Nature’s Walk – Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop

Published on April 4, 2026March 30, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Let's Craft Together, Techniques, Uncategorized

Welcome to Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop. We are a group of Australian Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrators that are coming together to share our creative ideas with you. We are happy that you can join us and hope that we can Inspire you to make creations of your own. Each month we will be showing different ideas based around products, themes and challenges.

Our theme this month for the Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop is a Distressing Technique Challenge, hosted by Monique. For my project, I’m featuring the beautiful Nature’s Walk Suite from the January–April Mini Catalogue by Stampin’ Up!®. This collection is perfect for adding texture and vintage charm, making it ideal for experimenting with distressing techniques.

Nature’s Walk

For this month’s Distressing Technique Challenge, I wanted to focus on that aged, natural look that works so beautifully with the Nature’s Walk Suite.

Distressing is a simple way to give your cards a vintage, weathered feel, adding texture and depth without needing lots of extra supplies.

I’ve kept the distressing on this card nice and simple. I added distressed edges to the mat layer, used ink blending on the card base and front, and finished with a few ink splatters to create a soft aged look.

The Nature’s Walk Suite also includes some beautiful dies, which I’ve used on the card front to add extra texture. By lightly blending ink over the die-cut areas, it really helps highlight those details and bring the texture to life.

✂️ Techniques I Used

To create this card, I used a few simple techniques to build up that soft, rustic style:

• Distressed Edges
Lightly roughing up the edges removes that clean, sharp finish and gives a more natural, worn look.

• Ink Blending
Blending ink around the edges adds depth and helps each layer stand out while still keeping everything soft and cohesive.

• Splattering
A few ink splatters add to the aged effect, creating those little marks that make the card feel more relaxed and organic.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

You may be starting here or have come from someone else’s blog – either way there is a list below to help you move around all the different blogs and get many amazing ideas.

Follow the Hop here..

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

Product List

Nature Walk Suite Collection (English)

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock

Basic Beige A4 Cardstock

Pecan Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad

Linen Thread

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Lakeside Retreat – April Paper Pumpkin

Published on March 29, 2026March 29, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Paper Pumpkin, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or just a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

On Friday’s ‘Live with Michele’ I shared a sneak peak of the Lakeside Retreat Paper Pumpkin by Stampin’ Up! ®.

This is a really fun kit to create, featuring designs perfect for the men in your life, all inspired by beautiful, tranquil waterfront scenes.

Do you love receiving a little surprise in the mail each month? 💌
Imagine opening a beautiful box filled with everything you need to create a set of gorgeous cards—ready for you to make and send.

That’s exactly what Paper Pumpkin is all about!

I’ll be sharing the experience right along with you…
✨ Watch out for my videos where I’ll be opening my kit at the same time as you
✨ Then, in the weeks that follow, I’ll show you alternative ways to use your kit—so you can get even more creative with what’s inside

You can also find inspiration by following Paper Pumpkin on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, where you’ll see what crafters all over the world are creating.

💡 Important to know:
The subscription window is short to begin with—
You’ll have from 1st to 10th April to subscribe and receive the April kit.

💳 How payments work:
– Your first payment is taken as soon as you subscribe
– After that, payments are automatic on the 11th of each month

🎁 A little bonus:
You’ll earn Stampin’ Rewards with your subscription to use whenever you like!

✨ Pick Your Path

Pay-As-You-Go Subscription
Enjoy the flexibility of a monthly subscription with automatic delivery. You can pause or cancel anytime after your first kit—perfect if you like to keep things flexible.

Prepaid Subscription
Prefer to plan ahead? Choose from 3, 6, or 12-month options (with shipping included) and enjoy crafting without the monthly reminders.

🎉 A Special Welcome
Your very first kit is extra special—it’s called the Welcome Kit and includes a Paper Pumpkin Clear Stamp Block as a gift.
Hold onto it, as you’ll use it with all your future kits!

It really is such a simple and fun way to make time for creativity each month 💕
I can’t wait to share this journey with you!

YouTube Video

WHAT IS PAPER PUMPKIN?

It’s a subscription kit program by Stampin’ Up! and your one-stop box for creative success! Imagine everything you love about paper crafting in one fun package, delivered to your door as a surprise each month—that’s Paper Pumpkin. It’s currently available as an English-only product.

WHAT MAKES PAPER PUMPKIN UNIQUE?

Paper Pumpkin subscription kits are designed for anyone who wants to quickly and easily create beautiful, handmade projects—anytime and anywhere! Subscribers get a new, surprise project every month—one that’s great for all types of crafters. And it’s an ongoing crafting experience that will keep you and your customers motivated and engaged.

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Each kit includes an exclusive photopolymer stamp set, a Stampin’ Spot, and step-by-step instructions for beautifully designed, precut paper crafting projects. Everything is ready to stamp, assemble, and share for a fun and easy experience.

WHAT ARE THE PERKS OF BEING A PAPER PUMPKIN SUBSCRIBER?

In addition to a surprise project every month, subscribers enjoy extra perks including:

Auto shipment with shipping included. Sign up once and the kit is automatically delivered with no additional shipping charges on a pay-as-you-go and prepaid subscriptions.
Access to exclusive products. Active subscribers can purchase refills, past kits, and add-ons, that are only available to them.
Connect with fellow subscribers, discover alternate samples, and share creative ideas in a fun, supportive space. Take your ideas beyond the box.
FREE gifts and Stampin’ Up! suite coordination. Occasionally, subscribers receive a gift in their box or the kit coordinates with a selection of other products for even more crafting fun.
Stampin’ Rewards with each kit! Earn Stampin’ Rewards each month with the pay-as-you-go subscription or get them all upfront with any prepaid subscription.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Adorable Kitten Card Idea | Cutest Crew Bundle

Published on March 23, 2026March 21, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Birthday, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or simply a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

I had so much fun creating this super cute card using the Cutest Crew Bundle by Stampin’ Up!®. Honestly… who doesn’t love playing with a few adorable kittens?

Over the years, I’ve created several cards using this layout, and this stamp set lends itself perfectly to it. With just one stamp repeated all the way down the page, it creates a fun and eye-catching design.

And the new Stampin’ Up! Stamp Positioner does all the hard work for you—making it twice as easy!

You can see the Stampin’ Up! Stamp Positioner in action in my Lovely Blossoms Card & Stampin’ Repositioner post, where I share how this tool helps you achieve perfectly aligned stamped images every time—especially when working with repeat stamping techniques like this one.

Measurements Used…

	Colour	Imperial/Letter	Metric/A4
Card Base Tent Fold	Pecan Pie	4 ¼ x 11”, score @ 5½”	10.5 x 29.9cm, score at 14.9cm
Card Mat	Poppy Parade	4 x 5¼”	10 x 14.4cm
Card Front	Crumb Cake	3⅞ x 5⅛”	9.7 x 14.1cm
Card Insert	Basic Beige	4 x 5 ¼”	10 x 14.4cm
Card Insert Mat	Poppy Parade	4 x 5¼”	10 x 14.4cm
Die cut Circle	Basic Beige	3 x 3”	7 x 7cm
Die cut Cat	Pecan Pie	1¼ x 1¼”	3 x 3cm
Strip	Poppy Parade	1 x 4½”	2 x 12cm

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

All products used are listed below and are linked to my On-Line Store

Product List

Cutest Crew Bundle (English)

Spotlight On Nature Dies

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

Pecan Pie A4 Cardstock

Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock

Pecan Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

Basic Beige A4 Cardstock

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Capturing Smiles Double Slider Box

Published on March 21, 2026March 21, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Gifts, Live with Michele, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or just a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

On yesterday’s ‘Live with Michele’ I created this fun treat box using the Capturing Smiles Bundle by Stampin’ Up! ®.

This fun little treat box would be perfect for party favours or a sweet thank you gift… but I’d love to know—how would YOU use it? 💕

I created around 50 of these in a rainbow of colours as my ‘swap’ for last week’s OnStage 2026 event in Sydney. It was such a special time… catching up with friends from all around Australia, finally meeting some I’ve only ever chatted with on Facebook, and even spending time with lovely friends visiting from overseas—like Lorraine and Beth from America.

There’s something so special about sitting together, crafting, chatting, and sharing a meal. It really fills your cup 🥰

Tutorial PDF

Capturing Smiles Double Slider Box Download

YouTube Video

On Stage Fun!

We also got a sneak peek at the NEW catalogue coming in May—and there’s a big change ahead! Stampin’ Up! will be moving away from the Annual Catalogue and Mini Catalogues, replacing them with three seasonal catalogues each year.

It’s definitely something new, and like any change it might take a little getting used to—but it also means more flexibility, fresh products, and exciting new releases throughout the year. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds!

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing some sneak peeks of the new products—and I just know you’re going to love them! 💕
Make sure you’re following along on my blog and Facebook page so you don’t miss a thing.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

All products used are listed below and are linked to my On-Line Store

Product List

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Cutest Crew Bundle

Published on March 4, 2026March 4, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Uncategorized

How fun is an Animal Challenge for the Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop! 🐾

This month our theme was set by Mandy, and I couldn’t go past the adorable Cutest Crew Bundle by Stampin’ Up!. This stunning bundle is available as part of the March Online Exclusives – and it truly lives up to its name!

