Carolyn's Paper Fantasies: Gentle Peace Christmas

Happy Monday! It's time for another Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge! Here is my sample for this week:

Check out the sketch:

Can I just tell you how AWESOME Blendabilities are? I fell in love with this stamp set with so many awesome samples being shared by other stampers. However, I chose to use this stamp for this sketch challenge so I could use my Blendabilities Markers.

While there isn't a need for any special coloring "technique" for this stamp set, as the spaces you color are small, I quickly decided that Blendabilities are not only fun but perfect to just COLOR things with. Why? Because they are alcohol-based (and not water-based) the color saturates the paper. Why is this good? You don't have to follow traditional rules for marker coloring - i.e. you can color in ANY DIRECTION!!!! I colored in circles, vertical lines, and horizontally in the same area - and I bet you can't tell from looking at my finished project. Go ahead - look again!

Now back to the stamp set, Gentle Peace. Isn't it beautiful and full of love?

I started my card with a Crumb Cake base stamped with the Hardwood stamp in Crumb Cake ink.

After coloring the Gentle Peace image, I decided to cut around around the edges of the wood-framing from the stained-glass scene and round the corners. I matted with Night of Navy card stock.

I wanted just a little more woodgrain look so I embossed the Early Espresso strip of card stock and decided to use it like a window ledge. I stamped the greeting from the stamp set with Night of Navy ink. The embellishment was colored and punched out with a 3/4" circle punch and matted with a 1" circle of Daffodil Delight.

I did finish the inside - yay!

You don't have to do a lot when finishing the inside. I carried the Night of Navy color to the inside by matting the liner with Night of Navy card stock after stamping the greeting with Night of Navy ink.

One more tip: I found it is super easy to clean your photopolymer stamps (with no staining) in the kitchen sink! I just run water over my stamp while it's on the block, peel it off, and lay it on a paper towel (flat-side down) to dry. I prefer this method over using my Stampin' Scrub because no matter how clean my Stampin' Scrub is - I always seem to transfer a reddish ink color to my photopolymers - but not in the sink!

Your turn! We would love to see what you can create using this sketch! Head over to Mary Jo's blog listed below and enter your project using the sketch. Don't forget to check out all the other wonderful projects created by the design team this week!

Mary Jo Price-Williams - Technostamper

Sue Root - Stampin' with Sue

Nicole Tegrul - Be Creative with Nicole

Robbie Rubula - Inked X2

Eileen LeFevre - Eileen's "Stampin' Fever" Blog

Tanya Bell - Stamping T!

Jonia Smith - Stampin For Me

Mary Brown - Stamper Camper's Corner

tams# 1850

Product List

Gentle Peace Photopolymer Stamp Set	Hardwood [wood]	Hardwood [clear]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Crumb Cake 8-1/2X11 Card Stock	Night Of Navy 8-1/2X11 Card Stock	Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
Daffodil Delight 8-1/2X11 Card Stock	Early Espresso 8-1/2X11 Card Stock	3/4 Inch Circle Punch	1 Inch Circle Punch
Project Life Corner Punch	Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Texture Boutique Embossing Machine	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Night Of Navy Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Crumb Cake Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Old Olive Assortment
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Calypso Coral Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Alcohol Marker Color Lifter