Favourites

The designers at Penny Black are showcasing favourites from the new 2012 catalog at present but what I have posted today is an older Penny Black stamp, Queen Anne’s Lace which has become a new favourite of mine. I love the delicacy of Queen Anne’s Lace which this stamp captures beautifully. Picking a favourite stamp also worked  for the Less is More challenge this week which asks us to choose and combine three previous challenges. I chose#15 One layer embossing, #22 Shades of Blue and #59 Masking.

Several people have left questions in the comments section lately about products and techniques; I have a draft in progress to answer those soon but a  couple may be answered in the following tutorial. Brenda asked how I mask; the first three photos show how I make use of the lines on my mat to help me line up the edges of the card before positioning the post-it notes. The large post-it notes are worth the extra cost because they do the whole length of the card and the width of the sticky section is good.

After using the grid on the mat I put scrap paper underneath and start my design. For this card I stamped the image twice in versamark, then embossed in clear.

I use round craft sponges cut into quarters to sponge and for this card I used Memento Summer Sky and Danube Blue ink.

Building up colour by sponging takes a while. I start by dabbing the colour on and then blend with a swirly motion to make sure I have good coverage.

For this card I wanted a bit of white space so didn’t sponge the panel completely.

When I was happy with the sponging I stamped the image several times with Summer Sky ink.

I removed the masks and added one more image in Danube Blue and finished with a sentiment, from the transparent set, Gratitude.

Here’s the finished product using a favourite stamp, my favourite colour and a favourite technique.

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you get a chance to work with your favourites this week.