Gratitude for Days, Part 2

Just wanted to share a couple of tips for masking and sponging. I am by no means an expert, but
these techniques seem to work pretty well for me.

This is the technique for the wreath card.  Cut out the large circle to make a template. I used the Circle Framelits from Stampin' Up! to make the circles.  Attach the template and the small inner circle to your card base using temporary adhesive.

I reuse my templates as you can see. They hold up well and I don't have to re-create the template for every card I make.

For the wreath card, I started with my largest images first. I did the long line first, then the swags, then the swirls and finally filled in with leaves and acorns.

Here is a card that I tried, but there was something about that reminded me of a donut with sprinkles. Not what I was looking for on a card.  Don't be afraid to work on design details until you achieve the result you are looking for.

The next card has a vertical panel of sponging for color and texture. To finish the card, the leaves and swirls are stamped after the sponging.

Here are some steps to get you started on sponging this card.  First, I placed vertical strips of paper on either side of the area that will be sponged.

I started with the lightest color which is So Saffron.  One of the best tips for sponging I have found is to start the sponging off of your finished area. To start sponging, I have the sponge inked and start inking on the mask itself. In this photo the sponge would move from left to right in a light circular motion. Starting off the finished area gives light coverage and more control over the ink.

The next step is to add another color. My second color in Tangelo Twist. Another tip is to sponge a few times on your scrap paper. This gets the sponge a little damp with the ink and evens out the ink on the sponge.

I am getting a little lighter coverage on my card and the darker sponging on my scrap paper. It will depend on how dark you want your colors and how much blending you want to achieve.

The third color is Old Olive. I used the same technique as I did with the Tangelo Twist.

 



One final step which worked really nicely on this card is to go over the entire area with a really light sponging of Crumb Cake. It helped to blend all of the colors together and fill in any white space with a light beige.

 

The final step is to remove the mask. Now you are ready to stamp.

 

It seems like a lot of steps, but once you get used to the technique, you will find your own favorite method.  As long a you like it, you did it correctly.

Have fun sponging.

Gratitude for Days

Hello stamping friends. I have been working with a new stamp set called Gratitude for Days. It is on page 38 of the new Holiday Catalog.

This is a photopolymer stamp set which makes it really easy to stamp things where you want them because you can see through the stamp and the clear block.  They also bend really nicely to create vines and arcs.

   

My goal this year is to be creative with the stamp sets and create at least five things from each stamp set I purchase.  This stamp set did not disappoint. So many possibilities and I haven't even made any tags or treats yet.

I was inspired by wreath Sara Douglas showed at Inspire, Create, Share this summer. I wanted to do a version on a card. The images are colored in with blender pens.

 

 



Here are two versions of the same card embossed in gold and colored in with Stampin' Write markers.

The next card has some simple sponging and stamped images.

One more card with simple stamping.  (Sorry, I can't get a good image on this one. The ribbon seems to be too shiny for the camera to focus. Ribbon is Very Vanilla seam binding rubbed over a Cajun Craze ink pad.)



I am running out of time for today. I will put up another post tomorrow about the techniques.

Enjoy!