Creating Today’s Card

For today’s card, using the Cutest Crew Bundle I wanted to feature those cute puppies.

Using the Perennial Postage Dies cut two squares from Basic White Cardstock — one for my greeting and a slightly smaller one for the puppy
Mask off the puppies not required leaving two and inked only the two required. Stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colour using Stampin’ Blends.
Using blending brushes, added colour directly to the card front with Balmy Blue and Azure Afternoon, creating a soft sky-like background.
Stamped two rows of paw prints in Azure Afternoon for extra detail and movement down the card.
Blended colour around both the greeting panel and the puppy image to tie everything together.
Die cut two of the border strips included in the bundle and layered them underneath the focal panels. These small details really help frame the images and add dimension.
On the inside card insert, inked around the edges and added another row of stamped paw prints to carry the design through.

This bundle is such a sweet and versatile option for animal lovers, kids’ cards, thank you cards or just a cheerful hello. I can already see so many possibilities with these adorable images. 🐶💙

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

You may be starting here or have come from someone else’s blog – either way there is a list below to help you move around all the different blogs and get many amazing ideas.

Follow the Hop here..

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

Product List

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Flower Fair & Party Banner Dies

Published on February 21, 2026February 21, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Live with Michele, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or just a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

On yesterday’s ‘Live with Michele’ I created this card using the Flower Fair by Stampin’ Up! ®, this is a sneak peak for a new product coming in the March Online Exclusives.

This is a simple Tent Fold card, but we’re stepping it up by using the Party Banner Dies to create both the card base and all the layers. I’ve shown exactly how I’ve done this in the YouTube video below so you can follow along step-by-step.

The Flower Fair stamp is perfect for colouring — and you definitely don’t need to be an expert to achieve a beautiful result. For today’s card I used the Stampin’ Up! Watercolour Pencils Assortments 1 & 2, blending them with the Colour Lifter from the Stampin’ Blends range.

How I created this look..

Because I used the Colour Lifter (which is alcohol-based) to blend my colours, I stamped my image with Memento Ink onto Basic White Cardstock. I find this keeps the pencil colours nice and vibrant.

If you prefer using Blender Pens (water-based) or Water Painters, you would need to switch to Fluid 100 Watercolour Paper and stamp with the Stazon Ink Pad, as it’s a permanent ink and won’t bleed with water.

Using the Stampin’ Positioner, I stamped the full image onto a quarter sheet of Basic White Cardstock with Memento Ink. The image is larger than what’s required for the card, so you can either colour the entire image or just the sections you plan to use.

The brightness of your flowers depends on how much colour you apply. I wanted a bright, happy look, so I pressed firmly with my pencils. Don’t worry about perfect blending at this stage — the Colour Lifter will help move and soften the colour beautifully.

For each flower head, I used two shades — one light and one dark — layering the lighter colour first, then adding the darker shade where I wanted depth and shading.

Colour combinations used:

Pink – Fresh Freesia & Melon Mambo
Yellow – Daffodil Delight & Pumpkin Pie
Blue – Balmy Blue & Night of Navy
Green – Granny Apple Green & Old Olive

Once I was happy with the colouring, I die cut all the layers for my card using the Party Banner Dies.

As an extra layer of interest, I also stamped the card insert and left it as a simple black and white image — but you could absolutely colour this as well if you wanted to carry the brightness through the entire card.

Measurements Used…

	Colour	Imperial/Letter	Metric/A4
Card Base Tent Fold	Granny Apple Green	4 ¼ x 11”, score @ 5 ½”	10.5 x 29.9cm, score at 14.9cm
Card Mat	Basic White	4¼ x 5½”	10.5 x 14.9cm
Card Front	Basic White	4¼ x 5½”	10.5 x 14.9cm
Card Insert	Basic White	4¼ x 5½”	10.5 x 14.9cm
Sentiment	Basic White	2½ x 2½”	5 x 5cm

Stampin’ Positioner

And if you love perfectly stamped images every time, the Stampin’ Positioner is a total game changer! It makes lining up large images like Flower Fair effortless and allows you to re-stamp for deeper colour and beautifully crisp results.

How can you get one NOW?

💚 Thinking about joining Stampin’ Up!?

From 3 February to 2 March, when you purchase the Starter Kit, you’ll also receive the brand-new Stampin’ Positioner included — such an incredible bonus! It’s the perfect time to join, build your supplies, and add this must-have tool to your craft space.

👉 Message me for all the details — or Click HERE for more information and to order yours today!

