Four Ways Friday #13 - Folk Flowers Decor Stencil

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about stencils!  You might also think it's all about glitter since the cards, the craft room, and this crafter are all covered in it! :)

This first card uses the Folk Flower stencil in a very traditional way.  I placed the stencil over a Very Vanilla card base and used my sponge daubers to add Pear Pizzazz ink and then Blushing Bride ink.  I love how the colors blend when you use a sponge dauber instead of a regular sponge.  The greeting is from Short & Sweet - I colored the stamp with my markers to create the two-tone effect.  The small and medium oval punches were used to mount the greeting.  Finally, a small button with some twine for a bit of interest!

This second card uses the same stencil in another traditional way.  I placed the stencil over a piece of Whisper White card stock and then used my Basic Gray marker to follow around the outline of the stencil.  For all of these techniques it is probably best to use some drafting or masking tape to keep your stencil from moving.  I used the spritzer tool to add some Basic Gray ink to the background and used my 2-way glue pen to add the dazzling diamonds.  The main panel edges were sponged with Basic Gray ink and the bottom right-hand corner was torn and a piece of Basic Gray card stock placed underneath and torn as well.  The greeting is from the Whimsical Words stamp set (retired) and is popped up on a divided curly label punch.  The brushed silver card stock hearts finish the look!

I seem to be all about butterflies and glitter these days!  For this background, I placed a piece of Bashful Blue card stock in a cardboard box (the new Color Catcher would work great for this project as well) and placed the stencil on top of the card stock.  I then sprayed the stencil with a mixture of water, Rose Red and Elegant Eggplant ink (I had the ink leftover from another project).  I then sprayed over it again with a mixture of shimmer paint and alcohol.  I removed the stencil and let the card stock dry (ok, I admit it...I helped it dry with my heat tool :)  I mounted the background on an Early Espresso card base.  The butterfly was made using my Beautiful Butterflies die in the Big Shot.  I then used my Baroque wheel with Rich Razzleberry ink to give the butterfly a design.  Then came the 2-way glue pen with some super nova glitter (yes, it is all over me, the craft room, everything!).  A small piece of the new 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Early Espresso creates the body of the butterfly.  I punched an oval using the extra large oval punch and then stamped the greeting from Define Your Life onto Very Vanilla card stock (I once again used my markers to color the greeting to create the 2-tone effect).  I popped the greeting up on dimensionals.

I wish you could see this fourth and final card in person!  It is so hard to photograph this effect - it has a ton of texture!!!!  This card was an experiment.  I first took a piece of watercolor paper and wet it with a brush.  Then I painted it with a mixture of water and Rose Red reinker.  Then I added some Elegant Eggplant reinker to the same water and painted again.  I did this a number of times until I was happy with the color.  Then I took my stencil and placed it over the watercolor paper (after the paper had dried).  I then experimented!  I used Flexible Modeling Paste (you can purchase this at the art store) and a sponge to sponge the paste onto the stencil.  You have to wash your stencil well after this technique!  I let the paste dry and then went over the paper again with the water and ink mixture to color the paste.  I then sprayed the entire piece with shimmer paint mixed with alcohol.  In person this really looks a lot like mulberry paper or handmade paper!  The final piece I want to comment on is the ribbon.  I sprayed the white organza ribbon with the ink wash that I used on the card.  I then used my heat tool to help dry the ribbon and the greatest thing happened!  If you heat your organza ribbon, the ribbon will begin to shrink and curl - it's a wonderful effect!  I can't wait to do it again!  Just don't hold the heat tool still for too long over the ribbon - you don't want to burn your ribbon!  Enjoy!!!!