Forever Fern- block stamping

Today, we're going tosit back, relax, and SIP. SIP is an acronym for Stamps, Ink, Paper.
This technique is incredibly easy, though can lead to inky fingers. I had so much fun creating the cards today that I forgot to take pictures of each step, so, you'll notice that I've used a couple of colours... same technique, just different cards.  

Assemble your supplies. For this tutorial, I used the Forever Fern stamp set, Cajun Craze and Mossy Meadow ink, Whisper White, Cajun Craze, and Mossy Meadow cardstock, Stampin' Seal, a mini mister, and stamp blocks. The Whisper White cardstock was cut to 4 x 5 1/4" and the coloured cardstock was cut at 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.

 

Here's where it gets messy! Ink up your stamp block. For the smaller blocks, simply lay the block on the pad and ensure that it's well covered. It can be easier for the larger blocks to lay the block down, and tap it with the ink pad. It doesn't have to be perfect.
For the next step, grab your mini mister, and spray water on the block. For best results, I suggest not doing it right over your work surface, and keep the block as level as possible. Two or three spritzes is all you need. It's ok if it looks blotchy- that's kind of the point.

Grab your heat tool to dry the in, It's important to wait until the ink block is dry, so that when you apply the inked up stamp, the colour won't run. You can also wait for it to air dry- it's a pretty quick process. You just want it to be dry to the touch.

When you apply the ink to the paper, you may notice the paper start to curl. Not a big deal. If you've got a heat tool, apply heat to the paper, to both sides of the paper, until it uncurls. Applying heat to both sides makes sure it's drying evenly. Be sure to hold your heat gun about 6 inches or so away from the paper to avoid scorching. If you don't have a heat tool you can simply place your stamp block on top of the paper until it is dry.

The final step is to apply your stamp to your colour block. I chose to do tone-on-tone stamping for both my cards, but you can choose to use different colours, if you'd like. Place the stamps on the block, ink them up and put them wherever you'd like on your card.

This technique is fun and easy, I hope you give it a try, and if you do, please pop over to my Facebook page and share your creation!

Happy crafting!