Window Chic, Stampin’ Up! Style

How cool is this?  Today's sneak peek highlights Stampin' Up!'s Fall/Winter Hostess Level 3 set, "Window Dressing."  Wait until you see all the cute and seasonal stamps that fit perfectly into the window!  With all the excitement about the release of the Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter catalog on August 11, it's a perfect time to plan a Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Catalog Party with family and friends and earn free hostess stamp sets (like this one) and hostess awards for free merchandise.  Just email me for details!

I combined Splitcoast Color Challenge CC175 (Wild Wasabi, So Saffron and Almost Amethyst) with today's Sketch Challenge SC185.  Note:  I flipped my version.  The window stamp was inked in Jet Black Stazon and stamped on Watercolor Paper.  TIP:  I like to use Jet Black Stazon as a waterproof base before using Blender Pens or an Aqua Painter.  Using Stampin' Up! Markers, I colored in the window with So Saffron and Almost Amethyst.  TIP:  For a little change in texture, I used a Blender Pen dipped in Almost Amethyst ink on the shutters.  It almost looks like a different color 🙂

The flowers, bird and "smile" sentiment were also inked with Jet Black Stazon and placed with the assistance of a Stamp-a-ma-jig.  The flowers and bird were colored with markers and a Blender Pen.  TIP:  A Blender Pen is not only splendid for soft effects, it acts as a marker for colors you may not own–in this case Wild Wasabi since Stampin' Up! doesn't make a Wasabi marker. 

THE PERFECT TOUCHES: The little things can make all the difference.  I added a scalloped "valance" in Almost Amethyst, stamped in Stazon Black using Background Basics.  I snapped one Boho Backgrounds flower (on Almost Amethyst) with a 1/4" Circle Punch and added it above the window.  Finally, I decided to doodle a border with a Stampin' Up! Basic Black marker, accentuating the casual feel of the stamp set and card.

Layered beneath the main image are layeres of So Saffron and Almost Amethyst card stock.  I distressed the edges using the multi-purpose Cutter Kit tool.  The vertical banner is a strip of Wild Wasabi over Basic Black.  The charming pattern is a Boho Backgrounds stamp (inked in Black Stazon).

Using another Boho Backgrounds stamp, I jazzed up the So Saffron layer with flowers, then matted it on Basic Black and a card base of Very Vanilla Textured card stock (4.25 x 5.5)   TIP: Don't be afraid to mix two small patterns as I elected to do with the Boho Backgrounds.

To see all my Fall/Winter Sneak Peeks, simply click here.

Hugs and Pretties . . . . Mary

COMING UP . . . . Spend some final moments with my favorite retiring stamps (and, of course, more Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Sneak Peeks)!

Stamp Set:  Window Dressing (Fall/Winter Hostess Level 3), Boho Backgrounds, Background Basics
Paper:  Very Vanilla Textured, Watercolor Paper, Wild Wasabi, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Wild Wasabi, Stampin Up! Markers in So Saffron, Basic Black and Almost Amethyst
Cool Tools:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1/4" Circle Punch, Cutter Tool