Creative Sundays with Jo Ann: Bushel and A Peck - One Stamp...Two Ways.

This post was originally seen on the Honey Bee Stamp Blog on 10/15/17. I am adding it to my personal blog so that it can be archived. Enjoy!

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“I love you a bushel and a peck. A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.”

My mother sang that song to us when we were little. I sang it to my children and now they sing it to their babies. Making memories with traditions! My mother suffers from Alzheimers and I now sing it back to her. She does not always remember who I am, but when I sing to her her face lights up with a warm smile, she hums along, hugs me, and tells me that she loves me too! Music has a muscle memory for all of us and that is why I love this song and simply had to have this stamp set!

I wanted to show you two different looks that you can achieve using the Bushel and A Peck Stamps and the coordinating die set. All the images on both cards were stamped with Ranger’s Black Archival Ink on Tim Holtz’s Watercolor Cardstock and watercolored with Distress Inks.

Grab a mug of coffee or tea, put your feet up, and let’s get inky!

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Card One

The first card features the Bushel and A Peck Stamp Set and coordinating dies, as they were intended. It’s fast and easy and allows you to produce beautiful cards with minimal effort.

The stamp set includes two different size apples and a variety of leaves. I stamped, watercolored, and die cut plenty of each as I wasn’t sure how many I would need to fill both cards. The two different tiny Honey Bees are from the Free Bee of the Month. One is included with every order. If you spend $75 Honey Bee will also include the coordinating Die. They are so cute…and they’re free!

The background was achieved using various blues, greens, and Vintage Photo Distress Inks and a Mini Ink Blender Tool. I lightly sprayed water on it for a mottled, distressed look. The sentiment was stamped with black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. Everything was assembled onto the card front using Ranger’s Multi Matte Medium. Scotch Foam Tape was used to give added dimension to the basket and some of the apples and leaves. To finish, I added white Fun Foam to the back, using plenty of 1/4” Score Tape, and attached it to the card base.

Card Two

The second card features several simple ways that you can easily customize this, or any other stamp set, for a unique look. A pencil, with a good eraser, and a marker are all that you will need. I used a waterproof Pigma Micron Pen because I was using watercolors. If you are using Copic markers you would want to use a pen that is alcohol friendly, such as the Copic Multiliner Fine Nib Inking Pens.

Here you can see the alterations that I made to the second bushel basket. I rounded the bottom corner (1), added recessed vertical wooden slats by drawing additional straight lines (2), drew a wire handle with a wooden grip (3), and created a more rounded top for more depth (4). None of these additions were difficult and they add a unique, personal touch.

I decided to add pumpkins to the second basket. It was easy enough to mask off the girl from the Hey Pumpkin Stamp Set and fill in the lines to complete the large pumpkin.

Several small pumpkins and the bird were stamped using the Acorn Sisters Stamp Set. Since the large pumpkin had to be fussy cut I kept the card unified by hand cutting all the pieces for this card, using my EK Success Cutter Bee Scissors.

I made another background using the same Distress Inks as before. Because of the handle, I was unable to add the sentiment to the basket rim. I stamped and embossed it on a separate piece of paper and cut it out with the banner die included in the set. Various brown Distress Inks and a Mini Ink Blender Tool were used to color the background.

I assembled the card in the same manner as Card One using Ranger’s Multi Medium Matte, Scotch Foam Tape, Fun Foam, and 1/4” Score Tape.

The rest of the sentiment and a tiny heart were stamped inside of each card. I added a scattering of the left over apples, leaves, and honeybees for additional interest.

For a third variation you could also use this stamp set and Paper Piecing. There are many wonderful Wood background paper pads on the market that would work well for the basket. Small prints, stripes, dots, and plaids would work beautifully for the apples, leaves, and pumpkins. Nuvo Drops or Ranger’s Inkssential Enamel Dots could be added for the decorative metal nails in the basket. Get creative! Play around and get more out of your stamp and die sets.