Crafting inspiration with Close To My Heart and three GIVEAWAYS!

Hi, there! It’s Jill, from Close To My Heart! September is one of our favorite months because we get to celebrate National Stamping Month! Stamping has been a huge part of our product offering and I am so excited to show this amazing medium some extra love.

Today, we’ll be looking at a few stamping techniques you can use to add some extra pizzazz to any project! Whether you’re new to stamping or you’re a seasoned pro, these techniques are a great way to step up your stamping game.

For this example layout, I used the Every Little Thing Paper Packet and the Every Little Thing—Scrapbooking Stamp Set from Close To My Heart. I love the rich colors and whimsical patterns in this paper packet.!

The first technique is second-generation stamping. For cases where you want a softer look, you can use this technique to tone down the ink saturation on your impression. Make sure you have some scrap paper handy. After thoroughly inking your stamp, stamp once onto your scrap paper. Then, without re-inking, stamp again onto your project piece.

Tip: It’s usually a good idea to test the full process at least once on your scrap paper before trying it out on your actual project. Some ink colors can come out too light, and you may need to adjust the way you ink your stamp in order to get the result you want.

 In this layout, I used both first and second-generation stamping, so you can easily see the difference between the two. By using the second-generation stamping technique with Julep ink, I was able to get the lighter, more faded effect with one color of ink.

The next featured technique is a rolled ombre technique.

To achieve this technique, ink about 2/3 of your stamp in the first color of your choice, then ink the remaining third of your stamp in another color. It generally works best to use two shades in the same color family. For this example, I used two shades of green to achieve this ombre effect. If you want to use contrasting colors, start with the lighter of the two colors and then dip into the darker color.

Once you’ve inked your stamp in the two colors of your choice, it’s stamping as usual!

The last technique is embossing. Use a VersaMark™ ink pad when adding colored embossing powder. And another fun tip is using pigment ink in any color and clear embossing powder to get a variety of fun colors from your ink collection.

Before you stamp, you’ll want to rub the stamping area of your project with an anti-static pouch to make sure the excess embossing powder won’t stick to unwanted areas of your project. Once you stamp your image or sentiment with the VersaMark™ ink pad, gently apply your choice of embossing powder over the stamped section. Give it a little time to dry, and then carefully shake the excess powder off the page. Then simply warm the embossing powder with the heat tool for that smooth, glossy finish.

GIVEAWAY!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief overview of some stamping favorites. As a special gift in honor of National Stamping Month, we’ll be giving away the Every Little Thing—Scrapbooking Stamp Set used in this post to three lucky SCT readers! Be sure to comment below by October 15th for an opportunity to win!  Good luck! ~ Jill

WINNERS!

Last time our friends at Close to My Heart offered the Close To My Heart Flower Market digital Cricut collection to three lucky readers! Here are the winners:

Those flowers are gorgeous and thanks for the tip on wrapping the petals around a pen tip. I think that will give them much more dimension than using my fingers. Would love an opportunity to win this collection. ~ Michelle Stewart July 20, 2019

I love this idea, and the fact there is already a design space file for it. I would love to win this prize! ~ Sue Ogden July 20, 2019

I love anything close to my heart. this project caught my eye when my consultant posted it on Facebook. I was hooked. thanks for all the great ideas and inspiration. ~ Jennifer Phillips July 23, 2019

Congratulations ladies! Please send us your full name, address and telephone number to ideas@scrapbookandcards.com with “CTMH Winner” in the reference line and we will share that with our friends at Close To My Heart and they will send these prizes out to you!

Thank you again to Jill for sharing these gorgeous projects and to you for joining us on this lovely Saturday!