October 2010 Release Sneak Peeks Day 2: Season of Thanks

Welcome to Day 2 of the Wplus9 Design Studio October Release! I am so thrilled to bring you our second set for this month, Season of Thanks. With Fall being the season of Thanksgiving, how appropriate to bring you a set centered around giving thanks.

Season of Thanks

• is a 6x8 clear photopolymer stamp set
• contains 18 stamps; 12 images and 6 sentiments
• will be available for purchase October 7th for just $19

For my first card, I started by stamping 2 of the leaf images included in the set in Close to Cocoa and Dusty Durango ink (both Stampin' Up!) onto white cardstock (PTI).

Next I used one of the 3 bold graphic images to create my focal point. I inked it up using a brayer to apply Dark Brown chalk ink (Colorbox) to get an uneven rustic feel. I added another trimmed leaf and a button to the corner and added a lot of distress ink all around.

I really loved the simplicity of this card, but just for a little added interest I rounded the two bottom corners.

I also wanted to show you that you can get a nice clean impression with this image as well.

Sometimes large solid stamps can be tricky. The image on the left is stamped using Stampin' Up! dye ink, and the one on the right uses Martha Stewart pigment ink. For large stamps, it's all about ink coverage. To get a crisp clean impression, I found pigment inks work best. Make sure you have nice even ink coverage on the entire surface of the stamp and be sure to press evenly over the entire image when stamping.

This next card is probably my favorite. I used the 2 pumpkin images and a little masking to create a trio of pumpkins and stamped my sentiment directly over the pumpkins.

That image just makes me long for cooler weather! Here's a tip: Since both of the colors I used for my image and sentiment were deep, I needed to add some separation between the two. So I first stamped my sentiment in white, and then stamped it again in brown offset just a bit. I absolutely love how this turned out.

For the background, I stamped a couple of panels using the small leaf in Fresh Snow ink (PTI) on Dusty Durango, Kraft (SU!) and Chartreuse (PTI) cardstock and layered them behind the die cut focal image. Another thing I am digging at the moment is layering my distress inks. For this card, I inked the edges first in white and then in Walnut Stain (Ranger). LOVE it!

And finally, a card that can be easily mass produced in several colors and used for anything by swapping sentiments. I started this one by stamping an acorn sprig and the small leaves in Versamark onto Lemon Tart cardstock (PTI). I added this set's namesake sentiment to the bottom in Dark Brown.

The focal point is actually an image from tomorrow's set. So you will have to wait until tomorrow to learn more about that. ;o) I stamped it in So Saffron ink (SU!), matted it with Harvest Gold (PTI), added a button (PTI), some baker's twine (Martha Stewart) and adhered the whole thing to a white card base with dimensionals.

I really like the white on white addition of scallops in the background. I think the subtle placement behind the sentiment adds a great balance.

That's all I have for today, I hope you are enjoying the countdown so far. Want to see more "Season of Thanks"? Stop by to see what some of the Design Team is up to:

• Elise Durenberger
• Hannah Craner
• Jinny Newlin
• Kerrianne Gwin

Want to win Season of Thanks? Leave me a comment by 11:59 pm EST October 5th and I will pick 1 random winner from the comments to win "Season of Thanks". Winners will be posted here, so be sure to check to see if you've won. I'll be back tomorrow with our final set...a holiday set that can truly be used year round! And another chance to win!