Welcome to this month’s edition of the Ink & Inspiration Blog Hop. You are currently visiting Joanne Cantrell from a tiny little town in Southern Illinois smack dab in the middle of the United States. I hope you enjoy what you see here.

Our theme for this month is Technique Savvy. That means we will focus techniques you can use to bring new life into your stamping! Some of the techniques may be familiar to you and some may be new. Just taken them for a spin and have fun!

The technique I am going to show you is called JOSEPH’S COAT. I am pretty sure it gets it’s name from the colorful coat the Joseph’s father gave him in the Bible story. This coat was the envy of Joseph’s brothers because it was just one more way the Jesse showed favor toward his favorite son. So, I am hoping you can use it to show favor to the luck recipients of the cards you make using it!

First of all… Let’s see the whole card!

Isn’t that beautiful! And, can you believe that it started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock!

Let’s see the steps I used to get to this finished product!

First thing you have to do is decide what stamp set and color scheme you are going to use. I love the large dragonfly form the DRAGONFLY DREAMS Photopolymer Stamp Set (1429224). I thought it would be perfect to let the background shine through the beautiful detailing. Now, as for the underlying background… can’t really go wrong with blues – so I chose Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay, and Pool Party.

I sponged the entire layer with a light coating of Pool Party. Then I added spots of Bermuda Bay and topped it off with a little Pacific Point. I added more Pool Party where needed then a little more of the Bermuda Bay and Pacific Point. It’s all about the layering of colors. It would have been easy enough to stop there… that is a beautiful background for a crisp black dragonfly! But… keep on going – you won’t be disappointed!

Do not skip this step… it is more important then you may think. You have just layered up tons of ink on this piece of cardstock. If you proceed straight to applying the embossing powder, it will be all over the layer. You need to use your heat tool to completely dry the layer. And, I mean COMPLETELY DRY! I learned this the hard way!

For a little added security, be sure to tap your Embossing Buddy across the entire layer. This will help insure the powder sticks only where you want it to!

ow, ink up your dragonfly with your VERSAMARK ink by lightly tapping the stamp onto the ink pad – or the ink pad onto the stamp… which ever way you prefer… I use both directions! Then carefully stamp the image onto the layer. Be careful not to let the stamp slide. The VersaMark will make it a bit slippery. Hold the stamp there for a few seconds then carefully lift away.

Cover the layer – especially the image – with CLEAR EMBOSSING POWDER. tap off any extra. Inspect the layer for any stray pieces of powder. Sometimes it has a mind of it’s own and likes to wander all over. I use a tiny paint brush to clear off any stragglers.

Use your Heat Tool to melt the embossing powder. It will turn shiny when it is melted. Be careful not to burn it.

Now, you are ready for the next step. This is going to be scary – but it is okay. Just plunge on in and get to it! The result is worth the pain! LOL

Use black ink – I used MEMENTO – and start sponging it over the entire layer. Yes, I did sneak the sentiment on there. I couldn’t think of how to add it and not detract from the dragonfly… so why not emboss it too!

When you can’t really go any further, flip it over and start from the other end. Keep inking until it is all completely covered.

The ink will not cover the embossing but it won’t dry on it either, so you want to be sure to rub a dry cloth or paper towel over those areas to get the ink off of them. You may not think you need to, but you will see a difference once you do… I promise!

You will want to use the heat tool again to dry that black ink. If not, you will get it on your fingers and then on everything you pick up including your phone while you are trying to photograph your project! But, you will get in on whatever layers you will be working with next and that may not be desirable! (Again, lesson learned the hard way!)

When I say that I learned the hard way about the drying of the underlying layer… here is what I ended with. So, I dried the blue layer a little, stamped my image and embossed it. The powder stuck to most of the layer… so I wiped it off and dried it really good. I thought it would dry that VersaMark well enough that the powder wouldn’t stick to it… Nope… It did. There was no way to wipe it all off those wings. So, I kept going. It really added a bit of movement to it, but in the end, I decided just to try it again – and add the sentiment too!

