February 2019 - Joyful Stars Blog Hop and February Stamp of the Month - Heartfelt Sentiments!

Welcome to the February 2019 Joyful Stars Blog Hop!  If you came here from the versatile Debi's blog, you've come to the right place!

Although I don't like to wish my days away, I certainly am looking forward to Spring.  As cold as it's been, I may have to hurt someone next Summer when I see a post where someone says "I can't wait for sweater weather.  Who's with me?"

Anyway, all this to say, I needed to see some cheery colors, so I love the new Seasonal Expression Idea Book!  In fact I took advantage of the February Stamp of the Month, Heartfelt Sentiments, to use some of our beautiful new colors to come up with a Spring-like card.

In using the Heartfelt Sentiments stamp set, I discovered that the large image was the perfect size for a standard A2 size card.  However, I really wanted to use a spotlight technique and add a second outline mat to the whole image, so I went with a larger size card (6.25" x 5").

First I stamped the large image in Intense Black ink on a piece of White Daisy cardstock.  Note that I used a stamp positioning tool so that I could take advantage of the placement for my spotlighted piece; however, it is not necessary to use one (just a little easier 😉).  After ensuring the ink was good and dry, I used a waterbrush to color the flower images using Bluebird, Carolina, and Pixie ink pads and the leaves using a Sage ink pad.  (With the ink pad closed, squeeze the lid into the base, open the pad, and pick up the ink from the lid with the waterbrush.  Joila!  Instant pallette!)

Next I used the same image to stamp a smaller piece of White Daisy cardstock in VersaMark ink, ensuring my placement and size was sufficient to include the portion of the image I wanted to spotlight.  I heat embossed this using Ranger Silver Super Fine embossing powder.

Finally I finished up the card by creating mats from Bluebird cardstock 1/8" larger than each of the stamped pieces.  I layered the large, watercolored piece on a White Daisy card base, then carefully lined up the spotlighted piece on top.  A few Clear Sparkles did the trick of putting the finishing touches on the card.

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5 - that's over 70% off retail!  When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.  Otherwise, you can purchase this set outright for $18.95.

Now please head over to Michelle's blog to see what magic she has made!