TECHNIQUE TUESDAY

 WELCOME, to Technique Tuesday

SPONGING

Materials Needed:  (All materials used on this card are from Stampin'Up! and can be purchased through Diana by clicking on her Shop With Me Button to the left.)

Stamp Pad (color of your choice), used Granny Apple Green (Item No: 147095)

Sponge (no longer carried by Stampin'Up!)

Card stock, used Basic White (Item No: 159276)

On the first and the third Tuesday each month, we will be featuring a different technique.  Many are old and not currently popular, but oh so pretty, and others more up-to-date.  A timeless one is called "Sponging" and you do exactly what the name suggests, you use a sponge to color the edges of your project.

I used a Granny Apple Green stamp pad from Stampin'Up!, Basic White card stock from Stampin'Up!  and a sponge (I cut a large sponge into smaller pieces to make it easier to use) to sponge the edges of the outside and inside panels for the card shown below (the Gate Fold was featured on Fancy Fold Friday on July 28, 2023}.

Ink up your sponge and gently brush the sponge along the edge(s) of your card stock to achieve the look you want. As you can see in the picture, you can barely sponge the edges all the way up to really sponging the edges.  I use all of them at some time or other, depending on the look I am going for.

Gate Fold Card

The Fancy Fold that was introduced last Friday was left unfinished so I could demonstrate our first technique today.  The completed card is shown below with instructions on how to complete.

                                 

Materials Needed:

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (Item No: 149653)

Quiet Meadow Stamp Set (Item No: 155082)              Meadow Dies (Item No: 155852)

Granny Apple Green Stamp Pad (Item No: 147095)    Stampin' Dimensionals (Item No: 104430)

Stampin' Blends Cherry Cobbler (154880), Daffodil Delight (154883) and Rich Razzleberry (Retired)

Stampin' Write Markers (markers are sold by Color Collections -- Brights, Neutrals, Regals & Subtles -- on page 125

Basic White Card Stock (Item No: 159276)                  Basic Black Card Stock (Item No: 121045)

Daffodil Delight Card Stock (Item No: 119683)           Coastal Cabana Card Stock (Item No: 131297)

VersaMark Ink Stamp Pad (Item No: 102283)              Memento Ink Stamp Pad (Item No: 132708)

Paper Snips (Item No: 103579)                                      Mulipurpose Glue (Item No: 110755)

Linen Thread (Item No: 104199)                                    Basic White Envelopes (Item No: 159236)

Mini Glue Dots (Item No: 103683)

On Friday, July 28, 2023, the Fancy Fold "Gate Fold" was shown.  Directions on how to cut each part of the card was provided and the picture above shows the components of the card when we were done.

                                                         

I stamped the large flower from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set using the Memento Ink stamp pad and colored it with the Stampin' Blends shown above. Next I used the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine and the Meadow Dies to cut out the second flower and small tag in Basic White card stock and then colored the image using various Stampin' Write Markers. I stamped "love" from the Quiet Meadow stamp set on the tag. Multipurpose Glue was used to glue to attach the flower and the tag to the front panels.

The butterfly dies were used to cut out the butterflies in Basic Black, Daffodil Delight and Coastal Cabana card stock. The "dots" on the butterflies were cut out of the Daffodil Delight and Coastal Cabana butterflies using the Paper Snips and attached with Multipurpose Glue. The small butterfly was attached to the front panel using Multipurpose Glue and the large butterfly was attached using Stampin' Dimensionals.  The Linen Thread was used to make a bow and was attach using a Mini Glue Dot.

A sentiment and flowers from the Quiet Meadow stamp set were used on the inside of the card and  stamped in black using the Memento Ink stamp pad. The splatter stamp was stamped using the Granny Apple Stamp Pad. The inside panel was attached using Multipurpose Glue.

To help keep the card closed, a belly band was made using Granny Apple Green card stock and was stamped using the splatter stamp from the Quiet Meadow stamp set using the Versa Mark Ink stamp pad. The belly band was wrapped around the card with the ends overlapping in the front and glued together using the Multipurpose Glue.  

The sentiment was stamped on a scrap piece of Basic White card stock and cut out using the banner die from the Meadow Die Set and attached to the belly band using Multipurpose Glue.

The belly band is gently slipped over the card to keep it closed.

I hope you enjoyed learning about "Sponging" and how to make the Gate Fold card and invite you to come back in two weeks to learn about our next technique!

Die Storage:  I am not sure about you, but I have lost small dies in the past due to the way I was storing my dies. Now I use the Storage Pockets (see picture above) from Stamp-n-Storage and have not lost a die in a long time.  Check out Stamp-n-Storage by clicking on their image on the left.  Please note: if you do purchase from Stamp-n-Storage through my link, I will receive a small commission.  You can also purchase from them by going to stampnstorage.com.

Storage Solutions and Ideas

 Have you ever wondered, "How am I going to store that?"  Boy, I sure have.

I use to store my stamp pads in shoe boxes (not clear ones, lol) and had a hard time finding THE stamp pad I wanted.  So, I moved up to clear storage bins -- that worked better, but I had to keep moving all the stamp pads around until I found THE stamp pad I wanted to use.  Hey, don't even get me started on storing markers and re-inkers -- I believe I tried everything under the sun.  THEN, someone told me about Stamp-n-Storage.  All I can say is THEY have made my life so much easier.

The first item I purchased was a stamp pad/marker/re-inker holder, and I LOVE it.  I still use it to this day and I have had it for several years.  Here is what one looks like:

This storage unit comes in white or natural and is made to hold either 24/36/60 stamp pads, markers and refills.  It also comes with the option to sit on your desk or to be hung on the wall.

If you are like me, you LOVE punches. Sometimes I feel like I have a gazillion of them, but I ALWAYS want the new one on the block.  My next purchase was a holder for my lock-down punches:

This guy also comes in white or neutral and can hold up to 32 large lock-down punches, and can either sit on your desk or be hung on the wall.  A whale-tale unit is also available.

Metal Dies -- Please do not ask how many I have -- let's just say lots, and lots, and lots and leave it there, lol. How many do you have?  Are they floating all over your home?  Some are stuck in a drawer?  In a box (somewhere)?  This handy-dandy storage container was a must have.  It can hold a lot of dies.

This guy not only comes in white or neutral, but also with or without a lid; and, it comes in small, medium and large -- to fit your needs.

And these magnetic cards are a MUST HAVE to help keep your dies under control.  As you can see in the box above, these cards fit nicely into them and viola (imagine the slash above the a) your new storage solution has your dies under control.

And for those of you who fall into the same category as me (too many dies --never!!), Stamp-n-Storage has released a new item that can hold a LOT of dies, and 6x6 paper (if you want).

 Look at all that storage. Amazing!  You can purchase a two-drawer or a four-drawer unit to hold your complement of dies.  Okay, okay, I admit it -- I ordered one and it is on the way.  I'll post pictures after I move all my dies over to this cutie.  Oh, before I forget, it comes in white or neutral.

Stamp-n-Storage has so many nice storage solutions.  Hop on over (click on the link on the left side of this blog) and check them out.  (Please note I am an affiliate of Stamp-n-Storage and do get a commission from any purchase you make through my link.  You are not charged the commission, it is covered by Stamp-n-Storage.)