Easter Blessings and Alcohol Inks

Woohoo! New toys!!! I got this Easter stamp way back when because one time (years ago) I didn't realize that all the Easter stamps would be sold way before Easter. I had gone to my LSS to get one and she shook her head sadly and said they had all sold shortly after Christmas. I stored away that little nugget and this year when I saw this adorable filigree egg, I snapped it up, I think it was September.

Card details - short version. The eggs were stamped on pre-made background paper and embossed in black and silver, trimmed and mounted on the background papers. The sentiment is heat embossed too. So pretty!

Card details - long version.

I recently got my first alcohol inks. I used these a while ago in a class and fell in love with their rich, vibrant colours and the beautiful patterns they make. I used Wild Plum, Bottle and Silver on photo paper (misguided thriftiness, stay tuned) and the blending solution to make a sort of polished stone look background. Then I stamped the egg three times with versamark and embossed two with black and one with silver. The silver one got embossed on a paler piece that I'd inked when the felt was starting to lose its colour. So it's just a lighter version of the other two. The misguided thriftiness became apparent when the photo paper started to curl and melt a little under the heat tool. Still, it was salvageable, but I think I'll only use the photo paper when I know I won't be embossing. But I wasn't done with my heat tool yet! I used it to emboss the sentiment and heat up some neat craft foam that I got from my LSS for making texture stamps. After it was heated, I pressed the bristles of my hair brush into it (long side in) to make sort of a grassy look. I used this foam piece to stamp the turquoise background. It's a bit faint. I'll be experimenting more with this foam - it's fun! My aunt generously shared some with me when she was visiting. Wonder if she's tried hers yet??? I trimmed the eggs, stuck them down, added ticket corner punch and black mat, peeled off eggs to add organdy ribbon, stuck them down again, added matching brads and mounted the whole thing on an orchid opulence card base.

Now if you're still reading, you deserve a medal! Hope it was all worth it ;-) It's also why I put in the short version!

Supplies: Stamps: Easter egg - The Artful Stamper, sentiment - Magenta; Ink: versamark; Paper: glossy photo paper, cool caribbean, basic black, orchid opulence; Other: ticket corner punch, light turquoise brads, orchid organdy ribbon, black and silver embossing powder, moldable craft foam and hair brush, alcohol inks (Ranger) in Wild Plum, Bottle and Silver plus blending solution, felt and dabber tool.