I like to send Thanksgiving cards instead of Christmas cards, and this is the perfect project for the Simon Says Stamp November, 2018 kit. I just joined their kit club and this is my first kit.

In this month’s Simon Says Stamp kit, I got:
Simon Says Stamp Thanks and Leaves $24.99 #SSS101894 http://tinyurl.com/y8pezju9
Cardstock in off white, orange, green, and three matching envelopes and a couple of small tags
Tim Holtz Butterfly Adornments $6.99 TH93689 http://tinyurl.com/y7q776nf
Tim Holtz Snarky Small Talk (stickers) $6.99 link http://tinyurl.com/y7hpn2ju
Small bag of gold sequins

I used Michaels Recollections Heavyweight cardstock in white and cut the paper in half on the 8 1/2″ length, then took my two half sheets and put them in the trimmer on the 11″ length and cut them to 5 1/2″ each. My postcards are 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ vs. a normal postcard that’s 4 x 6″.  I have a postcard red rubber stamp that creates the mailing address and stamp spot for the back of the card but can’t remember who makes it….Penny Black makes one and here are two places I found them.. http://tinyurl.com/y7kf7hur and http://tinyurl.com/ya3r784w
I stamped the postcards with my postcard stamp with Archival black ink from Ranger, so they would be fine when they go through the mail.
Then I used Versafine Onyx Black ink and stamped the sentiment on all of my postcards, some with a family sentiment and most without (as we have a very small family.) I used Sparkle n’ Sprinkle embossing powder in Midnight Madness link: http://tinyurl.com/y7ytjt33 It sells for $4..69
I put embossing powder on the first card, (and not a lot of powder), then moved the card around to make sure the sentiment was covered with it, then dumped the excess onto the next card, and repeated the process…..I didn’t have a lot of excess embossing powder left over, and only had to put it back in the bottle once. I found by doing the assembly line fashion (stamping all the card backs, then stamping the sentiments on the fronts, and putting embossing powder on and heat setting three or four at a time, the process went much quicker than normal.)
Along the way, I realized that I shouldn’t have used the embossing powder with the glitter, as it didn’t act as a resist when I tried to ink over it. The glitter wiped off, and I had a difficult time deciding if the embossed image was heat set completely…
To create my background, I used a white pigment ink called Frost White from Color Box link: http://tinyurl.com/yd9p86ty or Unicorn White pigment ink from Hero Arts. I used a Tim Holtz blending tool link: http://tinyurl.com/y7a6drfd and gently rubbed it over the center of the postcard in a circular motion. Then once the center of the card is covered with ink, I used Wendy Vecchi’s Make Art Blendable Ink called Sunflower. Link: http://tinyurl.com/y7rnmbq7 with a second blending tool (you can use the same tool, just be sure to change the foam pad on it between colors.)  I covered the rest of the postcard with the Sunflower ink and then blended the white ink in the center with the yellow Sunflower ink to create a nice blended look.
Then I took a damp towel and wiped the white ink off the sentiment to ensure it’s as dark as possible. I dried the background before stamping the leaves on it.
I positioned the leaves around the sentiment in the MISTI and positioned the postcard so it’s 1″ from the top of the MISTI so I can place the leaves as close to the edges as possible. I stamped it with Always Artichoke Ink from Stampin’ Up and stamped the leaves a couple of times to make sure they were dark….and then heat set it again. I found there were small gaps that needed leaves, so I used my peg stamps to fill those spots with the same ink.  Peg Stamps used:
Large Oval Leaf http://tinyurl.com/yckctk4q
Summer Leaves Set http://tinyurl.com/yaehvb7y This is a replacement set as they no longer make the summer leaves set.
Almost Beech Leaf http://tinyurl.com/y8ltttw7
Double mum leaf http://tinyurl.com/y96brroj

I stamped the peg stamps in any spot that needed an extra leaf and along the edges so it appears that the leaves are falling off the page.

I used water based markers from Stampin’ Up and colored on a plastic lid from peg stamps.. The colors I used were Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun and Chocolate Chip markers with a Stampin’ Up blender pen to pick up the colors and color the leaves….You can find either Tombow Colorless Blenders or Dove Blending Pens to accomplish the same results as the Stampin’ Up one.  Once I finished a couple of the postcards, I realized that the markers made the colors bleed through to the back, so went with colored pencils instead. I love Prismacolor colored pencils and had a lot better results and more vibrant colors when using them instead of the markers. Then I used a Spectrum Noir Wink of Stella type marker to add sparkle to my leaves, but that wasn’t good enough, so I added Diamond Glaze http://tinyurl.com/ydekb99f or Glossy Accents http://tinyurl.com/ya9uhor6  I struggled to get the Glossy Accents on small leaves, so put it in the center, then used a micro brush link: http://tinyurl.com/yddzsaw9 to spread it around. The 3-d effect you get from the Glossy Accents/Diamond Glaze really made all the difference.
I sprayed the postcards with Aqua Net hair spray to seal the front..I also used a Workable Fixatif by Krylon, but hated the smell of it and preferred the Aqua Net. They both seemed to work the same to make the postcards waterproof..

• Uncategorized