Monday, April 10, 2017

Mini Stencils

 Hello everyone, here's a springtime card I created for the Cropstop blog. Here in the USA, it’s one of my favorite seasons of the year – springtime! My card today reflects the greens that have been popping up all around me this past month! New green leaves on the trees and bushes, freshly mowed green grass, and green shoots in my flower beds —  green seems to be one of the main colors of spring!
Today I’m  showcasing another way to use your stencils, so let’s get started…
 To create the focal point for my card, I used a set of Heidi Swapp stencils (Frames). Instead of laying the stencil down and using spray ink to highlight the negative space, I inked the back of my stencil up with mowed lawn distress ink (Tim Holtz), and spritzed it with water (mini mister). I carefully moved my stencil to a clean section of my desk (so as not to leave finger prints in the ink), and laid a clean piece of white cardstock over the top and pressed it down.  (A brayer is helpful in the process of transferring the ink from the stencil to the paper.) I then trimmed and layered my print on black cardstock adding a strip of hounds-tooth washi tape across the bottom for added interest.
 I layered a piece of designer paper from the Kirby Teesdale Studio paper stack (The Paper Studio) on black cardstock and added that to my card front. Next I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the Tim Hotlz Collage embossing folder, inked the embossing with  mowed lawn distress ink , and distressed the edges with the Tonic Studios paper distresser before adhering it to the left side of my card.  In the right corner I added the word “smile” using my alphabet punches.  A little burlap string bow (in black) with clay button center and a lovely Petaloo bloom (Botanical Collection) complete my card for today.
I’d love to see the springtime cards you’ve created, so stop by the CURRENT CHALLENGE and link up your creativity using products from companies Cropstop carries! Hope to see you there….

6 comments:

Nance said...

Oh wow, Esther, this is amazing! I have those stencils so I am going to have to try your technique with them! I love all that green, so cheerful and "springy"! Thanks for playing with us at 4 Crafty Chicks this week!

Christine said...

You have created a fantastic look with the stencil and the wonderful spring green! So glad you joined the challenge at Four Crafty Chicks this week.
Christine
Guest DT
http://withaverygratefulheart.blogspot.com

lalkygirl said...

What a fab card ,love the colour and the way you have used the stencil
Thanks for joining us at Craftdeebowz and good luck
Tracey x

SewPaperPaint said...

Oh my goodness, this is out of this world cool! The best green card I've seen all year! Totally love it! Hugs, Autumn

Karen Letchworth said...

This is beautiful, Esther. Thanks so much for sharing in our Flowers Challenge. I hope that you will join us again soon. It's always a joy to see your beautiful creations linked up with us.
Karen
Really Reasonable Ribbon

Cheryl Walker said...

Beautiful card and love the flower! Thank you for joining us over at Really Reasonable Ribbon this week!
Hugs
Cheryl