Happy New Year folks! (Albeit rather late)
I hope you all had as good a Christmas and New Year as could be considering the current circumstances. My parents, brother and his girlfriend came over to ours for Christmas day. I cooked a huge feast and we all had a really lovely time including a video call with the American family. Isn't it such a blessing to live in an age where we can see and speak with people on the other side of the world at the click of a button?
So, its now January and we are back in another lockdown. Things do seem pretty bleak at the moment but to cheer us up Stampin' Up have a new mini catalogue which launched on January 5th. It's also Sale-A-Bration during January and February which just means extra loveliness and freebies!! Woop woop!
The new mini is full of gorgeous new stamps, dies, accessories and tools! One of my absolute favourite new tools is the blending brushes! Oh my goodness, these are AMAZING! I have spend the last few weeks ink blending practically everything I've made! This tool makes ink blending so super easy and transitioning between colours so seamless!
I would suggest 1 blending brush per colour group - Blues, Greens, Yellows, Reds, Purples, Browns etc, as this will ensure each of your colours stays bright and fresh.
This card is pretty simple and really showcases the beautiful ink blending using the new blending brushes. Unlike sponges which can leave harsh marks, these brushes are made up of super soft bristles which gives a really soft, smooth finish.
Apply the ink in a gentle circular motion overlapping the two colours in the centre of the card. The brush applies thin layers of ink which means it can be blended out very easily to either create an ombre effect or blended with other colours. Applying more layers of ink on top of one another will intensify the colour. Here I blended Pacific Point and Gorgeous Grape together over Whisper White cardstock. I love the additional colours created where these two colours overlap and blend.
After I had finished blending the colours I sprinkled water over the card, left it for a moment then used a tissue to soak up the excess water. This draws some of the colour back out of the cardstock and makes a lighter effect.
I wrapped some of the retired black/pool party bakers twine I had around blended card and tied it into a bow.
I stamped my greeting in black on a spare offcut of the blended background. I layered this on a black story label punch. I adhered this with a dimensionals over the twine just below the bow.
To finish it off I added a spattering of the new matte black dots across the card. I just think these look lovely and have a way of tying everything together.
I have enjoyed ink blending so much I can't wait to share this new technique with my lovely ladies that attend my virtual Craft Together sessions. This is one of the cards we will be making this month!
Stay safe,
