leafy branch

Hi there! I am up on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube Channel today with a project featuring tons of monochromatic layers. In the video, I share tips on how to achieve a really interesting and unique monochromatic card using lots of textures and clear embossing powder with your stenciled images! Here’s the video:

Watch above or click HERE to watch on YouTube.

In the video, I start by stamping the Blooming Vines Stamp onto some white cardstock using Candy Violet ink in order to do some “no line stenciling.” I then blended the Blooming Vines Stencils using Candy Violet, Regal Kiss, Lavender, Olive, and Grassy Knoll inks. Once I had completed the solid and detail layer for the flowers, I replaced the solid (that is, the most open and basic stencil covering the entirety of the image, NOT the detail layer that adds shading) stencil over the top of the blended area. I have dedicated a blending brush specifically to embossing ink, and I used that with some embossing ink refill to “blend” the sticky watermark ink over the solid areas of the image. I covered those sticky areas with clear embossing powder and heated it up creating a shiny embossed solid image done entirely with stencils!

I used the same technique for the foliage until I had covered the entirety of the stamped/stenciled images with clear embossing powder. I then blended more Candy Violet ink over the entire panel. The clear embossing powder allowed the stamped/stenciled images to resist the blending, which creates super vibrant stenciled images with a lovely violet blended background. This technique allows you to keep that super saturated and vibrant look throughout your card without having to worry about pesky white die cut edges! I used the Blooming Vines Coordinating Dies to die cut all of the finished images.

Once I had initially decided on the direction for my video, I selected my favorite ink shade from Pinkfresh (Candy Violet) and then searched my cardstock stash for coordinating cardstock in a few different types. I found a beautiful shade of intense lilac-y fuchsia cardstock, as well as some mirrored matte cardstock and glitter cardstock in almost exactly the same shades. I used the Intricate Stitched Ovals, Spiral Circle Die, and Leafy Branch dies to die cut these elements from each of these cardstock styles. When working with monochromatic cards, I liked to use lots of different textures and finishes for the different elements to add visual interest. Multiple textures keep the eye interested, and for me it’s like figuring out a puzzle of which products to use that will give the most monochromatic finished product!

I stamped a greeting from the Circle Florals Stamp Set onto some more of the fuchsia cardstock using Regal Kiss ink, then stamped the same spot again using more watermark ink and covered it with clear embossing powder. I die cut the finished sentiment with the Coordinating Dies. After all of the different elements were completed, I assembled the card using a mixture of liquid and foam adhesive for lots of dimension and different heights. The final touch was to add some Twilight Ombré Glitter Drops for one last bit of sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Hi there! I have some super icy holiday inspiration using some new (and some old!) products from Pinkfresh Studio. I love the elegance of using white on white with pops of color for holiday cards, and it was so fun to pair this favorite monochromatic technique with these icy pastel colors for today’s projects. Let’s get started with the details!

For both projects, I created the backgrounds by layering white Folklore cover plate die cut and the Geo Floral cover plate die cut over some sparkling white glitter cardstock. This tone-on-tone background provides lots of texture, while also creating a sparkly and simple backdrop for the colorful focal points.

For the first card, I die cut PEACE from white cardstock using the Kelly Alpha Upper dies, then used Copic markers to add some ombre shading from navy blue to hyacinth purple. I also die cut some branches using the Leafy Branch die, again beginning with white cardstock and adding Copic coloring, this time in a pretty shade of mint green.

I adhered the PEACE die cuts to the center of the card front using foam adhesive, then added the leafy mint green branches beneath them. In hindsight, I wish that I’d used a bit deeper green for the branches, but I do like the subtlety of the mint; it allows the deep blue/purple of the greeting to really stand out. The final touch was to add some Essentials Jewels in pale pink as “berries.”

For my second card, I used the Share Cheer stamps and dies as my focal point. I began by stamping the main image and the bow on some plain white, Copic-friendly cardstock, then colored the image using that same blue/purple, mint, pale pink combination, adding in some touches of vanilla peach and teal.

I die cut the image and layered it on the sparkling tone-on-tone card front using foam adhesive for lots of extra dimension. The icy color scheme is the perfect pop of subtle color on the sparkling textured background!

Well, that’s all for me today. I hope your holiday cardmaking is going well, and if you haven’t started, I hope my projects have provided you with some inspiration! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!