Letters

I've been working on more Christmas gifts, these for some girls whose names are obvious. Last time I did this, it took me HOURS to complete, as I wrapped each letter with wrapping paper and glue. This time, I got smart. My neighbor and I both like to use Stampin' Up! stamps, so I called on her to see what she has. She loaned me several sets, plus gave me more ideas, and this is what I came up with.

First, I stole my daughter's spare toothbrush. (It has since been relegated to my craft bin.) I flicked acrylic paint onto the bare white letters.

Next I stamped on the blue dots for Isabella and the flower designs for Olivia.

Then I took a sponge, dabbed it on the stamp pad, stamped it several times on scrap paper, and then lightly brushed all around the edges of the letters, giving them an 'antique' look.

I had to let it dry at this point for a VERY long time (most of the night), as that blue stamp pad for the dots was worse than paint.

About 4:00 a.m. I awoke thinking about it, so came to check on it, and it was finally dry!

'Isabella' was just too plain; the dots too bold. So I took another stamp set, and, after stamping the first bit of ink off onto scrap paper so my real stamping would be lighter in color, I randomly stamped the flowers and berries on top of the blue dots. It toned it down significantly, and I was very pleased with the results.

Finally, I sprayed it with a clear coat finish to protect all my hard work.

They're now wrapped up, ready to gift the recipients with.