Neat & Tangled / My Sweet Petunia Collaboration

Hey everyone!  It's been a really exciting week over at Neat & Tangled.  We are teaming up with My Sweet Petunia, maker of the MISTI.  Not only are we showing off projects on the N&T blog, but we've taken over the My Sweet Petunia blog as well.

OK, I have a dirty little secret:  I am a horrible stamper.  Seriously, not good.  I can't stamp in a straight line let alone create a pattern that doesn't get all cattywompus (sp?) on me, and even when it comes to sentiments I'm forever stamping them crooked or I don't get an even inking.  I have wasted a good forest worth of paper on mess ups in my crafting career.

That's why I'm so enamored with the MISTI.  Not only does it allow you to do a lot of really great techniques, but it's a huge time saver and paper saver because it allows you to stamp correctly and re-stamp when you don't get it quite right.



One quick tip before we get to the card:  when I first got my MISTI (and I'm right handed), I was using it so that it opened like a book that you're reading.  I've since discovered that the opposite direction works best.  If you open the life left to right, it's easier to ink and more natural to shut, at least for me.

OK, so let's talk about the card.  I am a big fan of multi-step stamps.  I love the way they look, heck, I even designed a set for the N&T January release, but I've kind of stayed away from them because, as we established earlier, I am a horrible stamper.

So to really test out my MISTI, I pulled out my new Ornate Frames set and went to work.



The frame is all stamped in Memento Tuxedo black, but the first layer is second generation stamped.  Now when you do this you won't get a really even stamping, that's to be expected, especially with darker colors, but for this application, a kind of vintagey/antique frame, it works.



The second layer is stamped in first generation.  The MISTI made it super easy to line things up, and a tip on this stamp set is to center the frames using the middle opening.



Finally the last layer.  I actually stamped this three times, twice with the Memento to get a darker color, and then a third time with Versamark as I wanted to clear emboss that last layer to not only make it even darker, but to give it some extra shine/texture (sorry this photo is HORRIBLE, I almost didn't include it, but I wanted you to see the darker areas - this is before the embossing)



Here you can see the embossing powder on it.

The MISTI is also great with positioning.  Here I placed my frame (which I had die cut) on the card, then I was able to place my sentiment using the frame as a reference, especially helpful too since I didn't want to use the whole sentiment (from Be My Valentine) and needed to do some masking when I inked.



Once that was stamped, I added a bit of coloring to the stamped heart, popped the frame up (with two layers of foam tape) and placed a few of my Scored Shapes Dies in the center, also popped up (with one layer of foam tape)



I really can't say enough good things about my MISTI.  I would not be stamping multi-step images if I didn't have it!

Now you know that there are prizes involved when we collaborate, right?  This week's prizes are HUGE.  You can win your very own MISTI on the Neat & Tangled blog, just head over and leave comments on each of the posts this week.  AND if you go to the My Sweet Petunia blog and do the same thing, you'll be entered to win a $100 credit to the Neat & Tangled store!

Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT weekend!

Affiliate links to products used below:

My Sweet Petunia MISTI Stamping Tool

Neat & Tangled Clear Stamps, Ornate Frames

Neat & Tangled Dies, Ornate Frames

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

WOW Embossing Powder, Super Fine - Clear Gloss

COPIC Sketch Marker R29, Lipstick Red

Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape