Totally Techniques Stampin' Demonstrator Blog Hop sharing Sponge Stencilling

Welcome to the Stampin' Up! Global Demonstrator Totally Techniques  May Blog Hop 

Shannean Moncrieff down in Australia chose our Totally Techniques theme this month and so we are sharing cards demonstrating the stencil sponging or sponge stencilling technique.  I've got a couple of ideas to share starting with this one which also show cases a new suite of products from the 2019 -2020 Stampin' Up! catalogue which is available for shopping on Tuesday 4 June.  This bundle is called the Sailing Home Suite and is going to be an awesome suite of products for male cards, holiday scrapbooking and much much more.  

So to begin I used a layered circle die to create a very simple circle stencil from a piece of vellum.  As you can see I fixed it to my work space using painters tap which also held a piece of whisper white card underneath it just where I wanted it.  I used sponges and a combination of Balmy Blue, Seaside Spray, Pretty Peacock and So Saffron to spong my circle.    I started with the lighter shade of blues and left almost white space to create a moon in the sky and using a small circle punch and a post it note created a mask just to keep a rough circle for this purpose.  The So Saffron gives a glow to create the impression of a not quite dark sky.  

I stamped the sailing boat in Night of Navy ink with the top of the mast just overlapping the moon. 

I then cut the same size circle from a larger piece of whisper white card which was 10 cm x 14.3cm.  I also added a sentiment in Early Espresso and separately stamped the lighthouse and die cut it out.  I used the sponges to add some shading having coloured the stamp with marker pens to stamp a double coloured image.  I gently added light into the top of the lighthouse using a So Saffron marker pen.  I made sure that when I used stampin dimensionals to stick the layers together that the lower layer with the sponged circle lined up with the top layer and did not protrude beyond this top layer.  

I added some silver thread using dimensionals to adhere it to the back of the top layer and some Tranquil Texture  Sprinkles to each thread before sticking across the circle with another set of Stampin' dimensionals.  If you wrap the thread around the dimensional several times and then double mount the dimensionals to give sufficienct depth for the beads to slide as you can see here in this mini video. 

Check out the video for the hidden extra  HERE

A second way to sponge stencil is to use a pre-made stencil similar to one in the Stampin' Up! pattern party decorative masks pack.  Using the same stencil I created with the vellum above, I used it to create a mask to reveal only a circle of the card layer.  I slid the decorative stencil/mask under the vellum.  As shown below.

With sponges and a dauber I added different colours over the stencil.  To control where the colour went I used the circle die cut to create the top layer for the first card to mask parts of the circle and more painters tape.

Additionally for the small circles I used a marker pen to add a deeper shade of blue.

To control the amount of ink that is on each sponge I use a piece of acetate, plastic embellishment bag or the stamp a ma jig sheet if you still have one to rub small circles having added ink to each sponge directly from an ink pad. This allows the ink to sink into the sponge and reduces the chances of having a heavy spot of ink when you first start to add the ink.

To finish the second card I stamped a simple sentiment and added some rhinestones and basic adhesive backed sequins to the design and then mounted the stamped/stencilled layer onto a  matt layer of Pretty Peacock before adding to a whisper white card base.

Copies of the new catalogue will be coming through your door very soon if you've shopped with me in the past 6 months or indeed will be given out at my new catalogue launch party on Saturday 22 June.  If you are local and would like to come along please email me for the details.  However if you'd like a copy to browse please do contact me to arrange for one to be posted to you.
You can contact me at zoetant@live.co.uk or message me on facebook at www.facebook.com/zoetant

Now please do carry on with our Global blog hop and see more inspiration for this inky technique.  You can visit the other demonstrator blogs by clicking on each picture below.

Thanks for visiting Zoe x

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Mothers Day Make

Here in the UK we celebrate Mother's Day at a different time to many countries and so I made my card last week for my lovely Mum as we celebrated yesterday.  It was a lovely sunny day, my parents came for lunch and Olivia surprised me by popping home from university for the day and of course she and Charlie bought me some beautiful flowers. Some arrived by post which is always exciting on Friday and more yesterday with a fun and special card.  

My card was a big hit with Mum and I'm so pleased. It is bigger than many I make, but I know my mum loves to make bigger cards so I used a sheet of A4 for the base. I added several  matting layers which I embossed using different folders.  The first was just a tad smaller than the card base and I used one of the Stampin' Up! Petal Pair folders which are long and thin. I first embossed one end placing the folder just under half way down the card from the top and then again the same placing it from bottom up.  The next layer was smaller and embossed with the Subtle folder which is I have to admit not easy to see in the catalogue or on this picture, but the one above shows the linen effect it produces.  The next layer is again a tad smaller than the previous one and is embossed with the Tufted folder.  It made me think of a quilted pin cushion and fitted in with the Stampin' Up! set images of the Needle and Thread set.  I created a faux embroidery hoop using the Swirly Frames set and used my layering circle dies to cut out the image.  Next I built up an arrangement of the faux embroidered flowers. Needle and Thread is a Stampin' Up! DisINKtive set which gives a 3D impression and allows it to look like individual embroidery threads.    You can see more examples on my stampingscene scrapbook post and cards I made for onstage using the Needlepoint Nook suite and here. 

I also used a couple of the leave dies from the Stampin' Up! spring catalogue Wonderful Floral framelit dies.  One of them embosses at the same time as cuts but to create a deeper emboss you can also use the embossing mats from page 221 in the annual catalogue to create a deeper impression.
Quick Tip I die cut vellum leaves and then removed the vellum from the die carefully. I put Versamark ink on the die and replaced the vellum leaves.  I then used the embossing mats to push the ink onto the vellum leaves before adding copper embossing powder.  Once you've heated it it highlights the veins of the leaves.  You can see it peeking out at the bottom of my floral arrangement.

If you celebrated Mothering Sunday yesterday with your mum or without I hope it was a day of special memories. 

Perhaps if you received some spends for your craft you might like to look at the new Stampin' Up! Storage which launched today. 

You can order any of these pieces and that gorgeous grid paper in my Stampin' Up! Online Shop

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Thanks for checking in.

Zoe x