Here’s the completed card once again. I added a Bermuda Bay Layer and a little Pool Party Shimmer Ribbon.

A close up of the finished layer…

But wait – there’s more!

Did you know that you don’t just have to use black ink to cover it up. As long as the top layer of ink is significantly darker, it will cover up all the colors under it. It may not cover them up as well as the black, but it will add a little movement to the layer as the underlying colors will add a little shadowing. Here are two other cards I made using this technique.

I used a variety of inks for the humming bird. Lemon Lime Twist, Melan Mambo, Crushed Curry, and Bermuda Bay, I think. I used Blackberry Bliss as my top color. Then I added the sentiment.

Here is a close up on the bird. Can you see what I mean about those stray pieces of embossing powder. If you don’t get them all, they will melt and add splattering to the image. But, here is the thing… This is a handmade card. A card made with love. It was never meant to be perfect!

Oh – and I did another one too.

A perfect purple octopus!

He was created using Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape and Blackberry Bliss. I used Pacific Point to cover it up but then I realized that the DSP used Night of Navy, so I went over with a layer of that. It didn’t make much of a difference. Behind the sentiment layer is part of the octopus layer that was cut off.

Well, that is my technique for you today. hopefully you will use it for everything! I know it is one I will use a little more often!

Well, hop along now!

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Happy Anniversary to my fellow Stamper’s Dozen Bloggers!

And, to you visitors… Welcome to this month’s installment of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop.  You are currently visiting Joanne Cantrell in a small town at the very bottom of Illinois smack dab in the middle of the United States!

This month we are celebrating five years of inspiring projects! While I have only been a part of this fabulous group of Stampers for about a year, I am so excited to celebrate. Any excuse for a party really!

So, with that in mind… here is what I have come up with for you!!!

I decided to do a One Sheet Wonder. This is where you take one sheet of Designer Series Paper and you cut it up and use the various pieces on a bunch of cards.

Here is the template I used. It is a 6″ x 6″ template that was originally posted by Debbie Henderson (I think).

I decided to use the beautiful Gingham Gala Designer Series Paper (#148554) in the Occasions catalog. In fact, most everything I used was from that Gingham Gala Suite which can be found on pages 34-35 in the new 2019 Occasions Catalog.

I stuck with just two colors – Highland Heather and Whisper White – for the ink and the cardstock.

Here I added a bit of the 1/8″ Sheer Ribbon in Whisper White. All the images and sentiments are from the Butterfly Gala stamp set (#148580).

Don’t recognize that purple ribbon? All I did was use a sponge dauber to color the Whisper White 5/8″ Flax Ribbon (#148764) that is part of the suite.

Those little flowers are from the Gingham Gala Adhesive-backed Sequins (#148564) and of course, the butterflies are punched out using the new Butterfly Duet Punch (#148523).

I also used two different embossing folders for the backgrounds. The new Dot to Dot folder (#148533) in the Occasions catalog one and the Layered Leaves folder (#143704) from the Annual Catalog.

Well, that is all the celebrating I have for you today. Hop on over to see what everyone else is tempting you with this month!

Stamper’s Dozen February 2019 Blog Hop

1. Patty Chenail – Stamp-Patty’s – Stampin’ In My Flops
2. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
3. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
4. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
5. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping
6. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
7. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
8. Jodi Reinert – Stamp with Jodi
9. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
10. BJ Peters – StampinBJ

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to the Ink & Inspiration Blog Hop. You are currently visiting Joanne Cantrell from a tiny little town in Southern Illinois smack dab in the middle of the United States. I hope you enjoy my cards.

Our theme this month is Love Is In the Air.  That means that everything you see as you hop around will be Valentine-y… Not all red and pink hearts, but somehow will express the idea of LOVE! And may I just add… you will LOVE all the projects you see!!!

