Tropically Yours Stamp of Approval Collection Blog Hop - Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 of theTropically Yours Stamp of Approval Blog Hop! This Collection is full of summery fun - tropical images, fabulous hand-lettered sentiments and some cool geometric dies.

You should have come from Allison's blog (full blog list below with details about how to win!).

If you’re new to Stamp of Approval – click here to check out everything you need to know about this exclusive collection of stamps, dies and other goodies. All these products were designed specifically for this collection; they are brand new, and while they will be made available at Catherine's store in the future, they won't be available there for many months.

If you are a StampNation member, you get access to order starting on Monday, Tuesday, July 17th at 9 pm. Not a StampNation member? Make sure you are on the wait list so you get access to the collection at 9 am Wednesday, July 18th before the public (at 6 pm). These collections always sell quickly (and often sell out!), so if you're liking what you're seeing on the blog hops, you'll want to ensure that you have an opportunity to get your hands on this collection!

Stamps: Fearless Pursuit

Ink: Coral Cabana, Limoncello, Tiki Torch, Midnight

Paper: White, Midnight

This is an amazing sentiment - full of energy, encouragement and (literally!) fire. It's big enough to be the centrepiece of the card, so I let it stand alone without much adornment. But I did have fun making this 'dimensional' background with one triangle stamp and 3 colours of ink. Once you figure out the pattern, it's not difficult to do. I started with the Coral Cabana triangles, and then filled in the other colours. If you look very closely, you can see some overlapping stamping and some small white gaps, but overall, the pattern holds and provides a sunny, 3D look behind the sentiment.

Stamps: Fearless Pursuit, Good Vibes Borders, Leave Me in Paradise

Ink: Coral Cabana, Limoncello, Melon Ice, Garden Party, Midnight

Paper: White, Midnight

Accessories: Matching Dies

This is another wonderful hand-lettered sentiment from Fearless Pursuit. I knew I wanted the Vibe and Tribe to be really stand out, but I could also see that it might be tricky to mask it - especially where the Y from Your hangs into the V from Vibe. So here are the steps I took to get this look:

• Place the stamp on the stamp positioner.
• Stamp it once in limoncello on a post it note - this will be the mask
• Cut out 'Vibe' and 'Tribe', very close the edges of the letters.
• Ink the stamp with Limoncello ink, focussing on the Vibe and Tribe areas. Stamp it onto your panel
• Use the rock-n-roll technique with Coral Cabana ink, again focusing on the Vibe and Tribe. Stamp it onto your panel
• Place the Vibe and Tribe masks you created onto the panel, right over the words.
• Ink up the stamp with Midnight, focusing the ink on Your and Attracts Your. Stamp it on the panel.
• Remove the mask and be amazed!

It was slightly fiddly, but not difficult at all.

I stamped the bold border twice with Midnight, lining it up to create the square pattern. All the border stamps fit into themselves so you can stamp them multiple times (with multiple colours, if you want) to create fun backgrounds. This set is going to become a go-to basic!

I stamped and die cut one of the leaves from Leave Me in Paradise as another fun pop of colour.

Stamps: Fearless Pursuit, Stand Tall, Canvas Grunge Background

Ink: Limoncello, Tiki Torch, Lime Rickey, Eucalyptus, Over Coffee, It's a Boy, Aquatini, Shea Butter

Paper: Watercolour Cardstock (Ranger), Sand Dunes

I love this faux-watercolour technique - it's just as easy as stamping, but gives a very realistic watercolour look. The trees and the sun each have two pieces. One at a time, I put each stamp on my stamp positioner, inked it with the appropriate colour and spritzed it with water before pressing it down onto my panel. Once it was dry, I hand painted (but it's all straight lines, so it's very easy to do!) the sky (It's a Boy with lots of water), the ocean (Aquatini) and the sand (Over Coffee and Shea Butter). Finally, I stamped the sentiment with second-generation Over Coffee Ink.

For my card base, I used the Canvas Grunge Background in Over Coffee ink on Sand Dunes cardstock. I love how my little scene now looks like a post card on a cork board!

That's it from me for today - now be sure to hop to everyone's blog and comment for your chance to win! (There are 2 more days of blog hops to come, lots of inspiration to see and lots of chances to win!)

THREE commenters will be chosen at random from all the comments on all the blogs (one each day) to win the Stamp of Approval Collection! If the winner has already purchased their collection, they will receive a $100 gift certificate. 

Entries will close on Friday, July 20 and will be announced on Catherine's blog.

Catherine

Maureen

Melissa  

Allison

Ardyth

Jenny

Josefine