Hello and welcome to my blog! Today I will demonstrate the Masking Technique to make the leaves appear to be behind the flowers. This adds dimension to your card.
This card is one of three that is made using Stampin’ Up!’s Painted Harvest stamp set. The first card was a Birthday card which you can see on the previous blog. This second card is one to express gratitude. Let’s get started!
Side note: My joint replacement in my right middle finger is doing well but I do still have a bandage on it. Today I chose a purple bandage. Might as well make it colorful!
I also used the Sea of Textures stamp set to add some grunge to the card.
Measurements: 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch Whisper White card base scored at 4 1/4 inches, 5 1/4 x 4 inch Blushing Bride and 5 x 3 3/4 inch Whisper White.
The Stampin’ Up! ink colors for this card are: Blushing Bride, Garden Green, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. Tip: The Early Espresso dries more slowly than the other colors so take care not to smear the ink, which I have done many times!
The clear blocks needed are: B, C, D, and H.
Tip: The stamps in this set are Photopolymer so you will need the Stampin’ Pierce Mat.
I actually made a mistake when photographing this part. You do not need the Stampin’ Pierce mat for this red rubber stamp. However, it did not seem to affect the quality of the image. Ink the stamp from the Sea of Textures stamp set with Crumb Cake and Stamp Off onto a scrap paper before stamping on the 5 x 3 3/4 inch Whisper White card piece. The idea is to create a faint frame for the flowers.
Continue around the entire border.
The flower is a Two Step Stamp. The stamp on the left is larger and less detailed than the stamp on the right. I used the larger stamp first, but you could do it either way. Try it both ways to see which is easier. Sometimes when the two layers need to be lined up, it is easier to use the more detailed stamp first as it is easier to see through the less detailed stamp.
First stamp a flower in the lower left hand corner, slightly off to the right, using the Blushing Bride ink.
Then stamp a flower in the upper left hand corner and another to the right of the flower on the bottom left hand corner. Tip: Try not to make them perfectly spaced as this does not look natural.
Now use the smaller more detailed flower stamp and stamp directly over the top of the first stamp lining up the center. It isn’t so obvious here, but the flower looks more full after the second layer is stamped on.
To stamp the center of the flower, use the Early Espresso ink and Stamp Off onto the scrap paper first.
Now to prepare for the Masking Technique. Start with three sheets of sticky note paper and stamp the image of the larger flower over the edge with the sticky on it.
Now cut around the edge. Some people cut really close to the stamped edge and others leave a little border. I left a little border.
Separate the papers so you have the three sticky note flowers.
Stick the sticky note flowers on over your stamped flowers.
Tip: Take care to line up the mask properly. Identify a recognizable part of the image to be able to place the mask over the stamped image easily.
The leaves are a Two Step Stamp also. Tip: I made a mistake when I first did this card and used the less detailed stamp on the left first. I found that it was easier to line up the second layer if the more detailed stamp on the right was used first.
Stamp the first layer of the leaves as desired around the flowers.
Go over the first layer of leaves with the second stamp.
Peel the mask off.
Oops! I had not lined my mask up properly and this left a hole in my leaves! Not to worry, there are two ways to fix this that I can think of. The first fix is to do it all over. Urgh!
The second fix is to use a Stampin’ Up! Blender Pen.
The way to use the Blender Pen is to first get some ink on the lid of your stamp pad case. Flip the ink pad over and apply firm pressure. Then open up the stamp case and there should be a nice layer of ink in the lid. Scribble the Blender Pen at the edge of the ink spot and blend it out so that there is a light amount of ink on the pen.
Now apply the ink to the paper gently with a small circular motion until the leaf looks whole again. Not too bad, eh?
When you are finished blending, scribble the Blender Pen on a scrap piece of paper until all the color is out. Now it can be used again with another color! How cool is that!?!
Okay, back to the card we were making. Use the Early Espresso ink to stamp the sentiment in the upper right hand corner. Take care not to smear the ink by allowing extra time for it to dry.
Adhere the stamped card piece to the 5 1/4 x 4 inch piece of Blushing Bride.
Adhere the Blushing Bride to the card base. Flip the card over before rubbing it so that the ink doesn’t smear.
And there you have it! Wasn’t that fun? You can do a lot of really interesting cards using the Masking Technique. Take time to play with this technique. If you liked this card and the instructions, please Like my blog. Thanks for stopping by!
The Stampin’ Up! products used include: Stamp Set: Painted Harvest #144783, Sea of Textures #146488; Cardstock: Whisper White #100730 and Blushing Bride #131198; Ink: Crumb Cake #147116, Blushing Bride #147100, Early Espresso #147114 and Garden Green #147089; Clear Blocks: B #117147, C #118486, D #118485, and H #118490; Stampin’ Pierce Mat #126199; Paper Snips #103579; Blender Pen #102845; Multipurpose Liquid Glue #110755.
