Distress Oxide Ink Blending with my MISTI

My masculine birthday card stash is depleted, and since the theme at the Unity Stamp Company Challenge is masculine cards, I pulled out some Unity Stamps to Play.

I decided to use the birthday cake stamp from Another Year Older and do some two-tone ink blending with my MISTI.  I started with Lucky Clover and Fossilized Amber, since we have some Green Bay Packer fans on our team.

I usually pick a larger element of the stamp to overlap the ink colors, so I can blend a bit with my finger (to avoid a harsh line).  I chose the word WISHES on this stamp.  I start by stamping the first time with both colors, using my finger to blend the ink overlap.

For my second inking, I did the lighter color first (smudging again along the bottom) and then stamped a second time with the green to get solid coverage on the #cake stripe.  The MISTI makes it so easy to keep stamping until you get the look you want.

I finished with Happy Birthday from the Unity Stamp For the Guys Stamp set.

Playing with color combinations is a bit addictive.  I love this combination of Twisted Citron & Mermaid Lagoon (make sure you pick two colors that blend to a third color when they overlap or you'll get mud).

I was able to make all of these cards with papers from my scrap stash using this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

The final card in the set combines Candied Apple with Seedless Preserves. 

I'm also joining the Boys of Summer Challenge at CAS-ual Fridays.

 

Since my background paper was darker, I used a strip sentiment for this one.  And remember, sequins hide a multitude of smudges (thankfully … I can't seem to make a card lately without transferring some of the ink from my fingers to the card).

I'm also linking-up at the Retro Card Challenge with Another Year Older & For the Guys both from 2016.