Happy Congratulations - Brayer card

Here is a Brayer card using the new Happy Congratulations stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog. This stamp set has only 4 images - the string of paper lanterns, the lantern and the two sentiments. I love the string of paper lanterns and the font of the congratulations, but I especially love the sentiment may happiness be your destination.

For this card I started with a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock. I inked up a Brayer with Daffodil Delight ink by rolling it repeatedly across the Daffodil Delight ink pad, picking it up at the end and starting over at the front of the pad to load it evenly with ink. (NOT rolling it back and forth.) Then starting at one corner of the Whisper White cardstock, I rolled the Brayer back and forth laying Daffodil Delight ink heavily on the very tip of the cardstock and then rolling toward the center just a little. I repeated this for the opposite corner, leaving a large area of white in the center of the cardstock. Then using a different Brayer (or after cleaning the first one) I did the same thing with the Brayer and Melon Mambo ink. Finally, I used the same Brayer and added a little Rich Razzleberry ink to the very tip at each of the Melon Mambo corners to darken them a bit more.

Then I stamped the string of lanterns in Rich Razzleberry ink across the top and lower corners, filling them with a variety of bright paper lanterns. The sentiment Congratulations is stamped in Rich Razzleberry ink and Heat Embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. Be sure to use your Embossing Buddy before stamping anything you want to emboss or you will have Embossing Powder all over. I covered the paper lanterns with Crystal Effects and set that aside to dry. Finally, I added the happiness sentiment banner with an anchor of Daffodil Delight Rolled Flower. These Rolled Flowers use the Sticky Rounds, with twisted and wrapped Daffodil Delight Seam Binding.

Recipe:
Stamps: Happy Congratulations
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Clear EP, Crystal Effects, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Sticky Rounds





My Stampin' Events
Current Stampin' Up! Promotions

Mary Rindal is an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Ombre Brayer Technique with Water Stamping

I played with my Brayer today creating some Ombre card fronts in Rich Razzleberry and Night of Navy. I love the richness of these two colors and they blend so beautifully. I also added the Water Stamping Technique.
 
Water Stamping is a technique that gives a gorgeous embossed appearance. It works best with line images, not with solid images.

For this snowflake card, I combined a Resist Technique with the Ombre Brayer and Water Stamping technique.

For the Celebrate card, I used an Ombre Brayer front, added Water Stamping and a Clear Embossed Simply Clay flower, first colored with a Rich Razzleberry Marker.

Here is a close-up of the Water Stamping effect and a close-up of the Clear Embossed Clay Flower. I use white Simply Clay molded flowers/buttons and then color them with Markers and finish them by dipping the colored flower in VersaMark ink and then into Clear Embossing Powder. A quick shot of the Heat Gun melts the Clear EP and the final product is a beautiful, coordinated embellishment.

To create the snowflake card, I first stamped some of the images from Snowflake Soiree in VersaMark ink and Heat Embossed them with Clear Embossing Powder. This creates a "resist" for the brayered ink later. Then I added Rich Razzleberry ink with the Brayer and then Night of Navy ink. The key to having smooth Ombre effect is to start the freshly inked Brayer off or near the edge of the cardstock and to roll it repeatedly, moving away from the edge. Keep adding more ink and roll, roll, roll. Be sure to leave some areas of the cardstock lighter to create the dark to light effect. I wiped the embossed images with a tissue to remove the ink and pop the images.

Finally, for the Water Stamping step, I spritzed the En Francais background stamp several times with water, then stamped it over the inked background piece. Put some pressure on it and then let it sit for at least 15 - 20 seconds. Really. As in walk away from it, rinse your brayer and put away some card scraps. Leaving the water stamp on the inked background gives it a chance to become saturated and will give a much brighter contrast. I did the same three steps for the inside of the card, just along the left edge.

For both cards, I carried the Ombre and Water Stamping to the inside liners. For the Celebrate sentiment, I inked the word stamp with Rich Rizzleberry ink and then carefully inked the end of the word on the Night of Navy pad.  I did the same dual toned inking for the Birthday Wishes sentiment on the inside.

{Inside}
Recipe:
Stamps: Chalk Talk, Snowflake Soiree
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink: VersaMark, Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Chalk Talk Framelits, Clear Embossing Powder, Midnight Muse Stitched Satin Ribbon, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Pretty Prints TIEF

{Inside}
Recipe:
Stamps: Bring On the Cake, Seasonal Sayings
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy
Accessories: Simply Clay and molds, Clear EP, White Baker's Twine








My Stampin' Events
Current Stampin' Up! Promotions

Mary Rindal is an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in Greenwood Village, Colorado.