If you’re fed up with flowers you’ll be pleased to hear I finally managed to drag myself away from the Hand-Penned Suite. For a little while at least. Today I wanted to revisit the Turtle Friends Stamp Set to create a layered gift tag. Although it wasn’t planned, I ended up using three different techniques to add colour to Basic White Card. After working with Blending Brushes, Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers and the two-step stamping technique, the result is a pretty scene with one very happy turtle.

THREE TAGS?
To create my gift tag I began with the amazing Tailor Made Tags Dies. From the two different shapes I chose the set with the rounded top, and selected the largest die. Then from Thick Basic White Card I die-cut three tags using my Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.
Next I needed some Blending Brushes and ink pads. First, on one of the die-cut tags I brushed on a light layer of Night of Navy ink. Then on the second tag I brushed a light layer of Mossy Meadow ink. Finally using a Paper Trimmer I cut the bottom 2-1/2″ off the third tag. Then after setting aside the top section, I brushed a darker layer of Mossy Meadow ink over the remaining bottom portion.
The top part of the third tag wasn’t going to waste as I needed it for the “happy birthday” sentiment from the Turtle Friends Stamp Set. The sentiment is actually too wide for the tag so I needed to be creative with the stamping.
First I just needed to trim the tag scrap to 1″ tall, leaving the stitching down the left and right edges. Next, looking through the photopolymer stamp I pressed just the word “birthday” onto a Tuxedo Black ink pad. Then I stamped it towards the right-hand side of the white tag top. Before continuing I thoroughly cleaned the stamp then inked up the word just “happy”. Finally I stamped it above “birthday” and over towards the left edge of the tag top.
With the altered sentiment complete I was ready to work on the actual turtle and for that I needed two stamps; the outline and the shell pattern.
TURTLE TWO-STEP
First, using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped two of the outline images onto Thick Basic White Card. Next I stamped the pattern inside the two shells using Pale Papaya ink. Finally I coloured the rest of one turtle with Pale Papaya Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers, before punching him out using the Turtle Punch.
Now I just needed to do a little fussy cutting, and I began by cutting around the shell of the second turtle. Then I shaped the top of the Mossy Meadow inked pieces in opposite directions. Finally I trimmed off the excess white space around the sentiment.

With all that done it was time to bring the pieces together starting with the lighter (and slightly taller) Mossy Meadow piece. Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the layer directly onto the tag base, lining up the bottom and sides of the tag. Then, lining up the bottom and sides once again, I added the second Mossy Meadow piece with Stampin’ Dimensionals
Next I used more Stampin’ Dimensionals to fix the separate shell onto the complete turtle before adding him to the tag.
Finally I added the sentiment towards the top of the tag with a few more Stampin’ Dimensionals.
To finish I threaded some white twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack through the hole at top of the tag and tied it in a simple knot. Job done.
I’m so pleased with how this gift tag turned out. Even though I used three different techniques to add colour it really was quick and easy to do.
For some more projects using the Turtle Friends Stamp Set see these earlier blog posts:
- Hello, bonjour, g’day and more
- Scrapbooking the turtle-y loved
- It’s time to shell-ebrate with turtle friends
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS
It’s the 11th of the month and that means it’s the start of the new subscription period for Paper Pumpkin. The July kit is called The Adventure Begins and will contain everything you need to create 12, yes twelve, full-sized cards and envelopes featuring adventure-themed imagery and an easy layering technique.

As always everything you need is included in the kit and it’s ready prepared so you can just start creating using the printed instructions. There’s also an exclusive stamp set with inspirational sentiments, and a mini ink spot in one of Stampin’ Up!’s current colours.
Subscribe today to reserve your The Adventure Awaits kit as stocks may be limited towards the end of the subscription period. Please note that your credit card will not be charged until July 11th, shortly before the kits are due to be shipped.
Well that’s all from me for today. I have some free time today so I plan to spend it in my craft studio.
PRODUCT LIST
BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Turtle Friends Stamp Set and coordinating Turtle Punch using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included links to both options below so you can explore these further if you wish.
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