We Might as well Dance!

Happy Friday! I just looked at my calendar for tomorrow and I have absolutely nothing on it. That makes me happy. I do have lots to do – some practicing for church on Sunday and choir on Tuesday, tons of stamping, a webinar to catch up on, and some marketing to do – but I don’t have to leave the house. How exciting is that? I love staying at home and getting things done, don’t you?

At our local Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator gathering last week, our Make & Take hostess, Kathy Atherton, showed us this super cool technique. It involves paint, string, and card stock. First, I’ll show you my card.

To create the blue background, Kathy poured some paint (this is blue kids’ paint) on a paper plate, then cut a length of string about 22″-24″ (I’d go with 24″ and I’ll explain). Next, leave about a 6″ piece of string in your hand and dip the rest into the paint. Make sure it’s really covered. Use a craft stick to scrape some of the paint off so the string isn’t dripping with paint; you just want to be sure the string is covered with paint but not super soupy.

You’ll need a 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ piece of Whisper White or Very Vanilla Cardstock, folded at 4-1/2″ to create a card base. Open the card, then carefully make an “S” with the string (not a fat S. That was my downfall; the S should be kind of skinny. And that’s why I needed a longer piece of string), then make a little loop at the end. Make sure the part that isn’t covered with paint is long enough to keep in your hand. NOTE: Once you put the string down, you cannot pick it up again. That’s part of the creative fun.

Now, close the card. Hold the card closed with one hand and pull the string out of the card with the other. If you pull fast, the string will fly a bit when it’s free, so stand back. (We learned this quickly.) Open the card and you’ll have two backgrounds to use.

Let the paint dry, then cut each piece at 3-3/4″ x 5″. I took Kathy’s idea and stamped the dancing lady from Beautiful You in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. I colored her dress with Blackberry Bliss Stampin’ Blends, her hat with Purple Posy Stampin’ Blends, and her skin with Petal Pink Stampin’ Blends. Then I stamped the sentiment using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

Isn’t this fun? I’m going to play with a few other “string positions” to see if it’s cool or a hot mess. Here are a couple other ideas.

• You can use Classic Stampin’ Ink Refills for this technique, but I think it would take a lot of refill.
• Mix White Acrylic Paint with Classic Stampin’ Ink Refills to get colors that will coordinate with our other products.

Play around with this idea and see what you come up with. It’s super fun, especially because you can’t control the outcome. The older I get, the less I want to control things; it’s just fun to see what happens. (Oh, Susan and Jackie, I’m sorry if I just gave you hives.) I love this card, because it looks like she’s dancing into the waves. That may not be the smartest move- especially with a hat and a dress. She could lose the hat, and I hope she has a swim suit or leggings under the dress, or that’s she’s on a deserted beach. Just sayin’. I never want to be caught with my dress over my head and seaweed in my teeth – but it does look like she’s having fun.

I added my stamped/background image to a 4″ x 5-1/4″ Basic Black Cardstock layer, then to a Whisper White card base.

Don’t forget all the amazing Sale-a-bration benefits. From now through March 31, you can enjoy –

Customers (and demonstrators) – Free Products! For every $50 you spend, you can select a Level 1 product from the Sale-a-bration brochure. Spend $100 and select two Level 1 products or one Level 2 product. Spend $150 and select one Level 2 and one Level 1, or three Level 1. And …. well, you can do the math.

Hosts – With a $300 minimum Sale-a-bration party, you will earn a minimum of 12% of your party sales in product of your choice, plus you’ll earn the Little Ladybug Stamp Set free! (And dies for these stamps will be available to purchase in February!

Join My Team during Sale-a-bration and you’ll get $125 in product of your choice for $99. PLUS you’ll get the Mini Paper Cutter and Designer Series Paper Sampler free. But wait – there’s even more! You can add a stamp set of your choice to your Starter Kit. All this is only $99 plus tax (no shipping). This is the best time to join my awesome team of demonstrators!

Thank you, Kathy, for the amazing technique instruction and Make & Take!

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

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