I have decided to go a bit non-traditional with my lovey-dovey cards and used a bit more masculine color palette.

I know! These colors do not scream Valentine’s Day. But, on top of these non-traditional colors, I also used stamp sets that are not typically used for Valentine’s Day cards but have great sentiments perfect to be used for expressing love! I’m such a rebel! LOL

Here are the cards I offer you for this month…

Definitely not your typical love cards but so manly… Let’s take a closer look at each of these cards.

This card features a sentiment and images from the ENJOY LIFE stamp set (148190). While it is masculine, at the same time it is also feminine and can be used to send a note to your mom or best friend… maybe even your mother-in-law!

I stamped the grass and weeds – are they weeds or are they flowers? Maybe flowering weeds? – using Soft Suede ink. The butterfly and sentiment are stamped in Mossy Meadow. The wooden butterflies are from the set of Butterfly Elements (149711) in the SALE-A-BRATION brochure and you can get them for FREE with a $50 order.

I didn’t want to just add a bow or lines of the Linen Thread because I feel I do that all the time. And, the card didn’t seem to need a blob of the thread… so I did a little curly-que down the side of the Soft Suede layer.

I ran a line of SNAIL down on edge and then just twisted the thread and pushed into the SNAIL. I didn’t have a long enough piece so I cut some more, then some more again. 🙂

The next card I made is a cute little one!

This card uses the Animal Outing Stamp Set (146597/146600). It is perfect for the man in your life as well as for a kiddo you happen to love to the moon and back!

The Mossy Meadow background layer was embossed using the Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (143704). I added some Linen Thread (it’s a favorite of mine – can you tell!) and a few leaves using the Leaf Punch (144667).

I stamped the Kangaroo and the sentiment at the same time using Soft Suede ink. I used the Dark and Light Crumb Cake Blends to color him in. The heart was cut out of a small scrap of Real Red cardstock using the heart die from the Wood Create Framelits (143730). To make the pouch, I placed the layer on top of my piercing pad and used my open snips (please be careful doing this) to cut a slit about 1/4″ below the koala.

And flannel-ly, here is the last card…

I know I am not the only one loving this Buffalo Check background stamp. I am so exited that is it has carried over from the 2018 Holiday Catalog.

The sentiment is from Petal Palette stamp set (145785/145788). Probably not the set at the top of your list for a masculine card, huh!?! I love taking sets and twisting them up a bit!

For a card that looks so simple, there is a little bit going on.

I used the Pocket Framelits to cut out the pocket and tab. The buttons come from the very masculine True Gentleman suite. The only thing that I should have done but didn’t realize it until it was too late was stamp the pocket with the stitches from the Pocketful of Sunshine stamp set. I think it would have made it pop just a little bit more. And, I probably would have made sure the lined squares were going in the right direction before I cut the pocket out. But, hey… there is always next time!

Since, I am in such a loving mood… how about a tutorial for this card?

Well, that’s it from me today. Keep on hopping through the blogs to see more LOVE-ly projects!

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

This is the card…

I originally created it for the December Ink & Inspiration blog hop a couple weeks ago, so you may have seen it already. It’s nothing new.

But, when I created it, I had in mind to do a bit more then just photograph it and put in on the blog.

Here is a video that shows how the card was made…

Now, after watching that video… you probably want an easy way to download the supplies and measurements. Well, here is the card recipe!

Just a few things that I have been working on for you. Keep an eye out because more things are coming down the line.

And, this is just the first of many videos… So, I am looking for any feedback you have to offer me.

Thanks!

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to this month’s installment of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop.  You are currently visiting Joanne Cantrell in a small town at the very bottom of Illinois smack dab in the middle of the United States!

Our theme this month is all about the just released SALE-A-BRATION mini catalog. Everything in this catalog is FREE. For every $50 or $100 you order, you can get an item FREE! How awesome is that!

