Blending Basics & 3-Panel Accordion Fold

If you’ve ever struggled with flat coloring or harsh lines, you’re going to love this. In this week’s YouTube Premiere video, I share how to blend like a pro using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers—plus I’ve got the 3-Panel Accordion fun fold card layout to share that you’ll want to try ASAP.

Whether you’re brand new to Blends or ready to sharpen your skills, you’ll see how to prep your workspace, why paper and ink matter, how to blend both light-to-dark and dark-to-light, and even how to combine colors for rich, dimensional results. I’ll walk you through every step using real card examples, and you’ll be able to see the difference blending can make in your projects. It’s a game changer.

You can watch the full tutorial and card walkthrough right here on the blog. I’ll be hanging out in the live chat during the premiere if you’re seeing this early—come say hi!

Stampin’ Up! DOES recommend that you begin with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Basic White cardstock for your blending. So that’s what I did with the first card! I began by sharing a card using the Thankful Garden stamp set with the Lovely Garden Designer Series Paper (DSP). This card was created using the light-to-dark blending method. and is so classy with lots of fun elements and sparkle in this fun fold.

I love the pop of the Azure Afternoon Blends, along with the Soft Sea Foam green and bright Garden Green of the DSP. It’s a cheery card that will brighten anyone’s day!

I LOVE a good doodle and had a relaxing time creating a doodle with the light-to-dark blending technique. For a variation of this fun fold, the large leaf from the Gathering Moments die cuts was cut out of Basic White cardstock. Using Pretty Peacock, Pecan Pie, Cloud Cover and Secret Sea Stampin’ Blends, the variety of doodles were colored in. I made the doodles using the Black Stampin’ Write Marker for this very artsy card!

The Irregular Weave Trim and slight use of a Blending Brush around the edges of the focal point and message space is amazing and adds such a beautiful bit of texture. And inside this 3-Panel Accordion Fold card are lots of sweet leaves from the Gathering Moments stamp set and coordinating dies.

It’s really a matter of preference, though, as to whether you want to go from light-to-dark or dark-to-light when you use alcohol markers. No matter what, it’s important to remember that saturating the color is what makes the biggest difference. The ink should be wet in order to produce the best blending results.

As confidence is built using the Blends, other ink colors for the outlines are fun to use. With the Perfectly Pears stamp set with the Painterly Pears DSP as a starting point, I used Mossy Meadow ink for the pear stamp and the dark-to-light technique of blending. I simply love how realistic the pear turned out. With the soft Darling Duckling color, shadowed with a bit of Cloud Cover, this card is a beauty – and that DSP? Truly amazing!

For a fun “grand finale”, I did two sets of Stampin’ Blends for a total of four alcohol markers to blend together the oak leaves from the Amber Autumn stamp set. Using the coordinating die cuts and Autumn Toile DSP, this card is a true stunner of blending across multiple colors for a fall look.

There’s something for every style and level of crafter, and I hope you’ll feel inspired to try one of them yourself.

I’m entering the following challenges with these cards – the Doodle: A Place to Start for September where anything goes with a twist of leaves and circles, as well as Sunday Stamps #369 for the colors (gorgeous).

Time Out Challenges #297 with the theme of Your Favourite Season using the Thankful Garden card (summer all the way!!!)

NBUS – Never Before Used Schtuff #78 for the Amber Autumn card since I’ve never used that particular stamp in the set or the die that coordinates, as well as the large die that was used to cover the front of the art piece – which was incredible, by the way!

All the supplies I used are listed below and linked for easy shopping. And if you’d like a printable version of the fun fold tutorial, I’ve got a free PDF for you—grab it using the link below.

Thanks so much for visiting today! If you enjoyed this post, I’d love it if you subscribed to my blog and YouTube channel. I share new tutorials every week, sometimes with a mix of fun folds, techniques, and always some creative inspiration. And if you don’t already have a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I’d love to be your crafty cheerleader!

Let me know in the comments—do you prefer blending light to dark, dark to light, or something in between? I love hearing what works for you.

Supplies used for Thankful Garden Card:

Supplies used for Doodle Card:

Supplies used for Perfectly Pears Card:

Supplies used for Amber Autumn Card: