Hi friends! Emily here with you today. My post is brought to you by my newly determined effort to try new things. Today, I’m trying to use stamps in my arsenal that are under-loved, as well as getting a taste of some new paper to use with my Zig markers.

I wanted my focus today to be on the Morning Glory Garden background stamp. I absolutely adore this stamp, and it’s one that I haven’t used nearly as much as I’d like. So I pulled it out and heat embossed it on some of my favorite watercolor paper, then watercolored it with palest blue, purple, and pink Zig markers and my wet paintbrush.

My next step was to take an A2 panel of pale gray card stock and die cut a circle in the upper center using the Double Stitched Circle dies. I then used dimensional adhesive to pop up the frame, adding a flagged strip of white card stock that had been stamped with this lovely sentiment from Timeless Icons using Smoky Quartz ink. Some Smoked Amethyst, Light Blue Topaz, and Glass Slippers sequins scattered about finished it off and added just a hint of sparkle.

This next card is a little different for me, in both layout and technique. Now, I’ve been on the search for the perfect watercolor card stock to use with The Ton’s background stamps since the day after I received my first background stamp (the Peony Garden background). I wanted something smooth that would still take the color and the water beautifully, but would also allow the solid areas to heat emboss cleanly. You can see that the texture of the watercolor paper in the photo above didn’t really give me that perfectly smoothly embossed solid morning glory.  I’ve experimented with different brands, different weights, hot vs cold press…. but I’ve never tried Smooth Bristol, because it isn’t technically watercolor paper. Well, I’m here to tell you… for the background stamps from The Ton, it’s completely perfect. It’s also a nice, bright white, which makes me really happy.

I heat embossed the Morning Glory Garden background again on an A2 sized sheet of Smooth Bristol card stock, then colored it the same way I normally would with my Zig markers and wet paintbrush. (For me, the key is to move quickly before the color has a chance to seep into the paper and be unwilling to move with the wet paintbrush. As long as I move quickly, the color moves almost as well as it does with normal watercolor paper. Score!) I colored the morning glories in more shades of pale pink, blue, and purple, then heat embossed a few of the single morning glories from Wild Morning Glories and colored them with coordinating Zig markers, then fussy cut them out.

I cut two strips of the same pale gray card stock from the previous card, then popped them up on either side of the watercolored panel. (I was a little sad to cover up so much of the pretty flowers, but the design wants what the design wants.) The sentiment, from Loose Peonies, was stamped again using Smoky Quartz ink on a strip of white card stock. I adhered the loose morning glories down so that they were peeking out from behind the sentiment strip, then added a few Glass Slippers sequins to create a nice visual cascade down the front of the card.

And there you have it! Two nice and clean cards, both with a little dimension to add some more interest. I hope you’ve enjoyed my post today and find some of my tips useful! Happy Thursday, friends!