Art Gallery with Soft Pastels

Welcome back, Stamping Friends! I am happy to say that I am almost ready for Christmas! My cards have been mailed, 99% of the gifts are bought, and I have most of the food I need for dinner. I still have a few things to pick up, but mostly, I am more ready than I ever have been this close to Christmas.

I watched a technique class using the Stampin’ Up!® Soft Pastels (chalk) the other day. Most of the techniques were not new to me, but it was good to be reminded of them! Here’s what I did with them when I was playing today.

To create this card, I started with the background. Using the “spatula” tip on my Take Your Pick Tool, I shaved some Mango Melody, Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana, and Granny Apple Green chalk over Basic White Cardstock, then carefully spritzed it with 91% rubbing alcohol. The spray blows some of the chalk dust off the paper; next time I may try spritzing first.

Next, I stamped stamped the two flower blossoms, the full flower, and two stems from the Art Gallery Stamp Set using Versamark on Basic White Cardstock. I shaved more Mango Melody and Granny Apple Green, and a little Poppy Parade into a palette (aka a Pringles Potato Chip lid), then picked up each color with a Sponge Dauber. I dabbed color on each image (this was the hardest part; it’s hard to tell what you’re dabbing!). when I was finished, I sprayed them with cheap hair spray to fix the chalk, then die-cut them after they were dry. This Versamark/Chalk technique is called Poppin’ Pastels.

Going back to the background, it wasn’t dry yet, so I used my heat tool to speed it up. Cautionary note: Heat from the back of the card stock. Some places where the chalk was a little thicker chipped off while I was heating it. I sprayed this with hairspray as well, just to set the chalk. You can use a sealant for this, but the hairspray (aerosol, not pump) is only $1.00 and works fine.

I diecut the flowers with the coordinating Floral Gallery Dies and added them to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals. For fun, I stamped and die-cut one of the honeybee images from the Honeybee Home Stamp Set that is in the January-June Mini Catalog. It will be available January 4, 2022. I added the chalked panel to a Poppy Parade card base.

By the way, you can bundle the Art Gallery Stamp Set and Floral Gallery Dies can be bundled to save 10%. (You’ll also be able to bundle the Honeybee set and dies, but not until January 4!)

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

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