A stamp for all Seasons

by Darcy Pollock

I'm always looking for ways to stretch my supplies in unusual ways. When I first saw the PHOTOPLAY WAVES background stamp it got me thinking... could I use it for all 4 seasons of the year? Here are the results of my playing.

FALL – I inked up the WAVES stamp in Versafine Clair Verdant ink and stamped onto watercolor paper, then sprinkled clear embossing powder over & heated to melt.  Next I smooshed Crackling Campfire and Wild Honey Distress INK on the white section on my Tim Holtz glass mat.  Then spritzed with a bit of water. I dipped the paper into the ink a few times, drying in between.  I die cut the new Oak Leaf Impresslit  from watercolor paper and dipped in the left over ink. After it was dry I used a bit of Twisted Citron Distress INK on the lighter places and some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to bring out some detail.  I used a NELLIES Ergonomic Blending Brush to ink the card base with Twisted Citron Distress Oxide. STAMP MARKET SKINNY UPPER ALPHA was used to cut out Thanks.  Popped up the background above the card base.  Stamped friend from Photoplay AWESOME stamp set.  Added the leaves & some twine.

WINTER – Stamped the WAVES stamp with WOW embossing ink onto watercolor paper, then WOW Halo embossing powder. I covered the snowflake the same way. Smooshed Prize Ribbon Distress INK onto craft mat and sprayed with a fair amount of water.  Using a waterbrush I brushed a wash over the entire card, letting it be darker in some places.  Hero Rounded Rectangle Infinity dies where used to cut out the front twice to add interest.  Stamped small sentiment from Photoplay PEACE & JOY in Prize Ribbon Distress OXIDE (did you know that Distress Oxides are great for stamping, not just backgrounds?!) Prize Ribbon Embossing Glaze was used on the shadow portion of the matching die to cut out JOY, white was used for the top layer.  I popped up the words with foam tape.

SPRING – I used the same colors to stamp the WAVES background as the fall card, but turned the stamp sideways.  This time I used different colors of springy Distress Inks smooshed and picked up with a waterbrush to color in different sections.   I rounded the corners of a card base, & trimmed down the colored section, rounding those corners as well. I cut out an oval from the center with a die. Die cut several Sizzix Wildflower Stems from white cardstock. Die cut Awesome from Photoplay AWESOME die in white & green.  Die cut shadow for same from white.  Adhere together offsetting the top two layers slightly.  Stamp smaller words from AWESOME stamp set and trim. Adhere flowers over oval opening. Add sentiment below. 

SUMMER – Stamp WAVES onto watercolor paper with WOW embossing ink and WOW Glassy Ocean embossing powder.  Smoosh Distress INKS Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China and a bit of Twisted Citron onto white mat.  Spray with water.  Dab background into inks, spreading a bit with a waterbrush if necessary.  Using scissors cut away the top and bottom of the waves along the curve.  Stamp the Hero Arts COLOR LAYERING ORCA and then die cut (I LOVE HIM!) Stamp the sentiment onto a scrap of watercolor paper that was dipped in the leftover ink.  Trim & adhere to background along with the orca.

I hope you have as much fun playing with this stamp as I did.

Darcy