I am not sure if you noticed it, but this spring, Stampin’ Up! is all about the butterflies. I just love it. I think they did a really great job with that. I am seeing them everywhere, so I think it’s perfect that Stampin Up! is on trend, as always.

But…

This post is not about the butterflies. It’s about a secret hidden gem that you may overlook.

I am talking about the Part of My Story stamp set on page 14 in the Sale-a-Bration catalog. You can get it for FREE with any $50 order. Isn’t that just great.

This set is all about words. There are no graphics… just sentiments. I love the combination of the serif and script fonts. The sentiments are perfect for the Thinking of You type cards that we all make.

So, without further ado…

My inspiration for this card came from a card that Mary Fish created with pink buffalo check. I think it would be a perfect valentine card for the man in your life. Sure, it channels your inner lumber-jack… but that’s what makes it look so neat. Very clean, very simple…

I used a Crumb Cake base with a 5-3/8″ x 4-1/8″ Basic Black layer. Then, I stamped the Buffalo Check background stamp (147797/147794) in Memento Ink on a 5-1/4″ x 4″ Cherry Cobbler layer. I wrapped a little Linen Thread around it and tied it with a one of the True Gentleman buttons. I used a couple dies from the Layered Oval and the Stitched Shapes for the sentiment which was heat embossed with Black on Cherry Cobbler.

Brian King inspired this card. He did one with the Sheltering Tree and this sentiment from the Part of my Story set. I continued with the black and red theme and decided to go a bit more masculine here as well… though it is also very feminine. It’s that odd… but it would be a great card for anyone. I put four hearts on the tree because there is a gang of four of us that pal around. We go out once a month for a girls’ night. It is important to remember in the busyness of life that you need to take time to relax and laugh and have fun. So, this card is for them!

I used a Basic Black card base. I thought that the wood DSP didn’t look right glued right to the base, so I added a layer. These cards are all about that 1/8″ border it seems. That’s what almost all my layers are on these cards! The tree was stamped in Memento ink and the hearts were punched from the Cookie Cutter punch. The sentiment is stamped in Real Red. The black enamel dots are from the Best Route Enamel Shapes. A little Black Baker’s Twine bow… and there ya go!

And, for this last card… I was inspired by our very own Stamper’s Dozen Hopper – Sharon Burkert. I saw a card she made using this color scheme that cut that beautiful DSP the same way. So, I thought the sentiment was perfect. When we post cards to our blogs or to Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, etc., we never know who we will inspire. I am overwhelmed sometimes by the mere fact that some of you folks liked my projects enough to CASE them. Thank you! I am honored!

Now a little more about this card. The thing that stands out the most are those Real Red butterflies… see, I told you the butterflies were popular! I punched just the baby one from the Butterfly Duet punch (148523) in the new Occasions Catalog. I used my Bone Folder to curl the wings a bit. That beautiful paper comes from the Sale-a-Bration catalog as well. So, you can get it FREE with a $50 order as well. It’s called Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper (149622) and is on page 9. I added a little Black Sequin Trim and a few ovals…

Well, that’s all I have for you today. Here is the list the continue hopping thru!

Stamper’s Dozen December 2018 Blog Hop

1. Patty Chenail – Stampin’ In My Flops
2. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
3. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
4. Laura Milligan – I’d Rather BEE Stampin’
5. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping
6. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
7. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
8. Jodi Reinert – Stamp with Jodi
9. BJ Peters – StampinBJ
10. Rachel Yurkanin – Stamping with Rachel
11. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
12. Judy Garza – Creativity Released

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to this month’s blog hop! I hope you are finding great, inspirational projects as you stop by each of our pages.  

First things first…  You are currently parked at my blog – Keep It Simple, Stampers.  I am Joanne Cantrell from a little tiny town at the very bottom of Illinois, smack dab in the middle of the United States.  I aim to keep my projects simple, but often get carried away because Stampin’ Up! offers such great embellishments!

