On the rare occasion I try to play along with the Mojo Monday sketch. I immediately fell in love with this weeks sketch and had a good picture in my mind of what I wanted to create but I had a little problem… Read on below!
Mojo Monday #346
Blended Bloom – Playing with Blendabilities
You see, I'm on vacation visiting family in Tucson, AZ to celebrate my niece, Jessica, graduating from High School. Of course, this means I have only a limited amount of items with me which basically consists of some pre-stamped images with the intent of playing with my Blendabilities and a few pre-cut sheets of card stock to finish off very simple cards with the colored images. Pretty much the supplies I had with me fit inside 2 Wood Mount cases.
Before our family trip to Tucson, I had contacted Mary Fish to plan a visit. I wasn't certain how much time we would have but I planned to help her with the Blendabilities and share what I have learned by playing as well as relying on my experience from my College Studio Art days.
Let me just say that we had a total blast playing in Mary's AWESOME Craft Room! Mary and I ended up spending just over 3 hours together in her Craft Room playing with the Blendabilities, the new Alphabet Rotary Stamp (which I will OFFICIALLY buy now after playing with it!), punching hearts for my son and then creating this quick card. The craft room is amazing and I found it to be very relaxing… Anyway, Mary had posted on Facebook that she has been struggling some with the Blendabilities so I took the time to show her what I've learned. This Blended Bloom was one of the samples I brought along to share with Mary.
When it comes to the Blendabilities, I really feel you have to find what works best for you which means taking a little extra time to play with them. I probably use the small marker end more often than the brush tip to apply color to my stamped image. For this card, I did use the brush tip to add a small LINE of dark followed by a small amount of Medium then I blended using the Cherry Cobbler light. When blending, I use the small nib of the marker and blend with a circular motion pulling the darker colors toward the center and outer edges where the "light source" would be hitting the stamped image.
Here are a couple of tips that I shared with Mary:
- When you first start coloring, keep in mind that you are saturating the paper and that the colors can run or bleed over the edge of the stamped image. A way to prevent the color from bleeding is to not fill in color against the black line but leave a very small amount of white that can be filled in towards the end as you blend the colors.
- Don't be afraid to apply extra pressure with the small nib while blending the images. The paper will not shred and the small nib is made to be pressed down into the paper.
- Don't overuse the darker and medium colors when you first apply the color to your stamped image as you can always add more of the darker colors then blend with the lighter color to create the depth of field as you create the varying shades.
- Remember your light source – place a marker or similar item where you want your "light source" to come from. This will help you think about what portions of your stamped image should be lighter and which portions should be "shadowed" with the darker color.
- Keep playing… As you play with the Blendabilities your skill level will increase and you'll become more comfortable using them.
- If the image bleeds outside your stamped image, well, that is what scissors (or a e-cutter) are for… Just cut the image out!
So… Back to this fun card I created for Mojo Monday #346! I used the majority of my own supplies that I had brought along which meant the card is a combination of Cherry Cobbler and Coastal Cabana. On the top Whisper White layer, I used the Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set from Mary's stamp stash to create the background using Coastal Cabana Classic Ink. Then I placed the Blended Bloom over the stamped background using my go-to adhesive: Stampin' Dimensionals! I continued to pull in the Coastal Cabana color into the card design basedon the sketch by placing the strip of Coastal Cabana card stock along the left edge then added three Candy Dots so generously donated by Mary. For the finishing touches I added the Hung Up Cute Clips (so sad these are retiring!) tied with a bow using the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon.
To purchase the products to created this fun and beautiful project, visit my 24/7 Stampin’ Up! store by clicking HERE! For your convenience, you can find the supply list with product numbers listed at the end of this post.
I invite you to pin any of my creations to Pinterest and to share your thoughts or questions by leaving me a comment. I love hearing from all my readers – word of mouth is one of the greatest forms of flattery.
Sunny Stampin’ & Scrappin’!
Pam Staples
MY STAMPIN' UP! PROJECT SUPPLIES LIST. Please click on product links below for more information or for easy on-line shopping! The Blended Bloom is not available until June 2, 2014. Blendabilities are projected to be available late summer to early fall.
