Poppin' Pastels with Fresh Cuts

Hi Everyone! Hope your weekend is treating you nicely. We are having some rainy weather here in Erie, Pennsylvania, so it is a great weekend for stamping and enjoying quiet time at home.

I have been playing with my new Fresh Cuts stamp set which will be featured in the Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter 2008 catalog released August 11. If you would like a catalog please email me at edie.bunting@yahoo.com. You pay only the postage for the catalog and, to cover your postage, you will receive a $5 gift certificate to use toward your first catalog purchase of $50 or more.

For these two note cards I used the Poppin' Pastel technique to add a touch of monochromatic color to just the areas that I wanted on these black & white Fresh Cut stamp set images. For this technique you need a Versamark pen, Stampin' Pastels (both on page 183 of the current catalog) and Sponge Daubers (p. 185).

First, stamp the focal image in Basic Black Classic Ink on Whisper White cardstock. Then, with the Versamark pen, add Versamark to just the areas that you want to add color. Quickly, before the Versamark dries, apply the Stampin' Pastel chalks to the Versamark. The best method to add chalk is to use a Sponge Dauber which you place on the tip of your finger. Bounce the sponge in the pastel color of your choice and then bounce it on the area of your image that you added Versamark. Watch the color POP! It is so fun to see the color emerge! To shadow, you can add a touch more Versamark on top of the color you already applied and then pop more pastel over that.

One more note: To hold the ribbon in place, punch half a notch using the Horizontal Slot punch. It keeps the ribbon from sliding around and looks neater.

Now give Poppin' Pastels a try yourself. Here is the recipe:

Stamp Sets: Fresh Cuts
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, Bashful Blue
Inks: Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, Bashful Blue (all Classic Inks) and Versamark Pen
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Sponge Daubers, Black 1/4 Grosgrain Ribbon, Horizontal Slot Punch, Ticket Corner Punch.

Thank you for visiting & Happy Stampin'! EdieB

To see a Stampin' Up! catalog and catch up on the current promotions, visit my Demonstrator web site here.