder Punch. Such a sweet card, even though it was hedgehog free.
The plaid paper in the background was just beautiful. My first instinct was to search every pack of designer series paper to find that perfect plaid design. But I quickly discovered it wasn’t designer paper at all. In fact, it was a plaid design made from a technique!
Plaid Watercolor Background
Now that I knew what technique I was trying to learn how to do, I needed someone to show me how to do it. Of course, I turned to YouTube. And searched. And searched.
It turns out, not everything is on YouTube. I finally found the general idea and decided to just go for it. Paper and ink and inspiration…what more does a crafter really need?
Preparing A WaterColor Ink Wash
Every time I watercolor, I am reaching for a few basic things:
Water Painters. Stampin’ Up! sells them in a 3 pack, with different size brush heads.
An Acrylic Block. Useful for more than holding stamps for stamping.
Ink refills. You can use an ink pad too, but the refill drops go farther for use.
Of course, you may have heard that to watercolor with such a wet technique, you need special paper. Like the Fluid Watercolor Paper or Shimmery White Cardstock. While these papers are great at absorbing all the extra liquid this technique brings, you can use regular white cardstock, like I did!
Simple Stamping, Simple Watercoloring
I was able to put these cards together very quickly. The flower tree stamp and sentiment are both from the Happy Hedgehogs Stamp Set. I used Memento Black Ink for each, with more watercoloring along the branch, leaves and flowers.
The beautiful part about the front focal piece is that it covers just enough of the plaid background’s potential imperfections. So don’t let your fears of wobbly crooked lines stop you from trying this! I share lots of pointers and tips you may find useful in my how to video.
Create Some Plaid Backgrounds For Your Cards!
As you can see, the possibilities are endless when making plaid backgrounds with a watercolor wash. Because this technique is so unique, it is impossible for 2 cards to look the same. And as crafters of homemade cards, isn’t that what we are looking for…our personal spin on something everyone can do?
If you are missing out on the Happy Hedgehogs, don’t despair. Those adorable critters do have a scene in my video. And I am sure I will be playing with them again soon.
The Happy Hedgehogs Bundle
The Happy Hedgehogs Bundle includes both the stamp set and punch. By purchasing the bundle, you save 10% automatically until June 30, 2022. After that, the stamp set and punch will be sold separately, without the discount.
Looking for this or any of the other products I used for my project? Shop my online store anytime! I appreciate your business very much. Happy crafting!
It’s time for some sweet conversations! As the winter days move along, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It is the perfect time to have that sweet conversation to let someone know you care.
Stamping and chocolate are two of my favorite things! You will find that these adorable Hershey Kiss holders are quick and easy to make. Plus, they are fun to give away. Whether you are filling a basket for a grab and go, or hand-delivering each one, your recipient will feel your love.
The Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper is the perfect collection of pinks, reds and purples for my project. But lets not stop at traditional colors! So Saffron, Granny Apple Green and Pool Party are featured too. Two of the sheets contain heart images that you can die-cut with the Sweet Heart Dies (or fussy cut if you do not have the dies or a die cutting machine). And this collection of paper works well for a decorative kiss holder too.
Kiss Holder Bliss
These Hershey Kiss holders are tiny treasures made from scraps of paper. For each base, I cut a 1 x 4″ piece of cardstock in colors of my choice, using my Paper Trimmer. Next, I scored each cardstock strip at 1″, 2″ and 3″,using the scoring blade on my Paper Trimmer. Lastly, I added Tombow Mulitpurpose Liquid Glue to one of the 1″ end pieces, and secured my holder into a triangle shape.
*Designer Tip: If you are using glue, hold and press the end pieces together for a short time while the glue partially sets. You can also use Mini Glue Dots or Tear & Tape instead.