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

All products used are listed below and are linked to my On-Line Store

Product List

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Lovely Blossoms

Published on February 14, 2026February 14, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Live with Michele, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or just a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

On Live with Michele, I created this beautiful card using the Lovely Blossoms Suite Collection by Stampin’ Up!®. The Lovely Blossoms products are part of the January Online Exclusives and offer such elegant floral imagery for cardmaking.

Before going live, I had a wonderful group of ladies join me for an in-person card class, and the tutorial below shows one of the cards we created together. For my Live presentation, I decided to recreate the design and step it up with a few extra elements to add more texture and detail.

Here’s what I changed for the stepped-up version:

Added a row of Basic White scalloped circles behind the Secret Sea DSP strip using the circle dies.
Positioned the ribbon behind the scallops instead of placing it on top of the DSP.
Created vellum leaves by stamping the three-leaf image in VersaMark and heat embossing with white embossing powder.
Changed the sentiment and fussy cut it for a softer, more detailed finish.

These simple additions really elevate the original design while still keeping the elegance of the Lovely Blossoms Suite.

Tutorial- Original Design

Lovely Blossoms Class Card 1 Download

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

All products used are listed below and are linked to my On-Line Store

Product List

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Greenery Lane

Published on February 8, 2026February 8, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Live with Michele, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or just a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

On yesterday’s Live with Michele, I created this beautiful card using the Greenery Lane Bundle and Greenery Lane Washi Tape by Stampin’ Up!®.

Greenery Lane Bundle & Washi Tape

The Greenery Lane Bundle is wonderfully versatile. You can stamp and die-cut the images, and the dies also coordinate with the Greenery Lane Washi Tape, allowing you to cut out the designs and use them on your projects with ease.

The washi tape can be adhered to cardstock, vellum, or window sheet, depending on the look you’d like to achieve. For this card, I chose vellum to create a soft, light, and sheer effect that adds a delicate touch to the finished design.

Stampin’ Positioner

While designing this card, I wanted to demonstrate just how versatile the Stampin’ Positioner can be. Because the plate is such a generous size, it makes stamping multiple images at once in the same ink colour both quick and easy.

The smaller plate was perfect for positioning and stamping my greeting neatly over the top, ensuring a clean and precise finish.

If you don’t yet have a Stampin’ Positioner, you can achieve a similar look by arranging your stamps on a large acrylic block and stamping them all at once.

Exclusive Joining Offer

This month is the perfect time to join my Stampin’ Up!® team thanks to the Exclusive Joining Offer available from 3 February to 2 March.

When you purchase the Starter Kit during this special promotion, you’ll not only receive incredible value in products of your choice, but you’ll also receive the brand-new Stampin’ Positioner included in your kit at no extra cost. This fantastic new tool makes precise stamping so much easier and is perfect for creating beautifully aligned images, repeating patterns, and professional-looking projects every time.

Joining Stampin’ Up! is a wonderful way to enjoy your crafting even more — whether you’d love to build a business, connect with a creative community, or simply receive great value on the products you already love. There’s no pressure, just plenty of inspiration, support, and fun along the way.

If you’ve been thinking about joining, this really is the best time to say yes. I would absolutely love to welcome you to my team and help you get started on your creative journey.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or click through to learn more about the Starter Kit and everything that’s included.

Tutorial

Greenerly Lane Download

YouTube Video

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

All products used are listed below and are linked to my On-Line Store

Product List

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Simply Beautiful- Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop

Published on February 4, 2026February 3, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Let's Craft Together, Uncategorized, Water Colour

Welcome to Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop. We are a group of Australian Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrators that are coming together to share our creative ideas with you. We are happy that you can join us and hope that we can Inspire you to make creations of your own. Each month we will be showing different ideas based around products, themes and challenges.

Our theme this month for the Let’s Craft Together Blog Hop is a ‘Red Challenge’, chosen by Sharni.

The challenge is simple but effective — create a card using shades of red. You may also include neutral colours such as black, white, gold or silver, but no other colours are allowed.

It’s always fun to see how different everyone’s projects can look while working within the same colour restrictions, and red is such a strong, bold choice for card making!

Simply Beautiful

The Simply Beautiful Bundle is part of the Lovely & Beautiful Suite Collection, and the Simply Beautiful flowers, with their large open petals, are perfect for colouring. The technique I’m using for today’s card is watercolouring, which really allows the details of the flowers to shine.

How I watercolour!

I love to play with inks, and watercolouring is so much fun. For this card, I stamped my image onto Fluid 100 Watercolour Paper using StazOn Ink. StazOn is a permanent ink and won’t bleed when it comes into contact with water.