This group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators has gathered together to learn a thing or two from Kylie Bertucci and her gang of merry stamping buddies.  It is a place where we can grow and learn to be the best demonstrators we can be for YOU, our beloved customers.

For me, 2019 is going to be a year of simplicity. If you have followed my blog for long, you have learned that I am a really busy person. I work a couple jobs plus volunteer for everything in addition to having a family and trying to carve out time to stamp. So, this year I am focusing on what is really important.

And, of course what is really important at this moment is being able to produce a beautiful card quick and easy. We all need a go to design and/or set that we can use when we have 5-10 minutes to produce a card worthy of the need. A card that no one can tell it only took you a minute or two to produce.

Well, in the 2019 Occasions Catalog, I have found my newest go-to stamp set. It’s found on page 36 and it called Humming Along (#148758). What is great about it is that it have big bold line art that stands by itself or lends itself to all the latest techniques as well as the classics.

Here are two simple cards that I did with it today. (And by today, I mean I went up to the craft room at 7:03 this morning and was done with both by 7:15am. LOL)

This card is classic black and white. No embellishments. No nothing. The only thing I did was create your standard 5-1/4″ x 4″ layer and pop it up with Dimensionals. Yet, the card is beautiful. It needs nothing else.

#simplestamping

But, just to step it up a tiny little notch, I added a bit of color…

Still no embellishments. Just stamping with a little coloring using the Water Color Pencils. I did use a blender pen just to blend the pencil strokes. But other than that… nothing! I did try to put a ribbon on it, but it just didn’t look right. It is stunning all by itself.

This amazing Humming Along stamp set also has coordinating dies. Who doesn’t love that! So watch for things coming soon that feature those.

For now, just keep hopping along to see what the others have to offer you this month!

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Just a quick last minute post to say Happy New Year to all of you. I want to thank you for your support over the last your. Thanks for stopping by to see what I am up to… for leaving a comment… for asking me questions about a layout or technique… but most of all, just for being you.

I am looking forward to 2019. There will be a lot of small changes and a few big changes coming over the next few months. I can’t wait to share them all with you. In the meantime, I will share this close up of the card with you…

Black and gold is the perfect color combination to kick off your New Year Eve celebrations and this card is no exception.

I used the Softly Falling embossing folder to add a bubbly texture to the card base.

Then, I cut the stemware from Very Vanilla cardstock. To emboss the “champagne”, I just pressed the VersaMark pad directly to the triangle piece and used gold embossing powder. I think the fact that it isn’t a perfectly smooth emboss makes it look a little more real.

I cut the “happy” from the Merry Christmas Thinlits using Gold Foil. ** These are retiring and today is your last day to snatch them up if you haven’t already!!! **

The “New Year” sentiment was created using the Make a Difference stamp set. This is the perfect Alphabet set and should be on your Must-Have list. I used the Merry Christmas Thinlits to cut it out as well. I made it smaller by running it through the Big Shot a second time.

And, finally… the gold bubbles at the top of the glass were made using the regular plain ol’ Rhinestone Jewels. I used the Dark Daffodil Delight Blends to color them. With all the colors in the Blends Stampin’ Up! offers, you can make just about any color of coordinating rhinestones that you need!

So… That’s it from me for 2018! Enjoy your night and I will see you next year!!!

Until next time… keep it Simple, Stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Welcome to the Ink & Inspiration Blog Hop. You are currently visiting Joanne Cantrell from a tiny little town in Southern Illinois smack dab in the middle of the United States. I hope you enjoy my cards.

Our theme this month is New Catalog Sneak Peek.  That means that everything you see as you hop around will be made highlighting products that can be found in the very spectacular new 2019 Occasions Catalog!

This is the card I made for you today…

I know – it’s not fancy. But, there is just something about it that makes it pop. I absolutely love a blue and yellow color scheme. (Please ignore that Dog hair that seems to have gotten trapped between some layers… that’s just life with a big furry dog!!!)

