First Post / Sea of Textures

Hello! Hi! I’m new here! Well, I’m not exactly new to stamping. But I am new to blogging. Very new. Please go easy on me. I have gone back and forth about wanting a blog and needing a blog and feeling like it’s time to start blogging. So, here I am.

I’m Kurstan. I’m an Independent Stampin’ UP! Demonstrator. I live in the SF Bay Area of California with my husband and our spunky toddler, Andrew. He’s currently 2 1/2. His full time job is keeping us on our toes and in constant laughter. My day job in Healthcare Administration and commute consumes a lot of my time, so I try to get crafty in the evenings and on the weekend in between spending time with my boys. Some weeks are more productive than others. My online presence right now is pretty weak, but I’m working on it. I have classes/workshops in my home 2-3 times a month, which keeps me busy. I enjoy getting together with other demonstrators and crafty friends, so if you’re in my area, please say hi!

For a more comprehensive snapshot of what’s going on in my crafting world, check me out on Facebook and Instagram (links to the right)

Want to sign up for my newsletter? Shoot me an email – I love to meet new crafty friends: kurstandelrosario@gmail.com

Well, enough about me. My post title insinuates there’s going to be something crafty included.

I have an Animal Love workshop coming up on August 11th to showcase all of the fun furry (and not so furry) friends in the new Annual Catalog. I started working on projects today and decided this friendly octopus needed an ink blended background. I masked off his area and used our sponge daubers to create the ocean with Coastal Cabana, Balmy Blue and Blueberry Bushel. After I was happy with my focal point, I spritzed some water on it and mopped it up to create the water spots. Whisper White paper doesn’t hold up well with water so I made sure not to add too much. I stamped multiple generations of the seaweed in Tranquil Tide and some of the other plants in Fresh Fig. I love these natural colors. I inked up the octopus in Balmy Blue and then added some Blueberry Bushel and Fresh Fig with sponge daubers. After getting him inked up, I spritzed him with water before stamping. That allowed the colors to blend a little more and even soften up.