Faux Print Look

One of the things I enjoy doing is checking the blogs of artists whose work I admire. I appreciate their creativity, and learn from their generous sharing of knowledge.

I recently saw a blog post from a paper artist in Europe. Her style is so bright and fun, and she often uses paint to create the backgrounds for her stamped cards. I was intrigued by a card she posted recently, and she included a link to the artist's video that demonstrated the technique she used, called the faux print look.

Here is a link to her blog post: http://somefiddlingonthekitchentable.blogspot.com/2016/04/faux-print-look.html. And here is the link to the video tutorial she referenced: http://www.kimdellow.co.uk/2016/04/video-get-faux-printed-look.html.

I was impressed with how easy she made it look, and couldn't wait to give it a try. I got out the very simple supplies needed: cardstock, acrylic paint (the cheap craft paint works fine), and an old plastic gift card.

Following her directions, I spread thin layers of paint across the surface of the cardstock, leaving a white border around the edges. Because the paint is so thin, it dries very quickly. It is so easy to make several backgrounds at once and have some on hand.

I love the way it turned out! I wanted to use it in a card to submit for a Facebook challenge with the Unity Show & Tell group. This particular challenge was to use one of the "Unity Girl" stamps - there are so many, but I only have a few. I thought this particular one (Maple Girl) would look nice against the painted background. I stamped it with Ranger Archival ink - since the face is tilted slightly towards the right, I placed the image to the left of my painted panel. 

I also used a Unity text stamp (Vintage Handwritten) in the background, around the main image - to keep it light, I stamped off on scrap paper before stamping on the panel. The sentiment is from a recent kit called "Sometimes I Wonder". I stamped that on a scrap of white cardstock, and blended Distress Peacock Feathers ink over it to get that shade of blue. I trimmed it down with some old decorative scissors from Stampin' Up!, and stitched it down to the main panel. 

After trimming, the stamped panel seemed a little short, so I got some scrap lace trim out to fill up that extra space at the bottom. I figured that the sewing machine was the best way to attach it, so I used deliberately messy stitching and  black thread to sew it down and create a frame around the card at the same time. I glued it down to some mustard colored cardstock, and left it under a book overnight to dry completely.

After posting it in the Facebook group, I received several nice comments, so I thought I'd put it out here for everyone. I appreciate that others shared what they did so that I could learn and benefit from it!

Hope your week is going well - I know I'm looking forward to the weekend!

Immi

Quick Card

I'm popping in with a quick card this afternoon. We are enjoying a lovely spring rain outside, and it seemed like a good time to have a little creative fun.

This morning at church, I saw someone who can't be there very often, due to poor health. She was so excited to tell me that she's been feeling much better recently. I am happy for her, and thought she would appreciate a card.

I recently got a new stamp set from Unity Stamp called "Sometimes I Wonder", and this is the first time I've used it. It has several cute images - I especially like the bird I used for this card. The sentiment is also from Unity Stamp, and I thought it reflected her happiness and acknowledgement of God's healing.

This was a super quick and easy card. After stamping with black Archival ink, all the coloring is done with Stampin' Up! markers, and the flowered washi tape seemed like a great accompaniment. The washi tape is wrapped to the back of the white panel, and I used a corner rounder on the top edge. I mounted the panel to a blue card base and called it done.

Hope you have a good week!

Immi

Birthday Card

Sometimes I like to challenge myself to pull out something that doesn't get much use and have fun with it. Occasionally I do clean out products that I don't think I'll ever use again, but this was a flower stamp (Stampendous Fresh Bloom) I really do like. It's an outline stamp that would be pretty colored in, but I decided to make a colorful background and keep the flower simple.

With white cardstock as my base, I stamped the flower with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with clear powder. Using a foam blending tool, I blended several cheerful Distress ink colors on top. In addition to great blending, one of the cool things about Distress inks is the way they react with water. It's fun and unpredictable! So...after blending, I spritzed the paper with water. After waiting a few seconds, I blotted the water off, and was left with bleached-out areas. The embossed flowers preserved the white and stood out nicely against the colorful background.

The sentiment if from Altenew's Label love - stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I trimmed closely around the sentiment and mounted it on top of the stamped panel. To add a little more pizazz, I glued on a few sequins using Ranger's Matte Medium. I mounted the panel on top of some coordinatingl cardstock, and adhered the whole thing onto a white card base.

Make A Wish

I can't believe how long it's been since I put up a blog post - I've really neglected my poor blog! I thought I'd try to get back into the swing of things with a very simple card today. I apologize for the less-than-stellar photograph. I've got to figure out what's wrong with my camera, but until then I'm using my phone's camera.

This is a very easy technique I learned from a blog post by Jennifer McGuire. I stamped the background with Simon Says Stamp Audrey Blue ink, using the Hero Arts Everything Flowers background stamp. Once that had a minute to dry, I used a Ranger blending tool and Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink. I blended the ink over the center of the stamped image, to lighten it and make it recede a little. The edges are left the original blue color.

This allows the sentiment to stand out more - I used a stamp from Altenew Super Script 2, stamping in Versafine Onyx Black and embossing with clear embossing powder.

I trimmed the stamped panel slightly and mounted it onto a turquoise card base.

Fun, and easy!

Happy crafting - 

Immi