Sunday, August 12, 2012

Water Stamping 'En Francais'

This week on Splitcoast Stampers, the featured technique was Water Stamping. What a fantastic technique. So simple and makes a fantastic background. I'll be demonstrating this technique at my next Stamping Technique Night on Friday August 24th at 7:30PM, along with tie-dye heat embossing. Water Stamping is pretty easy, although I made a few modifications to the technique to make it a smidge easier.


Isn't it awesome? And the En Francais background stamp is perfect for the slightly blurred lines this technique produces. The sketch for this card is from this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge. Something was missing on my card so I added the three adhesive Pearls.

Tips & Tricks:

*Wondering why the new Heat Tool has a low and high heat setting? The high setting is great for heat embossing. But if you need to dry ink, or dry card stock from a technique like Water Stamping, the low setting is great. It won't burn your card stock.
*My card base is Cajun Craze. I wanted to sponge some of this color onto my background, but when I stamped it with water, a lot of pink in the Cajun Craze came out. So I sponged it in just Soft Suede and Summer Starfruit. Much better.
*I first sponged the Summer Starfruit in a few spots on the card stock. Then I sponged over and around it with Soft Suede. I love how the En Francais script comes out looking antiqued on those two colors.
*The Comfort Cafe DSP is really turning into one of my favorites. I love how running it through the Square Lattice Embossing Folder gives it a quilted look.
*I'm really loving Framelits. Especially these new Apothecary Accents Framelits. They make such a fantastic background for many different images, punches and greetings.
*I was going for vintage and I love how the Victoria Trim Ribbon gives everything such a great vintage look.

Hope you love this technique and you'll come and find out my little tricks to do it just right on August 24th. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!






Card Recipe:

Stamps: En Francais, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit
Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP
Accessories: Summer Starfruit Satin Stitched Ribbon, Victoria Trim Ribbon, Soft Suede 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Adhesive Jewels - Pearls, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Apothecary Accents Framelits



5 comments:

Jen Sannes said...

Monica, this card is gorgeous! I love your tips for the technique, too. I wish I could come to your class - it sounds like a lot of fun. :) Thanks for playing along with week's sketch.

Ann Schach said...

Beautiful! I love the antique, distressed look of the background! Thanks for playing at Freshly Made Sketches!

Jen Timko said...

Wonderful! The background is stunning! So glad you joined us this week at FMS!

Jen Mitchell said...

What a very cool background! The colors are so warm and I love the ribbon accents. Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Wendy Coffman said...

What a lovely, rich looking background you've made. Congrats on being a Freshly Made Princess!