From here, you simply decorate your kiss holder. Insert a Hershey Kiss (they will fit snugly, but that’s okay since you don’t want it to fall out accidentally), and gift away! But let’s take a look at some decorating options next…
Start With The Bases
The heart of our kiss holders is the base. While it is true that the base measurement will remain consistent (see above if you missed that part), we can certainly change up our base appearance.
Embossing Folders
For the most basic base, use plain cardstock. Let the decorative piece you add to the front be the star of the show. But also consider embossing your cardstock for added flair. Creating texture adds an entirely new dimension to your kiss holder.
When you emboss your kiss holders, consider the image size of your chosen embossing folder. Because the holder is essentially a collection of 1″ squares, you will want to use folders that leave smaller sized impressions. I used Star Crossed Embossing Folder (retired), Meadow Moments Embossing Folder and Checks & Dots Embossing Folder.
For a visual check, hold a 1 x 1″ piece of paper against your embossing folder. Whatever you see in that square is what will be seen on each side of the kiss holder. If you are happy with it, emboss away!
*Designer Tip: If you are embossing your cardstock, wait to score it after the embossing is complete. If you emboss it first the score lines will diminish, making if difficult to find the proper scoring location.
Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper I
Earlier I mentioned the amazing Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper. Consider using pretty pattern paper as your kiss holder base. Patterns always add great interest and variety, and they will work well for our kiss holder bases too. Keep in mind that DSP is a lighter weight paper than cardstock, and will tear easier. Score lightly to avoid ripped pieces.
Just like the embossing folder pattern, be careful choosing the design for your kiss holder. Again, consider how each 1″ square will look. I find it is better to use smaller, closer together patterns rather than larger or farther apart patterns. Below, the pattern on the left would not work well. The pattern on the right is perfect!
*Designer Tip: When cutting your designer series paper for the kiss holders, watch for orientation. You will want to see your pattern running down the 4″ length from top to bottom as pictured below.
Add Decorative Accents
The really fun part about creating these Hershey Kiss holders is adding on decorative accents. There are so many options to choose from. If you are crafting with kids and want to keep it simple, think about using store-bought stickers on plain cardstock bases.
If you are an avid crafter, get crafty! You may want to place 3-D items like mini layered flowers, buttons with ribbons or large gems onto your base. For my project, I focused on the universal symbol of love…hearts.
Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper, II
Sometimes, Stampin’ Up! designs paper that coordinates with their dies, which means you can skip the step of stamping and just die cut an awesome image. With the Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper, this is possible too. There are several different sizes of heart images (for the different sizes of dies in the Sweet Hearts Dies), so you need to line up your die to find the right image to cut with your die cutting machine.
*Designer Tip: To prep your chosen heart for die cutting, use your Paper Snips to cut into the designer series paper around the hearts you aren’t using yet. That way you will be able to use the other full hearts in the future. Don’t have a die cutting machine or dies? You can fussy cut the hearts with your Paper Snips too!
Stamping With White Cardstock
Similar to the look of the Sweet Talk Designer Series Paper, you can make your own hearts by stamping. I used the Sweet Conversations Stamp Set and a 2-step stamping technique for my hearts. Beginning with scraps of White Cardstock, I first stamped the words and outline in a darker ink color. Next, I stamped the filler heart in a lighter color.
*Designer Tip: Stamp the outline image first. It is so much easier to add the filler color as step 2. These stamps are designed to not line up exactly perfect, which makes it easier for beginner stampers.
Stamping With Color Cardstock
Maybe you are looking for more colorful hearts? Simply repeat the stamping steps from above but instead of using White Cardstock, replace it with solid color cardstock. For my color cardstock, I selected the lighter version of my chosen colors, in this case Pool Party, Blushing Bride and Highland Heather.
*Designer Tip: When using color cardstock, it is not necessary to add the filler color. I have examples of filled and unfilled hearts above, which do you prefer?
Once your bases are assembled and your decor pieces are finished, it is time to put them together. For my project, I only decorated one side (the front), but you could double your accents and decorate the back side too! Again, the combinations of possibilities are only limited to your imagination.
