Friends Never Fade

Hello Stampers and Welcome to Wednesday at The Classic Card!

I'm still in "retiring" mode as I re-visit some older cards made with stamp sets that are retiring soon.  One of my favorites is the Friends Never Fade set, which has the sentiment "Friends are flowers that never fade."  I'm very grateful that I have friends like that!  I've got some out-of-state friends that I see only once in a great while... every 3 or 4 years... but when we get together, our conversation picks right back up and we can chat for hours without missing a beat... just as if we had spoken just the day before.  I hope you have some friends like that too!  They are a blessing!

The card I'm showing today uses the chalkboard technique.  If you came to my technique classes last summer, then you probably made this card.  If not, I'll tell you how easy it is to use this technique.
Here's the card...

I apologize for the bit of glare on the card... don't know how I managed to get too much light... usually the problem is getting enough light!  Here's a quick list of the products I used to make this card.

Stamps:
Friends Never Fade-- retiring
Petite Pairs (for the sentiment)

Ink:
White Craft Pad
Early Espresso

Paper: 
Early Espresso
Cajun Craze
Designer Paper Stack-- Regals
Very Vanilla

Accessories:
Curly Label Punch
Stripes Embossing Folder for the Big Shot
Stampin' Pastels-- retiring

Chalkboard Technique
To be successful with this technique you need
* a bold stamp image ( not a delicate line-art one)
* dark card stock ( Basic Black, Early Espresso, or other dark card stock)
* a white craft pad (the ink that doesn't dry immediately... the kind you can use embossing powder with)
*sponge daubers (the little sponge thingys that fit on the end of your finger)

Stamp the image in the white craft ink on the dark card stock.  Let it dry for a minute or two... you don't want the ink to be super wet, because it will smear.  Using a sponge dauber, pick up some color from the Stampin' Pastels, then  very carefully, pounce on the color over the white ink. Use a different dauber when you change colors.  Set aside to dry thoroughly.  Wash your daubers with some dish detergent and rinse well.  The sponge may stain a bit, but the color won't transfer the next time you use them.
Wasn't that easy? It isn't going to be easy, though, if you don't have the Stampin' Pastels, which are on the discontinued list.  And there is no asterisk next to them, to let us know that they are simply being reconfigured. These are a basic tool for stamping, as they are used for coloring (along with the blender pens) and I'm not sure if there is anything to take their place.  The item # is 120962 and they are $24.95.  You get all of the Stampin'Up! colors, so it is an economical way to be able to color line-art images without investing in all of the markers.  If you don't already own a set, you might want to consider purchasing them before they are gone for good!

OK stampers!  That's it for today as I'm off to Curves this morning.  Hope you're having a great week!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a visit!
Susan