Collage Dec 25

Woo hoo! My second week of blogging and I hope you guys are enjoying it as much as I am. Vivian's name was picked in the weekly drawing yesterday and has chosen the Zebra card, so that will be going out in today's mail - excellent choice :o)

I didn't set out to make this a Christmas card yesterday, but with the reds and greens it was a natural! (click on photo for close up)

Finished card measures 7" x 4 7/8"

I stamped the main image collage stamp by Stampington & Co. titled Berry Print on a piece of cream cs using Adirondack's Lettuce, Pesto and Raisin dye inks, which I applied randomly to the rubber right from the pads except for the ruler area where I used the Pesto ink only. I edged the piece with the Raisin ink, again right from the pad.

I inked up the 25 part of the stamp with Raisin ink and stamped it again on cream cs, punched it out with a 3/4" circle punch, then edged it with the Pesto ink. The December is a word from a Hero Arts stamp titled Circle the Month, which I stamped on a rectangle of cream cs in Raisin, then edged it with Pesto. After the card was put together I applied these as shown.

The colorful background was made by applying dye inks and gesso alternatively with a brayer on glossy cardstock, drying in between coats. For lots of details on this technique and more artwork samples, check out the TechniqueJunkie Dec06/Jan07 newsletter (see sidebar for link).

*tip*

To get cards to tie together visually, try using the same inks for the background effect as you use on your main images.

This piece is mounted on a piece of cranberry cardstock that I've stamped the swath with the words in it on from the original collage stamp using Versamark ink.

*tip*
Versamark can have a tendency to fade over time. It's recommended to heat set it with a heat gun. Another option would be to sprinkle clear detail embossing powder over it before heating, or just stamp it using a little darker shade of dye ink as the cardstock for the same look.

The dotted cardfront was made by stenciling over a piece of metal sequin waste ribbon, pictured along with my favorite brush for this by Dreamweaver. Lots of items will work to stencil with - lace, metal mesh from the hardware store, etc. The sequin waste can be rinsed off when you're done with it and used over and over. I edged the card with Raisin ink right from the pad, making just a thin edge for definition.

Thanks for looking!