Hey! In this week’s Facebook Live video, I made this fun little decorated bag for giving Starbucks Via packets. Check out the video below to see how I made it.

Most things I used in my project can be found in my online Stampin’ Up! store now, and the Brusho will be available January 3. If you can’t wait until then, click the blue button below to join my team, and you can get the Brusho in your Starter Kit! Make sure to use the December Host Code (below) if your order is below $150, and I’ll send you extra goodies! If your order is over $150, make sure to claim your Stampin’ Rewards when you check out, and you’ll still get my free gift!

Stampin’ Up! is now taking reservations for the Stamparatus stamp positioning tool! Reserve yours now through December 30! First come, first shipped!

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Hi, and welcome to the Stampin’ Dreams Blog Hop! This is a monthly hop with Stampin’ Up! friends around the world; you’re currently visiting Sarah Fleming in the USA. This month’s theme is Favorite Technique. Come on, that’s like asking me to pick my favorite kid! (Hint: It’s the one who isn’t whining at that moment.) After I narrowed it down to my top five or so, I finally just had to pick something. Okay, I couldn’t pick just one, so here I’m showing two of my favorites.

The techniques I used on my card are Emboss Resist and Ink, Spray, & Smash. I wanted to see what kind of background I’d get with the Ink, Spray, & Smash technique if I had already embossed an image on the Glossy Cardstock. The answer is: the fun kind!

I first heat embossed the tree from Ready For Christmas with Clear embossing powder. I did this on two card fronts. Then I dropped ink from Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, and Lemon-Lime Twist reinkers onto one piece of the cardstock, spritzed that card front with water, then smashed the two card fronts together and quickly pulled them apart. I blotted off excess ink and water with a microfiber cloth, then polished the backgrounds with the same cloth.

I added a piece of Bermuda Bay 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon, then added a greeting from Ready For Christmas. To finish off the card, I colored a bunch of White Perfect Accents with the Dark Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Blends marker then added those to the tree.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you like my card and that you’ve been inspired to try either of these techniques. You are currently visiting Sarah Fleming in the USA. Please see the list below & hop through all of the people on the list to see all of our projects. You don’t want to miss any!

Everything I used on my card can be found in my online Stampin’ Up! store. Make sure to use the November Host Code (below) if your order is below $150, and I’ll send you extra goodies! If your order is over $150, make sure to claim your Stampin’ Rewards when you check out.

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Hi, everyone! I’m sorry for my long absence. My stepdad died suddenly and very unexpectedly, so I have not been able to create or blog. I am trying to make a bunch of projects now and get blog posts scheduled for the next couple of months, as I will be in and out of town helping my mom with things for a while. My live Facebook videos may be sporadic, but I will try to have regular content posting on the blog.

Anyway, on to today’s card. I realized I never finished blogging about my Creative Crew projects. I think this one is my favorite for August. I just love all of the bright colors!

This is my card for the Love a Technique challenge, and I chose the Watercolor Imprints technique. I don’t have a lot of stencils, and the ones I do weren’t very good for this kind of technique, so I chose to make my own stencils using the Swirly Scribbles thinlits dies. I took the big wave scribble die and cut three of them out of a Window Sheet. These acetate sheets are thicker and harder to cut than cardstock, so I used the Precision Base Plate and ran the sandwich through twice to cut each stencil.

I used non-SU watercolor paper (I forgot to order any with my last order!). I swiped on Lemon-Lime Twist at the bottom, then Pool Party, then Tempting Turquoise, then Bermuda Bay. I spritzed with a Stampin’ Spritzer to activate the colors, as instructed in the tutorial. I laid the stencils across the paper, starting with the Pool Party section, and had one stencil over each section. I weighed down the edges of the stencils with clear blocks. My first two or three attempts at this technique didn’t really work out, and I think it’s because I didn’t make sure the wet ink was touching the stencil. So make sure to weigh down your stencil. After the background was mostly dry, I removed the stencils (carefully) and hit the damp spots with the Heat Tool to finish it.

I had decided that the hot air balloons in the Lift Me Up stamp set and Up & Away Thinlits dies would be perfect for this background, as the swirly layers made me think of a windy day, and the month of August makes me think of the Spirit of Boise hot air balloon festival. We loved going to the festival when we lived in Boise, and I think of it every year and want to go back for it.

I used the clouds stencil from the Pattern Party Decorative Masks and Embossing Paste to make some clouds in my sky. I smeared the paste on just a few of the clouds, let it dry a little, then sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds glitter on, then set it with the Heat Tool. Hitting the Embossing Paste with the Heat Tool makes it bubble up a little, and I love the extra texture that comes with it.

I embossed the hot air balloon in white on Thick Whisper White cardstock, then very lightly colored it in with Melon Mambo ink and an Aqua Painter, then wiped the excess ink off the embossed parts. I finished the card off with a strip of ribbon and the sentiment.

I stamped a smaller balloon in Melon Mambo on the inside of the card.

You can buy all of the products I used in my card in my online Stampin’ Up! store (direct links are below).

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Click here for details. Free tutorial offer ends August 20, and class kits can only be ordered through August 20.

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If you earned Bonus Days coupons in July, make sure to use them in August! They expire August 31.

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Buy the Carols of Christmas bundle from my online store in August, and receive a free online card class that uses the bundle! The cards are easy to duplicate, so they’re perfect for beginners, but they’re also fun for seasoned stampers. [NOTE: The cards shown are not the cards included in the tutorial.]

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Make sure to use the Host Code when you shop so you get extra freebies from me!

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