I tried once before to do the alcohol blend technique on our vellum cardstock and although the technique worked on the Stampin' Blends coloured backgrounds, the alcohol I was using was too low a concentration of alcohol and the vellum ended up rolling up into a scroll no matter what I tried to do to prevent it. So I didn't want to demonstrate the technique on line with that complication. And I wasn't sure I would be able to get the 90% isopropyl alcohol I needed for it here in BC. But my hubby hunted down some 99% isopropyl alcohol, and I crossed my fingers and tried it out, hoping that my theory that at 70%, there was too much water in it and it made the vellum curl, would be correct.
And it worked. I did the technique the same way and the vellum lay as flat as could be and dried just like that! So, I've decided to showcase this alcohol blend technique on my Monday Morning Facebook Live video today at 11 am PDT. I hope you can tune in on my Playing with Papercrafting Facebook page. If not I will post the YouTube replay here on my blog.
I also tried out, for the first time, my Beautiful Brushstrokes Dies and the Happy Thoughts sentiment stamp set. Here's how the card turned out:
- I used a piece of Gorgeous Grape, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored along the 8 1/2" side at 4 1/4", for the card base. On that I added a piece of Thick Basic White 4" x 5 1/4".
- I used a full quarter of a sheet of vellum, 5 1/2" x 4 1/4", to try out the technique and then trimmed it down to 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" to layer over the Basic White background. I originally tried it over a Flirty Flamingo background the same size as the Basic White, but the colours were just so intense and the sentiment and roses got lost against it. The white works so much better.
- You need small scraps of Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo and Magenta Madness to create the large flower. No bigger than 2 1/2" square is necessary. The largest rose outline die is cut from the Blushing Bride. The largest of the overlay dies is cut from Flirty Flamingo and the smallest from the Magenta Madness.
- I cut two purple roses. The scraps of Purple Posy, Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape should be 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" at the smallest. The largest outline die is cut from Purple Posy, the largest overlay die from Highland Heather and the smallest overlay die from Gorgeous Grape.
- For the 3 leaves, the outline die is cut from Granny Apple Green and you need a scrap of both shades of green cardstock about 2" x 4". The overlay leaf die is Shaded Spruce.
- The sentiment, from the Happy Thoughts stamp set, is stamped in Flirty Flamingo ink and is die cut with the largest Tasteful Labels Die. You need about a 3" x 4" piece of Basic White cardstock for that.
- The roses and leaves have their layers glued together and are mounted on the card front, over the sentiment, with glue dots and Stampin' Dimensionals.
- The embellishments I used are the Pastel Pearls.
How would you like to have a caddy like this to store your adhesives and other small tools that always seem to litter your craft desk and get lost under paper and other products? I'm offering you a free tutorial in how to make this for yourself in my free April Newsletter if you get it by subscribing. It's surprisingly easy to make, uses only 3 sheets of regular 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock and only about 1/2 of a 12" x 12" sheet of DSP. I've made a couple now, and I'm using another one to hold my clear acrylic stamp blocks in.
It's so handy, because these are the things that clutter up my work surface so easily and now I can keep them organized.
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If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.
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90% + Isopropyl alcohol
