One of the fun aspects of sharing with you here in the CLASSroom is finding new designers and showcasing their ideas here with all of you. This month we our Mix-It-Up Challenge showcases Pinkfresh and our Essentials by Ellen line. We wanted to encourage you to try the Pinkfresh products because they pair beautifully with our private label line! Today we are thrilled to introduce Nancy Damiano, one of Pinkfresh's designers!
Nancy has been paper crafting for 10+ years and is as in love with it today as much as the fateful day she stumbled upon the scrapbook and card aisle at Michael's. While she is a seasoned scrapbooker, card making has been taking up more and more of her crafty time. She is learning all the techniques that go into these small works of art and has a passion for the color aqua, Disney World, and anything paper + craft.
You are likely to see her talent shared all over the internet, but I encourage you to visit her blog Nancy Damiano - Creating at the Paper Orchard! We would appreciate if you would share some comment love with Nancy for joining us here today! Look for the post that shows a sneak peek of the project below along with a special giveaway we have for you there. Please leave Nancy a comment before October 19th for a chance to win a $50 coupon to use in our store!
Thank you Nancy for sharing your passion for paper crafting with us here today! I can totally see how not only could our customer create a gorgeous page but also use this same technique on a card front! Your work is stunning and we appreciate that you have joined us and shared it here! -Ellen
Combining my scrapbooking and stamping obsessions is a challenge and one of my favorite ways to create! Today I’m combining the beautiful colors and patterns in the Pinkfresh Studio Indigo Hills collection and the perfection that is Julie Ebersole’s Stay Golden stamp set. This design features one of my favorite shadowbox techniques.
To create the shadow box, begin by cutting out a large title with an electronic die cutting machine. You could also draw the large letters by hand and cut out with an X-Acto knife.
Next, place a sheet of white cardstock underneath the cut out and lightly trace the title. This will service as a place guide so that all of the cutouts can be filled without gaps peeking through.
Using the pencil marks, fill in the letters with a repeating stamp like the small pineapples above, a favorite photo, some patterned paper and a stamped sentiment.
Use foam adhesive on the back of the cut out patterned paper to give your shadow box a little lift. Carefully adhere to the background sheet making sure all of the “windows” are filled.
To create a custom embellishment, use the pineapple stamp and a MISTI tool. Stamp the first time with a light yellow pigment ink. Then re-ink jus the top half of the pineapple image with a deeper shade of yellow ink and stamp again. This creates a pretty shadow effect.
Complete stamping the stem and grid over the pineapple shape. Then either use the coordinating die or fussy cut the shape.
Use a yellow misting ink to add droplets of yellow paint to the layout background. Add a swish of yellow paint to the right side of the background to break up some of the gray pattern.
Combining scrapbooking and stamping is a paper lover’s dream! All of the colors used were based on the Indigo Hills collection. Sometimes picking the right colors is the hardest part. Using a palette that has already been worked out saves on time and coordinates the look. Whether you’re a scrapbooker, cardmaker or DIYer, the shadowbox technique can be altered to your favorite techniques!
Happy crafting!
-Nancy
