Today is Valentine’s Day and Old Man Winter’s gift is another snow storm.  Never mind, I wasn’t really planning on going out.  But instead I have a great excuse for continuing to migrate the contents of my old laptop to my new computer.  Of course as I’m in the craft studio anyway I can take a break (or maybe several) to create something.  Today I started with a very striking bookmark using the Elegantly Said and Turtle Friends Stamp Sets.  It’s quite a simple layout but perfect for Valentine’s Day.

RICH RED VALENTINE

The colour of my finished bookmark was honestly a total accident. I just sat down with some Blending Brushes and ink pads and began to play. However having stumbled upon this combination I’ll definitely use it again.

I began with a 2″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Thick Very Vanilla Card. Then using a Blending Brush I covered the card with a layer of Blushing Bride ink. Yes, that very pale pink that doesn’t see much love. Then on top of that I added a layer of Poppy Parade ink. This created an interesting colour, but not what I was really after. So I reached for the Cherry Cobbler ink pad and that did it. By the time I’d finished adding this third colour with the Blending Brush I had a rich deep red that almost seemed to glow.

Of course with the amount of ink I used I knew it would take time to dry. So I washed out my brushes and left the card strip on the desk overnight.

ELEGANTLY SAID AND MORE

This morning I decided it was safe to add a sentiment and I knew just where to look, the Elegantly Said Stamp Set. The sentiment “True love stories last forever” is great for a wedding card, and perfect for a bookmark.

First, using VersaMark ink I stamped the sentiment onto the card. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with white Stampin’ Emboss Powder from the Basics pack. After tapping off the excess powder I removed a few stray specks, and then melted the rest using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high). What a transformation! But I wasn’t quite finished.

I wanted to add a few hearts and I found exactly what I was looking for in the Turtle Friends Stamp Set. This one stamp has three small hearts that were just the right size. So I stamped them close to the sentiment with VersaMark ink and added the white embossing powder. Then I tapped off the excess and removed the stray specks before melting the rest as before.

Now to turn the card strip into a bookmark I punched the end using the Fancy Tag Topper Punch. Then I threaded two 6″ pieces of White 3/8″ Glittered Organdy Ribbon through the hole. To keep the ribbon in place I wrapped some white twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack around it and tied it in a simple bow. With that my Valentine’s project was complete.

I have to say that I’m delighted with how the bookmark turned out. Leaving the inked piece overnight certainly helped ensure there was no damp ink areas that would attract the embossing powder. The white embossing on the deep red also creates quite a dramatic look don’t you think?

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Elegantly Said Stamp Set in a bundle with the Elegant Tag Punch (not used today). Using a single ‘bundle’ item number to order them meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore that option. Also available in a discounted bundle is the Turtle Friends Stamp Set with the Turtle Builder Punch (not used today). I’ve included a link to that too.