Rock N' Roll Stamping Technique with the CTMH June Stamp of the Month

Hi, everyone!  Wow, is it really June already?  It has been a very busy spring, but here we are already in June!  Every month Close To My Heart offers a full-size stamp set as a Stamp of the Month, and the June stamp is Garden Tags.  It is gorgeous!  In these cards I played around with the rock n' roll stamping technique, stitching, and embossing.  The Heart 2 Heart blog just posted a new challenge for using stitching, so check out their blog for some additional ideas.  Follow along to see how I put these cards together! (All products are linked for easy shopping!)

I made a video that walks through how I stamped and assembled these cards, which you can watch on my YouTube channel (see the link below).  However, I'll also give you the written version!

First, I cut my cardstock, papers from the May-June mix-in paper packet, to the following dimensions: top piece (2" x 4.25"), bottom piece (3.5" x 4.25"), vellum (3" x 3"), and top strip for the vellum (0.5" x 3").  This card pattern is from page 26 of the old Close To My Heart card pattern book called Originals.  

Next, I stamped the tag using the rock n' roll stamping technique.  It gives the stamped image a really fun ombre sort of look but is very easy to do!  

First, choose several ink colors that you'd like to use for your image.  My colors were Sweet Leaf, Juniper, Twilight, and Sapphire.  Arrange them in order from lightest to darkest.  My lightest color was Sweet Leaf, so I stamped the entire image in that color.

The second step is to move on to the next lightest color and gently roll parts of your stamp over the ink pad.  Don't press the entire stamp onto the ink pad or you'll lose that first color!  I like to roll the edges of my stamp over the edges of the ink pad just so that I can control the color coverage.  Continue doing this for your other colors, but remember--move from lighter to darker colors!  Otherwise, you'll ruin your lighter ink pads.  Now STAMP!  If you took a long time getting all of the colors onto your stamp, just huff onto it before stamping; the moisture in your breath will help.  (That sounds so weird, but I promise it's a good tip!)

For this particular card I also added some clear embossing powder, a brad, and a ribbon bow.  I used some DMC embroidery thread to stitch a little vellum pocket to the front of the card, stamped a "thanks" sentiment and popped it up with foam tape, and then edge distressed the entire card with the Sweet Leaf color.  You can see that I used the same rock n' roll stamping technique to put a little something extra on the front of my envelopes, too!  

I had a lot of fun playing with the Garden Tags stamp set, which is available ONLY IN THE MONTH OF JUNE!  There are so many ways that you could create some beautiful tags, cards, and scrapbook page embellishments with this stamp set.  So beautiful!

Here's another tag that I made for a card; this one is stamped entirely in the Sapphire ink, embossed with clear powder, and then sponged with the Sweet Leaf ink.  

I hope you enjoyed this post, and perhaps you even learned something new!  If you try out the rock n' roll technique or use the June Stamp of the Month, please share pictures of your creations in the comments below!