Stamping Sunday — Soft Pastels

Hello and welcome to the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop for February. I’m so glad you could drop by. This month, our theme is Soft Pastels. They’re fun to work with and can be used with a variety of techniques, so I’m super excited to see what all the designers create.

You can find Soft Pastels on page 126 of the Annual Catalog. They come in an assortment of bright colors. If you’re like me, you like lots of coloring options. That’s why I love these pastels.

For this blog hop, the designers have two choices. We can design 1) three versions of a card for beginner, casual, and avid stampers, or 2) a 3D project and a card. This month, I chose the first option.

Beginner Stamper:

When I started stamping, one of the first techniques I learned was coloring with Versamark Ink and pastels. I remember loving how easy it was to do and being totally amazed with the results. The concept is simple, stamp the image with Versamark ink and then rub pastels over the stamped image. The pastels stick to the ink and the image magically appears.

For all my cards, I used this coloring technique with the Amazing Silhouettes Stamp Set. This set is a PERFECT choice, because it has large images with solid areas to pick up the color.

I stamped the image with Versamark on Basic White Cardstock. Then to apply the pastels, I shaved the sides of each stick with my Paper Snips to create powder. That made it easy to pick up the “pastel powder” with a Sponge Dauber and lightly rub it across the stamped image. For the card below, I used red, gold, and turquoise pastels.

After coloring the image, I splattered it with a Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write Marker and cut it out with a Layering Circle Die.

Then, to finish the card, I added it to a card base from the Heart & Home Memories & More Cards & Envelopes Pack. These cards are great for beginner stampers, because they are already printed and pre-scored. For each one of my cards, I wanted the colorful pastel layer to be the focus of attention, so I mostly used neutral accents, such as Smoky Slate die-cuts and metallic sentiments.

For this card, I used a Forever Flourishing die-cut and the coordinating Amazing Thanks Dies for the sentiment. I also added some words from the Special Moments stamp set (which you can earn for free with a $100 purchase during Sale-A-Bration.) The final touch was a few Brushed Brass Butterflies.

Casual Stamper:

For my Casual card, I stepped it up a little by adding a Coastal Cabana card base and using Heart & Home Designer Series Paper as a background layer.

This time, I used the leaf print from the Amazing Silhouettes stamp set and blue, turquoise, and light green pastels as well as a Pacific Point Stampin’ Write Marker for the splatter. I again use a Forever Flourishing Die in the background.

To step up the card a little more, I added some looped Linen Thread under the sentiment.

Avid Stamper:

For my Avid card, I used the large tree image from Amazing Silhouettes and some Majestic Mountains Dies in the background.

This time, I used yellow, light green, and dark green pastels and a Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Write Marker for the splatter. I also used a Stitched Rectangle Die for the top layer.

I stepped up the bow by tying a fancy triple bow with white baker’s twine.

I hope these projects have inspired you to break out your Soft Pastels and try this technique! It’s so fun to try different color combinations.

Be sure to continue on through the rest of the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop by clicking on the navigation buttons below. Next up is the fabulous Jay Sorino. I always love his creative ideas.

Enjoy your Sunday and hope you get a chance to get creative:)

Stamping Sunday Blog Hop Designers:

Use Host Code F9366KUA for purchases at my online store to qualify to receive free exclusive project tutorials. This month’s PDF includes 13 great tutorials designed by my demonstrator friends and I to inspire your creativity! The projects feature products from the 2024 Annual Catalog, Online Exclusives, and September-December Mini Catalog. Enjoy!

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