Strength & Hope: Mother of Pearl Technique Tutorial

I hope you have been enjoying all the Last Chance Favorites that I've been posting this month. I have some new things to photograph and share and I hope to do that soon. We're still dealing with the mess downstairs and my stamp room has been moved to several parts of the house (bedroom, kitchen, boxes in the garage). I'm hoping to be back to normal in early July. I'm excited about reorganizing my crafting space and look forward to sharing pictures of the process!

In the meantime, I found something new that I haven't shared yet! This was a Stamp Club project last month and I took pictures before we left for Alaska and never posted.

This technique, Mother of Pearl, is really stunning to see in person! It was highlighted in a recent Stampin' Success magazine. That's the monthly magazine that demonstrators get. (Love it!!) But don't worry, I'll give you a little how-to!

First, start with Frost White Shimmer Paint (#116854, $5.95), Glossy White Cardstock (#102599, $5.95), a disposable plate, and plastic wrap (scrunched into a ball).

Pour a small amount of paint on to the plate. Use the ball of plastic wrap to "pounce" and apply paint to the glossy white cardstock. Allow to dry. Using a Rubber Brayer (#102395, $12.50) and Classic ink pad, roll over the cardstock until you get the desired shade of color.

The dried paint will resist the ink. Rub a cotton ball in a small circular motion over the cardstock to remove the ink off the dried paint. Viola! Stamp on the cardstock using Staz-On ink or use as a background piece.

Stampin' Up! Supplies: Strength & Hope stamp set, Basic Gray ink & cardstock, Blushing Bride ink & cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Glossy White cardstock, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Rhinestone Jewel Accents, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Rubber Brayer

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MDS: Hope Hybrid Card

I made designed this hybrid card with My Digital Studio and the Strength & Hope digital kit. I "shared" it was a JPG image and then had it printed as a photograph. I cropped down the 3x6 print and added a flower and rhinestone to give it some dimension.

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Strength & Hope Butterfly Card

I designed this card for our group card swap for the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog. When I first saw the Strength and Hope stamp set, I thought it was a bit limiting, but I wanted to support Stampin' Up!'s Making a Difference campaign (they donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for every Strength & Hope stamp set of digital kit sold! Click here for details.) But what I found was that there are many ways to use the images in this set. Click here to see more "Strength & Hope" project ideas posted on my blog.

The scallop circle under the butterfly is really two circles from the Petal Cone die.

Stampin' Up! Supplies: Strength & Hope, Blushing Bride ink & cardstock, Crumb Cake cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Petal Cone die (Big Shot), Beautiful Butterflies die (Big Shot), 2-1/2" Circle Punch, 1/4" Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewel Accents, Stampin' Dimensionals

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Strength & Hope MDS Hybrid Card

Here's another card I created with the Strentgh & Hope Digital Kit using My Digital Studio. I printed the card front as a photo and then cut it down to put on the Whisper White card base.

This is a "hybrid" card, meaning I added "real" elements after I printed the card. On this one, I added the rhinestones and the greeting (punched with the Word Window).

I did a fun technique to "watercolor" the butterfly in My Digital Studio, but it doesn't show up very well on the card. I didn't realize just how small the butterfly would be when I was working with it on the computer. I'll have to do another card like this so you can really see the effect.

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Strength & Hope "Love You" Card

As I mentioned last week, Stampin' Up! has partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to raise money through the sale of the "Strength & Hope" stamp set and digital kit in the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog. Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the BCRF for each of these products that you purchase. Here is a card I created using My Digital Studio and the Strength and Hope digital kit. Can you tell which elements were added digitally and which are "real"? Take a look at the picture and then I'll give you the answer.

Did you figure it out? The card front is 100% digital, printed and adhered to a Whisper White card base. I still can't get over how "real" the embellishments look when you create with My Digital Studio. The pearls and the ribbon were all added in My Digital Studio and are flat on the printed card. (No bumps = no extra postage!)

My Digital Studio is not just for scrapbooking! There are so many ways to use this digital design software! And so many ways to print your designs! For this card (and the others I will share), I saved the design as a JPG, cropped it down to 4x6 and printed it as photo, which I then cut down to 4x5-1/4 to put on the card.

One last note, the layout for this card was inspired by FTL136 over at Clean and Simple Stamping. Even if I don't use it right away, the layouts there always stick in my head until I have just the right project!

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Strength & Hope, Take 2

Here's another clean and simple card using the Strength and Hope stamp set. Click here to see yesterdays' card.

Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation when you purchase this stamp set. Click here for more information.

Stampin' Up! Supplies: Strength & Hope, Blushing Bride ink & cardstock, Basic Gray ink & cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Postage Punch, Stampin' Dimesionals

Click HERE to Order Stampin' Up! Products Online, Anytime!

Strength & Hope Simple Pink Card

My late nights are catching up with me and I'm feeling beat tonight, so I'm going to keep my post short and sweet. Stampin' Up! is partnering with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) in a brand new "Making a Difference" Campaign. When you purchase the new Strength & Hope stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog (or the coordinating Digital Kit), Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to BCRF. Click here for all the details, including a video from Shelli Gardner. Here's a clean and simple card I created using this new stamp set with Blushing Bride and Basic Gray.

Click HERE to Order Stampin' Up! Products Online, Anytime!