Wednesday 101- Stamping Basics

Faux Finish- Antique cracked glass

This is a fun way to add age to your project.

For this project I used a two-step stamp from a retired Stampin' Up! set. First I stamped the background stamp with Delightful Dijon In-Color ink. I inked up the stamp, stamped it on a piece of scratch paper and then stamped it on my Very Vanilla card stock. I wanted the color without the full intensity.

Next, I stamped the lady bug with Chocolate Chip Classic ink and then punched it out with the retired Stampin' Up! 'stamp' punch.

The next step is to ink the piece with VersaMark ink, add Ultra Thick Embossing powder (UTE) and melt it with a heat tool. I repeated the process 3 times to get a little thicker glaze on the piece.

Then you need to put it in your freezer until it gets real cold...maybe 10 minutes, it doesn't take too long. As soon as you pull it out quickly bend it so that the embossing powder cracks. If you don't like the way it cracked you can reheat it and repeat the cooling and cracking. You might even need to do more layers of UTE to make it crack more.

Finally, I used the Delightful Dijon pad directly on the top of the cracked UTE. Then I wiped it off with a tissue. It left ink in the cracks. This step is optional but I liked the effect for this piece. It's a bug in amber! ☺

Sea Street Postcard

I wanted to make a quick postcard to send out so I grabbed the Sea Street set that was still sitting on my desk and created this quick postcard.

I used Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, and Melon Mambo ink pads. I also used Marina Mist, Melon Mambo and Pool Party Stampin' Write markers to color the school of fish.

On the back side I used the Stampin' Up! postcard (now retired).

When I create postcards to send in the mail I spray an art fixative on the front and back to set the ink. Both the printer ink and the Classic Stampin' inks will run if they get wet and you never know what kind of weather the mail will be subject to.

Sometimes I use clear contact paper on the front and back of postcards after I have completed the stamping and writing of my message. That will make a postcard stronger and help it last a little longer.

Thanks for looking!
Trude