ALL THE GOOD THINGS

I could hardly wait for my monthly Stamp-In to be over so I could share this card with you. Well, the Stamp-In was yesterday (August 13), so here it is.

The card, which my girls had a lot of fun doing, features the set All The Good Things (page 151 in the Annual Catalog), which is one of a handful of stamp sets in this catalog that have been labeled
"DistINKtive". These stamps boast an ultra-realistic look, and are quite wonderful to work with.

Another exciting aspect of this card is that it features not one, but TWO techniques! The fish are colored with the Thumping Technique, and the bubbles are added with Masking.

As I was showing the girls how to do the fish, I pointed out the fact that koi are always unique in their coloring, that it was nearly impossible to ruin it.

A little close-up of the fish in their bubbly environment:

These koi intrigued me so so much that I spent one CD's worth of music stamping an entire 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of Whisper White full of the fish. 

Don't they look realistic??

You can see in these photos that I didn't even bother cleaning the stamp in between fish. The same overstamping keeps showing up. No problem. I will be fussy cutting these koi. That's why I was purposely not too careful.

Do you have a hankering to try this card for yourself? Well, hold on to your seats -- the tutorial follows:

SUPPLIES:

Whisper White cardstock

Balmy Blue cardstock

Mango Melody cardstock

All the Good Things stamp set (page 151)

Playful Backgrounds stamp set (page 141)

Southern Serenade stamp set (page 150)

Balmy Blue ink

Stampin' Write Markers in oranges, yellows and black

Black ink

DIRECTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Mango Melody cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

YOU WILL BE DOING THUMPING ON THE KOI. Choose your colors from among the Stampin' Write Markers in yellows and oranges. You need a lighter color for your base. For example, in my sample I colored the entire large koi in a light yellow. THEN, THE THUMPING: Choose 2-3 more colors, and using the SIDE of the BRUSH END of the marker, thump randomly on top of the fish stamp, turning the stamp so all your thumps don't face in the same direction. Pick another color and do the same. If you have a third color, continue. Finally, use the black marker SPARINGLY to add some darker accents. HUFF ON THE ENTIRE STAMP, then stamp the image in place on a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Repeat the thumping steps with the smaller fish. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO HUFF BEFORE STAMPING WHEN WORKING WITH MARKERS. If desired, use the fine tip end of the black marker and add in some edge lines as in my sample.

Stamp both of the fish on a post-it note, so a good portion of the fish lands on the sticky part of the paper. Fussy cut these masks, BARELY INSIDE THE STAMPED LINES. Once the masks are cut out, cover the stamped fish with them. Ink up the open circles from the Playful Backgrounds set and stamp them swirlingly around the fish. Carefully peel off the masks. The bubbles should be behind the koi.

In black ink, stamp the sentiment in the upper left corner.

Adhere the finished piece to a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Balmy Blue cardstock. Attach this to the card base.

KEEP IN MIND: If you've ever spent any time watching koi, you will have noticed that they are all unique in their coloring. Thus no fish will be "wrong". Embrace your koi -- they are absolutely "right".

Fish-y

Smiles.