Aloha Stampers!
Today I’m joining the Stamping with Friends Blog Hop, where we’re sharing projects featuring ink blending—one of my favorite techniques, especially when I can pull out my blending brushes and just play with color!
Sometimes the best stamping days happen when you just start playing!
A friend came over yesterday to do some stamping, and she asked me about decorative masks. She had one but wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to do with it. Well, that was all the excuse I needed to pull out my Painted Pumpkins Decorative Masks and my blending brushes!
We started experimenting and made one full sheet using the leaf mask, blending the greens to make a pretty background. Then we made another sheet with the pumpkins, trying different colors and shading with our blending brushes.
This is one of my favorite things to do with blending brushes. You can keep adding a little color at a time, blend colors together, and end up with something completely different every time.
And Then I Discovered the Best Part!
I was really happy to discover that the Painted Pumpkin Dies cut out the pumpkin images from the masks!
Instead of having to fussy cut all those pumpkins, I could quickly die cut them and arrange them on my cards. I love how the different sizes and colors look grouped together.
My friend and I each made a card from our afternoon of experimenting. I love how they turned out a little different, even though we were working with the same masks and supplies. We each arranged our pumpkins our own way—and that’s part of the fun of stamping with a friend!
🌺 Crafty Tip: When using decorative masks and blending brushes, start with a light hand. You can always add more ink to deepen the color, and using more than one shade gives your images extra dimension.
Have You Tried Decorative Masks?
If you have a set of masks tucked away in your craft room and haven’t used them lately, pull them out and play! You don’t have to have a plan when you start. Sometimes experimenting with different colors is half the fun.
Have you ever bought a crafting tool and then wondered, “Now what am I supposed to do with this?” I think we’ve all been there!
Be sure to continue along the Stamping with Friends Blog Hop to see how everyone else used ink blending in their projects—I love seeing how many different ideas can come from the same technique!
Shop for Stampin’ Up! Supplies
I’ve listed the supplies I used below, including the Painted Pumpkins Decorative Masks and Painted Pumpkin Dies, so you can easily find them if you’d like to give this technique a try.
Sharing Aloha one card at a time!
Cheryl
Lovely card Cheryl, love all the texture you get when ink blending with masks x
Thanks Mo. I should do this more often – really fun!