sparkles and ghosts...

Hello my wonderful friends!

Apparently once I am no longer stressed, the need to create comes exploding out of me! I have been going crazy in my studio! I'm loving it! I thought I'd share some of that creative fun with you by sharing this card and two quick technique tutorials that went into it. :) Have fun!

First up, the ghosted background... This is just a fun way to play with your Distress Inks and their natural reaction to water. 

You don't have to work with a stencil, but I wanted to... so I cut a circle out of acetate using a die, and taped it over a piece of watercolor paper. Easy peasy! 

*Watercolor paper will work best for the first technique... The ink will blend smoother and lift better than if you just use regular card stock.

Apply a good layer of Distress ink to your paper. The darker the inks, the more noticeable the ghosting will be by contrast. I started by filling the whole circle with a nice layer of Wild Honey, then went around just the edges with a  some Rusty Hinge for some added depth.

Take your stamp  and mist it with plain water. 

With your stencil still in place, stamp your misted stamp over over your Distress ink. This will lift some of the ink, leaving a ghost image.

*rubber stamps work well for this, but you can try with your clear stamps... I would try on a test paper first.

If you have too much water on your stamp (like I did), the water will seep under the stencil and bleed & blur the lines of your shape... You can clean this up with a wet paint brush, or leave it as is for a distressed/softer look... your choice.

Once dry, you can stamp over it.... 

In this case, I wanted sparkly flowers... so, here comes technique #2

To get a multi-colored image ink up your stamp with various colors of ink that has a long enough open time to heat emboss... Distress ink or Pigment inks are safe choices. (Distress Markers will not work.)

Cover with a Sticky Embossing Powder. There are several different brands of this out there... I have "Simple Stick" by A-Muse (for no other reason than that is what happened to be at my local store) Basically it is an "embossing powder" that when heated becomes sticky and allows you to adhere things like glitter and flocking. It's fun stuff. I used it in a tutorial a while back... but I digress....

Ok... So... Cover with a sticky embossing powder. Heat it JUST until it melts. DO NOT OVERHEAT!  As soon as it melts QUICKLY cover with clear glitter, and allow to cool. Once it is cool, simply brush off the extra glitter with your hand or a paint brush. (I've even used a lint roller just to see how well the glitter sticks... the glitter stayed where it was supposed to!)

And you end up with a fabulously colorful glittered image with a ghosted background. Fun stuff!  Of course.... Both techniques can be used on their own, or combined in different ways... 

Enjoy!

~Kassi

Supplies Used:

Paper: Core'Dinations, watercolor paper

Ink: Distress Ink

Stamps: Unity "Moments in Bloom" & "Blossom Stackers"

Other: Distress Rock Candy Glitter, A-Muse "Simple Stick" powder