So, for this card I used Daffodil Delight for my yellow card base and layer and the ribbon.

That pretty Balmy Blue gingham paper is a new Designer Series Paper called Gingham Gala. In fact, this paper is so awesome, they built a whole product suite around it, which can be found on pages 34-35 in the 2019 Occasions catalog.

Now, let’s talk about that humming bird. Can you see the limitless possibilities with the bird. All the different techniques you can use to give him life? But, I am sure you will agree… He is just a beautiful in Basic Black on Whisper White. If you found the Gingham Gala set in the catalog, just turn the page to find this set called Humming Along. You will also notice it comes with a beautiful hibiscus flower… and wait for it… wait for it… it has coordinating framelits! WOOHOO!!!!

Of course, I didn’t forget about those three little pearls in the corner. They are the So Saffron pearls from the Share What You Love Artisan Pearls found in the current Annual Catalog.

Well, I hope the projects you’ve seen here on my blog today have inspired you & brightened your day. You are currently visiting (your name). Please see the list below & hop through all of the people on the list to see all our projects. You don’t want to miss any!”

#IIBH if you’re into hashtags.

Here is the list our other fine bloggers… Now hop along!

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂  Joanne

Welcome to this month’s installment of the Stamper’s Dozen Blog Hop.  You are currently visiting Joanne Cantrell in a small town at the very bottom of Illinois smack dab in the middle of the United States!

Our theme this month is all about the soon-to-be-released 2019 Occasions Catalog.  Each time Stampin’ Up! releases a new catalog, I think to myself, “They really have outdone themselves again!”  This time is no different!  I think you will agree with me when you get to see it!

So, I was sitting at OnStage (our bi-annual Stampin’ Up! convention-type gathering!) flipping through the catalog.  I was loving everything.  Then… I saw it… the new  Garage Gears Thinlits Dies (148521) just hiding out on the bottom of page 43.

I am not sure why, but my first thought was Steampunk… because who wouldn’t?  Right!?!  So, my cogs started turning…

If you aren’t familiar with what Steampunk is, it is “is a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.” Or at least it is according to Wikipedia!  To me it is just cool.  I do knot know why I am attracted to the look of it…  

So, here is what I have for you this month…

I always see the steampunk colors being dark and muted mixed with creams.  This led me to use a color combination of Basic Black, Early Espresso, and Cajun Crazy.

To give the gears a more vintage look, I used the “Tarnish Foil” technique.  This is one of my favorite techniques.  It’s all about laying different metallic embossing powders.  For this look, I started with copper foil and layered on copper, gold and silver powders.  Then, I ran the dies through the Big Shot.  It helped pick up that definition in the gears.

So, since I had some left over gears, I decided to do a little gift tag too…  ya know, because I could!  🙂

Thanks for stopping by.  Now, go and see what the others have for you… It’s okay.  Hop along!

Stamper’s Dozen December 2018 Blog Hop

1. Patty Chenail – Stamping In My Flops
2. Bonnie O’Neill – Bonnie Stamped
3. Joanne Cantrell – Keep It Simple, Stampers
4. Carol Payne – Carol Payne Stamps
5. Rachel Yurkanin – Stamping with Rachel
6. Sharon Hashimoto Burkert – As the Ink Dries
7. Debbie Naylor – Unfrogettable Stamping
8. Jodi Reinert – Stamp with Jodi
9. Kelly Acheson – A Stamp Above
10. Judy Garza – Creativity Released
11. BJ Peters – Stampin’ BJ
12. Laura Milligan – I’d Rather “Bee” Stampin’

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂  Joanne

Welcome to this month’s blog hop!.  I hope you are finding great, inspirational projects as you stop by each of our pages.  

