inspired by fall...

Hello my wonderful friends!

Yesterday I spent a couple hours enjoying the outdoors with my mom and my dog. It was beautiful!

We went over to a lake that has a paved walkway all the way around it. The

leaves are just starting to fall, and the autumn flowers are blooming. 

It was just what I needed to get me inspired to create!

And since I love sharing not just the end project, but the techniques... Here's the how-to. :)

Step 1: Randomly spread a thin layer of Modeling Paste through a stencil onto your paper. 

I'm using one I cut with my Silhouette out of film transparency. I make a TON of these, and use them over and over! 

Set it aside to dry, or carefully dry it with a heat tool. Don't let the heat sit on any area or it will bubble. Keep the heat moving.

Step 2: Use an ink blending tool to apply Distress Ink to the entire piece. 

Step 3: Get your hand wet (I usually use a squirt bottle and spray my hand) and flick water drops onto your paper. This will cause the ink to react and you will get cool watermarks.  Let them sit for 15-30 seconds while the water does it's job, then you can dry them with a heat tool.

Step 4: Stamp your image with Distress Ink. (Distress ink is a dye ink that is formulated to stay wet longer than any other dye ink which is what you need for this to work.)

I'm  using a stamp from Unity. I'm not sure what kit it's from- it was part of a grab bag

Step 5: Cover your stamped image with Perfect Pearls. (This is why you need your ink to stay wet.) I use a soft bristled paint brush to dust some on, then pounce over it to really ensure the powder sticks. 

Step 6: Dust off the excess Perfect Pearls with the soft bristled paintbrush. Because of the textured background, make sure you dust from multiple angles so the powder doesn't get caught in the texture.

When you tip your card, you will see the shimmer!  

(notice, the area around my larger water mark below the bigger flower wasn't quite dry, so the Perfect Pearls stuck to it... They will stick to anything wet, so make sure your project is completely DRY before stamping.)

Step 7: To set the Pearls so they won't rub off, all you need to do is VERY lightly mist them with water. If you have a misting spray bottle, spray the mist in the air and waft your project through the mist a few times. That's all. Seriously. 

The same technique was used for the sentiment, however after I set the Perfect Pearls, I sprayed the paper with a little heavier spray, and let the Distress ink wick out a bit, then dried it. This gives it a bit of a distressed feel to match the background of the card. 

(this stamp is also Unity from the "Love in Return" kit)

Detailed looks...

I love both the distressed texture of the background that you get by randomly swiping modeling paste through a stencil without trying to actually fill in the whole thing, and the shiny  stamped image. 

The sentiment is attached with some jute.. again, going with that distressed, natural feel. I dyed the jute using Distress Stain. I love using ink to customize things to match my projects!

Have fun playing with your supplies!

Enjoy!

~Kassi

Challenges:

Silhouette

Unity

Supplies Used:

Paper: My Minds Eye, watercolor paper, manilla, cardstock

Ink: Distress Ink, Distress Stain

Stamps: Unity

Silhouette: Fancy Lattice, Artisan Label Set

Other: Perfect Pearls (Ranger), jute, pearls