Here is a look at the finished Hershey Kiss holders using my hearts stamped on color cardstock with embossed cardstock bases in So Saffron, Pool Party and Highland Heather:
It Started With A Kiss…
Wouldn’t you agree that these sweet kiss holders are just the sweetest? If you need any of the products that I used in today’s project, pop over to my online store. (You will have to buy your Hershey Kisses elsewhere though!)
*Designer Tip: If you love chocolate as much as I do, purchase your Hershey Kisses in bulk. They somehow disappear during the creativity process!
Keep this project idea in mind for other occasions besides Valentine’s Day. A sweet treat turns any ordinary day into an extraordinary day, especially when home-made love is involved. Enjoy!
It may be mid-January, but perhaps you have honeybees and springtime on your mind. I was so excited to use the Honeybee Home Bundle in my Make It Monday demonstration. If you would like to watch the step-by-step making-of video for this sweet-as-honey card, here is the link.
The Honeybee Home Bundle is new to the January-June 2022 Mini Catalog by Stampin’ Up!. When you purchase the bundle, you automatically save 10%. But if you prefer, you can order the stamp set or dies as separate items. Let’s take a look at them!
Honeybee Home Stamp Set
The Honeybee Home Stamp Set is a red rubber cling variety. There are 12 stamps, with 3 of the images as uniquely styled honeybees. This set also has 3 different styles of flowers for our lucky bees to visit. And the 6 sentiments have sweet scripty font and lovely things to say. Can you imagine the variety of colors you would use to make beautiful flowers using this stamp set?
Honeybee Blooms Dies
The Honeybee Blooms Dies coordinate perfectly with the Honeybee Home Stamp Set. You will be able to die cut each unique stamped honeybee with your die cutting machine. And of course, there is a die for each flower stamp image. In addition, you will receive 3 dies that cut silhouette flowers and greens (these dies do not coordinate with stamps). This die set boasts 9 total dies.
The embossed effect is subtle. If you add some ink with a sponge or Blending Brush, you will highlight the raised portions of paper. For the cards I completed using this technique, I used the Basic Patterns Decorative Masks, but any mask will work. To see additional ways to use decorative masks, click here.
Coloring With Blender Pens
Another technique used on this card was the one I colored my stamped flowers and honeybee with: Blender Pens. After stamping my images using Memento Black Ink, I added color to the images using my ink pads with blender pens. Now, I didn’t just grab ink from the foam pad itself…that would be a very dark ink application of color.
Instead, I squeezed my ink pad while it was in the closed position to get some ink to transfer from the foam side to the plastic cover opposite it. This is harder than it seems, but very necessary to get a good ink coloring application.
If you are having trouble getting the ink to transfer from one side to the next, try re-inking your ink pad. A juicy pad will share ink more readily. After successfully transferring ink, use the back of a plastic spoon to push the excess refill into the foam pad.
Bumblebee or Fresh Freesia?
One thing that I love to do is make an exact copy of my card in another color scheme. The original design called for Bumblebee Cardstock. But to mix it up, I pulled out some Fresh Freesia Cardstock and started over once filming was complete. Did you miss the cardmaking video how-to link? Click here to watch.
Notice that I used different masks on each card! A new color always brings fresh perspective…and in this case it brought Fresh Freesia as well. Which color scheme do you prefer? For more card ideas using Fresh Freesia, click here.
Your Honeybee Home Bundle
If you love these cards and need the supplies to create them, now is a great time to check out my online store. Sale-A-Bration is happening! With a qualifying order of the Honeybee Home Bundle (and an add-on item like the Playing With Patterns Resin Dots used on these cards), your order will qualify you for a FREE Sale-A-Bration selection. That’s right… a stamp set, some paper…you decide what your freebie will be.
But hurry, Sale-A-Bration ends on February 28, 2022. Don’t miss out on this honey of a sweet offer. You will soon be creating bee-utiful cards of your own!
