Shading With Spellbinders Nestabilities

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Reported by Deborah Locklear

One of the hottest and most popular products on the market are the Spellbinders Nestabilities. They recently came out with some new dies that are going to be must-haves, too! Each set retails for $25.99. They are available at my local Hobby Lobby, though the selection varies. They are also available online at ScrapbookPal, CutAtHome, and Flourishes.

I'm sure everyone knows you can cut and emboss with the Nestabilities. Today, I'm going to show you one more thing that you can do with these!

Note: I am not the one who thought of this, I've seen it done many times by various artists.

WHAT YOU NEED: monochromatic set of inks (I used Stampin' Up's Cool Caribbean, Tempting Turquoise, and Ballet Blue), sponges (I use make-up sponges), nestabilities (I used the ovals here, but any size or shape will work), die cut machine (I use the Cuttlebug)

HOW TO SHADE

1. Stamp the image on your base cardstock.

2. Position the nestie around the image so that it is centered and run it though your machine (note, you may prefer to stamp your image after you cut your shape). The sandwich that I find works the best, from bottom up is: A plate, C plate, die (face up), paper, B plate.

3. Keep the piece of paper "in" the nestie and proceed to shade with the lightest color.

4. Shade with the darker color and the darkest color. Keep in mind to keep the darkest shade the furthest from the image and the lightest shade closer to the image to create a color gradient.

5. When you remove your piece of paper from the nestie, you will have an untouched border around the edge of the shape.

6. Create a card with your shaded image.

(Stamp credit: Notes of Prayer, Verve Stamps)

Nestabilites often provide a little extra character and dimension to your papercrafts. This is just one more way to use your nestabilities to add a little flare to your work. Have you tried this technique? Do you like the finished product? Do you shade differently? We'd love to hear your opinion!