Oh my goodness am I ever tired of overcast skies and sub-zero temperatures. Our driveway and the bottom of the hill are still coated in ice from a storm last week, and the weather’s doing nothing to help. What we need is some rain or sun to get it melted, hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate over the next few days.

After yesterday’s very quick and easy bookmark, today’s project is a little more involved with three different colours of embossing, some sponging and colouring. And with the weather firmly on my mind the Under My Umbrella Stamp Set seemed rather apt.

FIRST CAME THE RAIN

I began my project with a layer of Whisper White Card. First I applied a light layer of Balmy Blue ink with some Stampin’ Sponge. Then I wiped the piece with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static from the surface. Next I used VersaMark ink to stamp the raindrop image all over the piece. With that done I sprinkled the VersaMark with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder then tapped off the excess. Once I’d removed a few stray specks I melted the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

Next came some more Balmy Blue ink, sponged over the embossing but leaving a lighter area in the centre. After that I sponged some Blueberry Bushel ink around the edges. Then I gently wiped the surface to remove any excess ink from on top of the rain drops.

Before moving on I decided to use the raindrop image as my coordinating feature on the inside of the card and envelope.

I simply wiped the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope with the Embossing Buddy. Then I stamped the raindrops all over the flap with VersaMark ink, sprinkled them with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder, tapped off the excess, checked for specks and finally melted the rest. This time though I only used Balmy Blue ink to sponge over the embossed raindrops and then gently wiped off the excess.

To create a liner for my card base I stamped the image once in the centre near the top of a layer of Whisper White Card. Then I clear embossed the image and sponged Balmy Blue ink as a rough area around and over it.

THE BRIGHTEST YELLOW

To bring out the blue I chose the brightest yellow card in the Stampin’ Up! range, Pineapple Punch. Then having cut a layer of card I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to mount the embossed piece onto it. With that done I wrapped some Whisper White Baker’s Twine three times around the layers and secured the ends on the back with Tear & Tape Adhesive.

To add even more contrast I chose Blueberry Bushel for my card base. I cut and scored the card using my Stampin’ Trimmer, then folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Using liquid glue I fixed the liner layer on the inside, then added the assembled raindrop layer to the front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

RAIN OR SHINE

Now I was finally ready to get to work on the sentiment and focal image of my card.

I chose the “Rain or shine you’re always on my mind sentiment” and stamped it onto some Whisper White Card using Blueberry Bushel ink. Then I mounted the sentiment onto some Pineapple Punch Card with liquid glue and added it to the card front with Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.

That just left the umbrella.

First I took a piece of Whisper White Card and used Balmy Blue ink to stamp one of the small flower images over the piece. Then I coloured the images using Stampin’ Write Markers in Petal Pink, Pineapple Punch and Soft Sea Foam.

Once the colouring was complete I wiped the piece with my Embossing Buddy and stamped the umbrella image over the top in VersaMark ink. Instead of clear embossing though, this time I used White Embossing Powder to emboss the umbrella image. With that done I cut out the umbrella top using the coordinating Umbrella Builder Punch.

For the umbrella handle I used the same punch to punch out a scrap of Silver Foil Sheet. Then I pressed the curved end onto the surface of my VersaMark ink pad. Next I dipped the curved end into a tub of Black Embossing Powder, tapped off the excess and melted the rest. Before the embossing had a chance to cool I dipped it into the embossing powder again, tapped off and melted the rest. Then I repeated this a third time, leaving my umbrella handle with a glossy black grip.

Using liquid glue I attached the umbrella handle to the edge of the sentiment on my card. Then I completed the project by adding the punched umbrella top with a double layer of Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally my card was complete and my blog needed just a few technical adjustments before I could publish it. And as if to celebrate, the sun has broken through the clouds. Yay! Maybe it will be a good Saturday after all.

PRODUCT LIST

UPDATE 2021 – Unfortunately the following products have retired and are no longer available from Stampin’ Up! Where possible I’ve provided alternate product suggestions for you.

• Blueberry Bushel Cardstock (substitute with Pacific Point Card)
• Pineapple Punch Cardstock (substitute with Daffodil Delight Card)
• Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin’ Pad (Substitute with Pacific Point ink pad)
• In Color 2018-2020 Stampin’ Write Markers (substitute with Brights Stampin’ Write Markers)
• Whisper White Solid Baker’s Twine (substitute with Snail Mail Twine Combo Pack)
• Embossing Buddy
• Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder (substitute with another colour e.g. Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder or White Stampin’ Emboss Powder)