I don’t often go for cute, but I admit I’ve been wanting to use these little monster stamps for a while. So long I don’t remember where I got them. Knowing me, they were Studio G stamps in the bargain bin (I checked, I was right). So, since I did a set of fairly dark cards, I thought I’d do something cute for those who dig that.
For this project, I used:
- Blank kraft paper note cards, with envelopes
- Papers by Recollections
- Plain black card stock
- Bristol paper
- Versafine Onyx Black
- Extra-fine embossing powder
- Distress Markers
- Fiskars circles template
- Studio G Stamps
- Sizzix Decorative Frames
- EK Success jack-o-lantern edge punch
I chose a harlequin pattern and cut it to 4¼” x 4″, centering the pattern as much as possible.
I punched out jack-o-lantern edges, and trimmed them so they’d have attaching room below, and be 4¼” long. I needed six edges for the three cards.
Next, my three little monsters got stamped on Bristol with Versafine and embossed. I originally used marker pad, as I’d planned on using Copics, but that wasn’t going as well as I liked, so I switched to watercolor.
Distress Markers applied with a water brush colored the monsters. Before I painted them, I marked a light pencil circle, 1½” across, using a Fiskars circle template. I didn’t use their cutter, as it’s not all that trustworthy. I did two of everything, just in case, then I cut out my monsters and chose the best.
I stamped these sentiments from the same Studio G set on to another piece from the Recollections stack.
To assemble, I edged the harlequin paper with the jack-o-lanterns, top and bottom. Centered toward the top, the decorative frame went down, and a monster on top of that. Sentiment below. Everything is stuck straight down for easier mailing. Adorbs.
Raffle status: Definitely sending these off.
These are absolutely adorable and I’m unashamedly stealing the look. Now if I could figure out the water color technique. . .Subtle’s not really my thing.
Easy way to be subtle: scribble distress marker on your craft mat. Get your brush a little wet, and dip it in the color on the mat. Experiment. It’s a very lazy way to do watercolor, and I use it all the time.