Working with one or two petals at a time, I first coloured each petal with water, then added small amounts of ink to the inner portion of the petal. The ink naturally wicks out, following the flow of the water and becoming lighter towards the edges of the petal.

Once I had worked my way around the flower, I went back and added more water and ink to areas I wanted darker, gradually building up the colour. Don’t try to colour the entire flower all at once — it’s much easier to achieve depth by working petal by petal and allowing it to dry slightly between layers.

It’s perfectly okay to leave some white or lighter areas, as this adds movement and brings life to your flower.

The leaves were stamped onto Vellum using VersaMark Ink and heat embossed with White Embossing Powder from the Basics WOW Embossing Powders

To add texture to the Basic Black Cardstock behind the flower, I used the stunning Damask Designs Embossing Folder.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

You may be starting here or have come from someone else’s blog – either way there is a list below to help you move around all the different blogs and get many amazing ideas.

Follow the Hop here..

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!

Stampin’ Up! products used in today’s Project

Product List

Add All to Cart

Current Stampin’ Up!® Promotions

Click on image to find out more.

If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to . . .

Creative Haven, Blends & Alcohol

Published on February 1, 2026February 1, 2026 by Michele Jutrisa Category: Blends, Uncategorized

Hi there, and welcome! Whether you’re here for inspiration, ideas, or just a creative escape—I’m so happy you’ve stopped by.

Alcohol Ink Backgrounds on Vellum with Stampin’ Blends

If you love experimenting with colour and texture, today’s technique is one you’ll definitely want to try. Using Stampin’ Blends, pure alcohol, and vellum, you can create beautifully soft, wispy backgrounds that are completely unique every single time.

This is a play-based technique — there’s no right or wrong, and that’s what makes it so much fun. No two pieces will ever look the same, and even the so-called “mistakes” often turn into your favourite results.

Why Vellum Works So Well

Vellum is non-porous, which means it doesn’t absorb liquid the same way cardstock does. When you add alcohol and alcohol-based ink to vellum, the colour sits on the surface and moves around beautifully, allowing you to manipulate it until you’re happy with the effect.

Colour Tips (Very Important!)

Stick to 2–3 colours maximum to avoid muddy results
Choose colours that naturally blend well together
Always start with your lightest colour first

Creating the Alcohol Ink Background

Place your vellum on a non-porous surface (glass, silicone mat, or craft mat).
Apply Stampin’ Blends directly to the vellum — dots, stripes, or loose areas all work.
Add alcohol around the edges and gently move the vellum to encourage the ink to flow.
Continue adding alcohol sparingly until the colours begin to blend.
Or use the air pump:
- Close to the surface for strong lines and texture
- Further away for a softer, wispy effect
Allow to air dry, or gently speed things up with a heat tool on low.

💡 Tip: If you don’t like how it looks, just add more alcohol and keep playing.

Different Effects You Can Try

Pump close: Bold lines and dramatic texture
Pump further away: Light, feathery movement
Tilt & Air-dried: Soft edges and gentle blending, moving the vellum around letting the alcohol move and blend
Layered colour: Dry one colour before adding the next for defined sections

Left- dried with Pump 5-10cm away, Right- dried with pump close to velum creating short bursts

Stamping & Embossing on Vellum

Stamping

Because vellum is non-porous, ink choice matters:

Memento Ink: Not suitable on vellum — it smudges
StazOn Ink: Works well for stamping on vellum, but not with alcohol as it will bleed, to get away with this stamp on the reverse side of the Vellum. Down side is the Alcohol ink will not be as vibrant.

Embossing -Powder & Heat

Colour the vellum with alcohol
Stamp on the front using VersaMark
Heat emboss with embossing powder
Heat tools can cause vellum to ripple. Work slowly and alternate heat from the front and back.

Don’t Throw Your Leftovers Away!

Die cut leaves, flowers, or shapes
Use scraps for layered backgrounds
Create multiple projects from one large sheet

Detailed dies look especially beautiful on alcohol inked vellum.

Final Thoughts

This technique is all about playing. Try different colour combinations, drying methods, and tools. Flip your vellum, stamp on the reverse, die cut your experiments, and most of all — have fun.

If you give this a go, I’d love to see what you create. Share your projects or tag me so I can admire your beautiful work!

Happy crafting,
Michelle

Thank you for stopping by and reading my Blog. I hope you have enjoyed my projects & that you’re inspired to get crafty!

If you’re in Australia and need help with your crafting needs and don’t have a Demonstrator, I’d love to assist you. Feel free to reach out to me at 0408868771 or michele@jutrisa.com. Cheers!