This is a technique that I learned when I first began to stamp. It is simple and yet gives a wonderful "WOW" when completed.
After receiving replies to the Tea Time post on my personal blog, simple dreams, I began today thinking I would make some thank you notes to start a "stash" for those occasions when I just need something to pull out and write a quick note. As I took Jasper for our lunch time "power walk" I was awed once again by the gorgeous fall leaves. Even though the wind was blustery, and the air misty, I found getting out so refreshing and inspiring.
Being I had promised more brayer techniques to come this month I knew immediately which stamp I would use for this simple technique. I also wanted to see if the new Dazzle VersaMark would react any differently than the regular VersaMark.
To begin I inked Oak Leaves using the VersaMark Dazzle Champagne and stamped on Glossy White cardstock. We are thrilled to have finally found a quality glossy white AND black cardstock to carry in our store! Watch for it to go up in our store over the next day or two.
I began by brayering Adirondack Carmel dye ink evenly over the entire surface. I wasn't too wild about the "carmel" tone and so I immediately inked up the brayer with Adirondack Rust dye ink.
When you work quickly on glossy paper it is easy to "meld" the colors. This color combo felt a lot more like the leaves I had just seen.
Being that I wanted the leaves to pop in different colors I used my sponges and inked them with Red Pepper and Lettuce Adirondack dye inks.
Did I ever mention that I don't care for dirty hands. It's OK to get them dirty, but then I seem to always get those stains on my project and it makes me frustrated - LOL! A tip I shared a long time ago that is worth mentioning again is the little paper clips that hold my sponges. As you can see in the photo above each one of my sponges has a clip that holds it together. This allows me to ink my sponge without getting my fingers dirty Ü
I then brayered one last time over the entire surface with just a little more "carmel" ink to smooth out the sponged surface.
The final step to this technique is to buff the entire piece with a soft cloth or in this case a soft paper towel. I did not see any real difference using the Dazzle VersaMark rather than regular VersaMark for this technique. I was so hoping that the "shimmer" would remain, but as I buffed the piece it appeared to completely lift any remaining shimmer from the piece. A tad disappointing being I thought that the Champagne shimmer would be stunning on this creation.
I cut my leaf background into three pieces and then stamped and embossed the sentiment (All Things Fall) using Espresso Embossing Powder. I used the same backgrounder to stamp the Jack O Lantern note card with Champagne Dazzle. The one thing I have noticed is that the VersaMark Dazzle does show up on the Memory Box notecards. Regular VersaMark did not seem to leave any type of watermark on the soy based notecards and so I am thrilled with this result.
I finished it off with a piece of Crate Crush Ribbon, an Antique Copper brad, and some piercing (for those of you wanting a Design Ruler from Tim Holtz more are on their way and should arrive before week's end.)
If you give this simple technique a try leave us a comment with a link to your creation! Happy fall to you all and I hope that you too can enjoy a brisk walk in the fall leaves!
