Every year Stampin’ Up! looks for very talented Demonstrators to make cards or other projects using their products.  They are called Artisans and their creations are amazing. Stampin’ Up! sends them products to use and then gives them challenges or themes to make projects with these products.   Most of the Artisans change every year, although some stay on for longer.  Many of them make cards much more complicated than I do but they are still gorgeous.

Heather Thomas is one of the Stampin’ Up! Artisans. She posted a project where she showed a new technique using Blends and heat embossing.  I thought her card was gorgeous and I wanted to try the technique.

I decided to use the same stamp set Heather used.  It is called Petal Park and has a coordinating punch to go with it.  Petal Park is in the January – April Mini Catalog and will be carrying over into the 2023/2024 Annual Catalog.  The only thing is once the Mini Catalog retires you will not get the 10% discount on purchasing the stamp set and punch in a bundle (so if you like it, you should order it before that discount goes away on May 2nd).

To make the flowers and leaves, first you stamped them in the color of your choice using a Stamparatus or other stamping platform.  I used Fresh Freesia, Pool Party, Lemon Lolly (a new color coming soon!) and Parakeet Party.  Then you color them using Stampin’ Blends in the same colors.  The Blends make the details of the flowers and leaves disappear.  When you are done coloring, you stamp them again in Versamark Ink.  The reason you need to use the stamping platform is that you will be able to stamp them in the exact same spot.  Next, sprinkle white embossing powder over the images and heat set it with your Heat Tool.  The embossing powder brings the details back and adds some shine.  If you embossed first and then colored with your Blends, the Blends would add color to the embossing powder and you would not be able to see it.   Then you just punch the flowers out using the coordinating Petal Park Punch.

To make the rest of the card, I used the die set called Alphabet A La Mode.  I cut out the letters in Fresh Freesia card stock.  I layered them onto a piece of Basic White card stock that I had cut out using the Radiating Stitches dies.  These dies are included in the Online Exclusive product page.  I layered that on a piece of Bright & Beautiful Designer Series Paper (which is also in the new Annual Catalog beginning in May) and a Fresh Freesia card base.  Then I adhered it to the card using Multipurpose Glue and Dimensionals.

The sentiment “birthday” is from another stamp set in the Mini that is being carried over called Sentimental Park.  Sentimental Park has coordinating dies of the same name.  Both bundles are part of a suite in the Mini Catalog.  I stamped it in Versamark ink and heat-embossed it using white embossing powder.  The sentiment really says happy birthday but I cut the happy off.

I am not sure exactly how many Stampin’ Up! Artisans there are but if you do a Google search, their names should pop up.

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