Welcome to the March NC Demos Blog Hop!  If you’ve just come from Tracey’s post, I’m sure you’ll agree that she is a very talented, inspiring stamper!  I appreciate you stopping by to see my project.

This is the time of year when we start thinking about the items that Stampin’ Up! may retire.  We don’t know the retiring stamp sets, punches, dies, and embellishments – but, we do know that the 2016 – 2018 In-Colors will be retired.  The five retiring colors are shown below.

For this month’s blog hop, we are each featuring at least one retiring In-Color in our projects.  I decided to use all five retiring colors and make a true “Happy Retirement” card.  Take a look at the card.

This is a one-layer card that is made with a fun, simple masking technique.  In the pictures that follow, I’ll show you how to use this technique to make a multi-layered image with only a few stamps.

First, choose the stamps that you want to use.  I chose a flower stamp and leaves stamp from the Birthday Blossoms set.  Next, stamp the images a few times onto a piece of Post-It note.  You should use thin paper to make your masks.  Post-It notes or copier paper work best for me.  Fussy cut the stamped images and put some tacky glue on the non-inked side.  Essentially, you’re making a cut-out Post-It note to mask your stamped images.  I used a two-way glue pen and allowed the glue to dry.  You’ll be able to use the masks several times before you’ll need to replace them.  Refer to the pictures below.

Now, the fun begins.  Here are the basic steps.  First – Stamp the image that you want to be in the forefront of your design.  I chose the flower to be that image.  Second – Mask that stamped image with one of the fussy cut Post-It note pieces.  This will protect the stamped image from the next image that you’ll stamp.  Third – Stamp another image that will look like it is behind the first image you stamped.  I chose to stamp another flower that will look like it is behind the first flower I stamped.  I need to make sure that I overlap the second flower onto my first mask.  Fourth – Mask the second image with another fussy cut Post-It note.  Refer to the pictures below.

And, the fun continues with the leaves stamp.  Essentially, you’ll keep using the steps of stamping, masking, stamping, masking,…. until you finish your design.  There is no need to mask some of the final stamped images since they will appear on the edge of your design.  In my case, this meant I did not need to mask the last few leaves that I stamped.  Again, refer to the pictures below.

The magic is the next part!  Take off the masks and be careful not to tear them.  You’ll be able to use them again for another card or two before they are a little too inked.  You will absolutely love the three dimensional image that you’ve created with just a few stamps!

I used this technique to create my “Happy Retirement” card for the In-Colors.  The card base is Flirty Flamingo card stock.  The frame for the card front is Basic Black card stock.  The masked flowers are stamped onto a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  I used three stamps from the amazing Birthday Blossoms set for the main design.  All five retiring In-Colors were used to color the flower and leaves.  I used a clear block as a palette for painting.  The In-Color markers were “painted” onto my clear block and picked up with a Blender Pen for coloring the card.

To finish the card, I used the grungy stamp from Timeless Textures to add some random dots of Peekaboo Peach and Sweet Sugarplum to the background.  And to send the colors off appropriately, I added “Happy Retirement” from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set using Basic Black ink.

Below are the main products that I used to make my card.  If you click on any picture, you’ll go to my on-lne store.

Be sure to continue your blog hop by heading over to Sue Root’s project.  Also, all the NC Demos who are participating in this month’s blog hop are shown below.

Happy stamping!
Laurie

Birthday Blossoms Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139471] $19.00	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517] $20.00	Teeny Tiny Wishes Clear Stamp Set [127802] $27.00
Birthday Blossoms Wood-Mount Stamp Set [139167] $27.00	Timeless Textures Wood-Mount Stamp Set [140514] $28.00	Teeny Tiny Wishes Wood Stamp Set [128748] $37.00
Very Vanilla 8-1/2″ X 11″ Card Stock [101650] $9.00	Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [141416] $8.00	Basic Black 8-1/2″ X 11″ Card Stock [121045] $8.00
2016-2018 In Color Stampin’ Write Markers [141393] $15.00	Blender Pens [102845] $12.00

March Blog Hoppers:

Toni Campana
Jo Anne Hewins
Tracie Evans Langley
Laurie Meier – YOU ARE HERE
Sue Root
Karel Standish
Kathy Svedberg
Frances Wagner
Christina Walker

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