Simple Thanks

I’m home from OnStage, and I had to play with at least one new stamp set. I think I have four from the upcoming Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-bration Brochure, and one that’s a “demonstrator only” set that we got at Center Stage.

One of the key points of OnStage this time was #simplestamping. Sometimes, we demonstrators forget that not all of our customers have a craft room full of supplies that they’ve collected for years. Beginning stampers and busy crafters can get overwhelmed with “over the top” projects.

You may remember, the week before I left for OnStage, I also focused on simple and quick cards. How crazy is that? I had no idea that would be a focus in Orlando. But simple stamping takes the pressure off when you don’t have a lot of time. How many times have I heard, “I wanted to make a card, but I was so busy, I just bought one.”

Well – no more excuses. This one took about five minutes and that included cutting the cardstock. I don’t think it totally qualifies for the #simplestamping challenge. We’re supposed to use note cards (or one layer) and one color ink and a stamp set or two. I used three colors of Classic Stampin’ Ink and Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, so it’s not quite a “beginner” card.

I loved the Humming Along Stamp Set when I saw it, because – flowers. I tend to gravitate to flower sets. There’s also a hummingbird in this set, and Mom loves hummingbirds, so I tend to buy those as well.

This is pretty simple. First, dab a bit of Mango Melody Classic Ink on the center of an acrylic stamp block “E.” Then add a little Garden Green to the bottom and Rich Razzleberry to the top. Spritz the stamp with water using a Stampin’ Spritzer and lay a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Whisper White Cardstock over the block. Lift it up, and you have a beautiful background. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I think it looks better when there are some white spaces and a dribble or two.

After the cardstock dries, stamp the flower and sentiment in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Then add it to a Whisper White card base. Of course, Thick Whisper White gives a nice sturdy card base, but I always forget and use the regular Whisper White. It works fine for me, though. I used Stampin’ Dimensionals to add it to the base, but you can use plain adhesive.

One reason I like this background technique is it covers a lot of errors. If you look closely, you’ll see a few “shadows” of black ink on the card – by the blossom and by the leaf. We learned at OnStage that you should tape your cardstock down when you’re doing anything with water. That’s a very good tip, and would that I had followed it.

I wanted my flower to be very dark since I had some dark inks in the background, so I used my Stamparatus so I could stamp it several times until it was dark enough to suit me. I did not use any Washi Tape. My cardstock moved just a smidge in my Stamparatus, and I didn’t notice until my plate had already touched the card. I noticed the blossom “oops” right away, but it took awhile to notice the leaf. It kind of looks like it’s a second leaf hiding behind it, don’t you think?

Anyway – I thought about covering the blossom smudge, but decided to leave it. Because if I were a beginning stamper, I’d like to know that this background does cover up  mistakes. Or, at least, it camouflages them a bit.

This set will be available in the 2019 Occasions Catalog in January. Demonstrators will be able to preorder it in December (so join my team for this fabulous perk!). Humming Along also has a coordinating set of Hummingbird Framelits Dies. Of course, Stampin’ Up! always gives us sets that have coordinating punches or dies. They know we’ll want the rest of the bundle when we can order it. They’re sneaky that way!

I’ll be showing a few new products now and then until January, but I mostly want to focus on the Holiday and Annual catalogs. I love seeing and showing new products, but I don’t want to frustrate you by showing you things you can’t order! You can use this background, though, with any colors (even a single color) and any line art stamp!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

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