"Basic Grey" Tee: 2-Step Stamping Tips

You did know the "Little Tees" short sleeved images were 2-step, right? If you haven't seen anyone use them that way in a sample yet, I wanted to show a couple techniques you can do with the bold tee and outlined tee on the same card...

In these next pics I'll show you how I made my own tee to coordinate with my DP on the card. I stamped the outline tee first. (not pictured) Then I inked the bold tee in Blush Blossom (this ink looks terrific with the Sugared paper, but you can't really see it in the photo on this red rubber). The way you ink a bold stamp, either tapping on your pad, swiping, or "swirling" it around will change the "texture" of your tee when you stamp it, enjoy experimenting with that) Next I rolled the edges on my Burnt Umber pad...

and "kissed" on Asela's daisy with the same ink.

Now the trick to 2 step tee stamping: Peek under and line up the collar "tips" (each corner) with your stamped line art tee collar tips at the top, then lay it down gently toward you, still peeking til you get to the bottom of the tee. (normally I would hold the block with both hands but I had to take the pic!)
If you are careful and self correct as you finish it at the bottom(meaning wiggle it slightly left or right as you come down to line up, it's easy to see this edge that's closest to you), you should get a perfect match without a stampamajig, ta da!! Doesn't that look cool?! A colored, shaded tee with a design on it in that one step without needing to mask, I love it!! Just for fun I went in later and added a tiny bit of More Mustard ink with my Aquapainter to my daisy before stamping "birthday girl" over it. Don't I have a great-looking artsy, vintage tee now, a terrific match for that weathered looking Sugared Basic Grey paper? (I'd wear that!...actually, I think I have one that looks a little like this!)
Try it when you're paper piecing, too! With this shading, now your pieced shirts won't look as "flat". (You could cut the shirt out and just sponge the edges, too, but the effect will be different from rolling) If you try stamping the bold tee first I will tell you in my experience, getting the two to line up the two is very difficult, I won't say impossible, but I have yet to get it right doing that way, so please save yourself some frustration!! You can see a side by side comparison here of me switching the order...
SO, outline first, bold second (an easy way to remember this, just like when you stamp and image and then color, you need an outline before you can shade :)

More card details: I added the "Sugared" glazed brads to the punched out SU! Photo corners after stamping them and my DP layer with this Kelly Panacci stitching (it's on the corners too but I don't know if you can tell from the pic). (Added a little sponging with the Burnt Umber on the white mat, too, so it wouldn't be so bright) One other thing I did here was cut my DP on the bias so I could have my print going diagonally, rather than the flowers just going up and down, just to be different, a way to change the look of you pattern. Simply turn your DP in the cutter and slice off a side, then turn so that cut side is lined up with the bottom of your cutter and cut the second side at a right angle, repeat til you have a square mat. (You will have some excess, but these scraps are great for tags, punches etc so go for it!! I've learned life is too short to hoard LOL!!)

Hey, please tell me what you think: do you prefer seeing the finished card at the top of the post so you can skip all the yadayada after it if you want, or see each step and then BAM! surprise! here's the card!! hmmm....

PS Yes, I know my stamps and blocks are terrifically inky/dirty. Don't you know cleaning them only when it's absolutely necessary* frees up oodles of time to stamp?? (Carolyn and I agreed on this point at CHA: if you're going to use a color, clean your stamp, otherwise "just leave 'em black..."**)

* Cleaning them to take nice looking photos for your blog is not considered absolutely necessary. You know what a clean block looks like already, don't you? :)

**I know half of you are shuddering at the thought, but the other half are saying "right on!!!" ;)