If you have been a papercrafter and consumer of Stampin’ Up! products for a while now, you may remember back (like in 2018) Stampin’ Up! had a lemon stamp set called “Lemon Zest” and matching punch in their product line (both of which I still have).
But when I saw this new citrusy bundle in the 2023-24 Annual Catalog, I became even more excited than before. The Sweet Citrus Stamp Set has way more combination options and there are more “accessory” stamps to incorporate into your designs. Plus in the last 5 years, there has been the invention of a Hybrid Embossing Folder that will hold a die inside, so you can emboss and cut out your image all in one step! That alone is pretty amazing!
My goal became how to get one single image technique from the whole four image grouping. Sometimes I only want one image and I don’t want to waste too much cardstock in the process. Time to play with this bundle to see if I could answer my title question.
Single Image Technique Process
Step 1: I found I could stamp the peel outline image by only placing that portion of the photopolymer stamp on the corner of the ink pad without having to do any masking of stamp or cardstock. Be sure to keep the clear block level so you don’t get ink where it shouldn’t be.
Step 2: Apply inked stamped peel image to cardstock with even hand pressure.
Step 3: Repeat the first two steps, but this time ink up the citrus slice portion of the larger stamp.
Step 4: Try rotating the citrus slice to where you feel it best fills the peel outline, prior to applying it down on the cardstock.
Step 5: A finished practice strip of lime slices. (You can see an ink splotch where I wasn’t as careful as I should have been. But these images will be separated on my card design, so no big deal this time.)
I decided these images turned out just fine so I will be using them in my card designs this week.
Inks used were Parakeet Party for the inside segments, and Old Olive for the outer peel ring to create these lime slices.
Step 6: I cut one lime slice off my practice strip of cardstock and tried the Hybrid Die to get the embossing of the segments and the outer shape die cut at the same time while running it through my die cutting machine.
Use your eagle-eye to make sure you have the inner slice segments lined up on the embossing folder image. They DO line up, be patient and you will see it match up. I also used a small piece of washi tape to hold the cardstock in place inside the embossing folder while running it through my die cutting machine.
For my particular products, my embossed slice didn’t have even white borders, so I’m fussy cutting the outer edges to the look I want of more even borders.
So Now You Know…
YES, you can get a single citrus slice stamped, embossed, and die cut with a little learning curve while you play with this great bundle.
If you already own this bundle but haven’t tried it yet, I hope my post today will encourage you to do so. I’ll be sharing more Sweet Citrus cards this week, come back for another visit!
There are two Sweet Citrus Cards to Try! Lemon-Lime or All Lemons.