First things first…  You are currently parked at my blog – Keep It Simple, Stampers.  I am Joanne Cantrell from a little tiny town at the very bottom of Illinois, smack dab in the middle of the United States.  I aim to keep my projects simple, but often get carried away because Stampin’ Up! offers such great embellishments!

The group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators has gathered together to learn a thing or two from Kylie Bertucci and her gang of merry stamping buddies.  It is a place where we can grow and learn to be the best demonstrators we can be for YOU, our beloved customers.

For this month, I wanted to give you a sneak peak at what I think is going to be one of my favorite products from the new 2019 Occasions Catalog.  There are so many great things, but once I show you what I did, you will just have to order one for yourself!

The product I am talking about is the DOT TO DOT TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS EMBOSSING FOLDER (148533).  This is a beautiful folder that adds that little touch of summin-summin that a card sometimes needs.  Because, hey… that’s what embossing folders do, right!?!  

So, if you look on pages 24-25 in the 2019 Occasions catalog, you will see how this DOT TO DOT folder goes perfect with the HAPPINESS BLOOMS product suite.  In fact, the dots from it have a matching image in the coordinating stamp set, BLOOM BY BLOOM (148820).

But that is not what I saw the minute I laid my eyes on this stamp set.  I saw… get this.. snake skin!  I know, right!?!  What on earth is wrong with me!?!  LOL

But, once you see the projects I made with this and tell you how easy it was, you will no longer need paper towels and ink to create faux snake skin… nor will you have to wash your hair three times to get the ink off your hands! (You know I am talking truth here!)

Well, I guess I have hyped this enough…here is the first card I made with this.

I love a good purple and gold combination.  You really can’t go wrong with Blackberry Bliss and Gold Foil, can you.  I added a bit of bling with the Gold Sequin Trim.  The sentiment is from the new BUTTERFLY GALA (148580)stamp set.

But, I bet you are eager to learn how easy that faux snake skin actually was.  Well…  Here you go.

The Supplies:  The Dot to Dot Folder, cardstock, , VersaMark, Clear Embossing Powder, and a Heat Tool.  Short list, huh!  

The Method:  Run the cardstock through the Big Shot (oh yeah, you need one of those too – but that should go with understand with the folder!).  Use the ink pad to apply the ink all over the textured cardstock.  It is not necessary to get into all the grooves – in fact, it is best if you don’t.  Cover the ink with the embossing powder and shake off any extra.  Melt the powder with the Heat Tool.  Let cool.  Repeat the heat embossing.  You will notice that where you do not get the embossing, it gives a variation in the color making it look really cool!  After you let it cool, crumple up the cardstock and smooth it back out.  Do this until you think it looks good.

Yes, it is really that simple!

So, when I did this, I did a 6″ x 6″ piece of cardstock.  Since I didn’t want to waste any of this cool paper, I made more cards…  And of these also include sneak peaks of new 2019 Occasions products as well as some 2019 Sale-a-Bration stuff too!

This simple Thank you card gets it sentiment from the new Humming Along (148758 – pg. 36) stamp set and the little flowers are Gingham Gala Adhesive-Backed Sequins (18561 – pg. 35).

The sentiment on this card comes from a Sale-a-Bration set that I just love. It’s called Part of My Story (149719).  I used my paper cutter to cut out the little frame.  It’s a simple technique that adds a lot of interest.

And, this lovely purple card uses a couple new things…  The sentiment is from Incredible Like You (148708 – pg. 21).  The butterflies were punched using the new Butterfly Duet Punch (148523 – pg. 35).  And that gorgeous Designer Series Paper is called Botanical Butterfly (149622) and is in the Sale-a-Bration flyer.

Let’s see that a little closer too!  I used a bit of the Gold Metallic thread for the antennae for the butterflies.

Well, that is really it from me for this blog hop.  I hope you were inspired by what you see here and can’t waituntil you can purchase that DOT TO DOT folder for your own!

Here are the links to the other bloggers – get to hopping!

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂  Joanne