A friend will sympathize, but

a GOOD friend will stand with you in the rain

TUTORIALSTENCILTECHNIQUE

3/14/20243 min read

Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencil I used from A Colorful Life Designs. Follow the link and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

Let’s get started:-

Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

Card Face: 5 ⅛ x 3 ⅞

White cardstock for the umbrellas

Small piece of black cardstock for the embellishments on the umbrellas.

A narrow strip of cardstock, approximately .25 x 4.25

Card Face:

I grabbed the happiest, brightest colours in my collection (green, yellow, pink, red, blue ) and sponged them randomly on the card face.
I put this aside and allowed it to dry for a bit.
I put the card face onto the Grip Mat and positioned the stencil on top.
I pressed Versamark embossing ink firmly through the stencil, covering the entire surface twice to be certain I had good coverage.
I removed the stencil and sprinkled clear embossing powder over the surface, setting it with my heat gun.
I gave this a few seconds to cool, and then applied black ink over the entire cardface, adding ink until I was satisfied with the intensity.
I used a paper towel to burnish the card face - this wiped away the black ink from the embossed umbrellas but didn’t affect it elsewhere as it had been absorbed by the paper. The end result is brightly coloured umbrellas on a black base.

** This technique has several names: I call it Trapped Ink.

Other:

I die cut three umbrellas out of white cardstock, and their decorative touches out of black.
I used a black marker to colour the handle on each umbrella..
I stamped the sentiment and used a die to cut it out.

Assembly:

I glued the embellishments onto the umbrellas.
I glued the card face to the card base.
I glued the umbrellas in place as shown.
I glued the strip of cardstock across the card face, approximately ¼ of the way up from the bottom.
I added dimensional foam to the back of the sentiment, and positioned it on the strip of cardstock.
I glued two of the confetti-style bling together - large and small sizes - and glued it on the narrow strip. This gave more presence to the bling without it getting too big for the strip.

Final Thoughts

I was frustrated when I realized that one of the white umbrellas had gone off center when something was on top to help it firm up .... but it was too late to fix it, and I decided to press on. I love these fun, colourful umbrellas; I especially like the ones where the colours have met and blended.

I hemmed and hawed over what kind of card this would be, selecting encouragement in the end. It was almost a “hello spring” card.

Supplies: (and links where possible)

I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It's a huge marketplace and in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives to choose from.

Stencil: Umbrellas, A Colorful Life Designs

Stamps: Perfectly Framed, Stampin’ Up! (retired)

Dies:

Umbrella, Spellbinders (retired)

Sentiment: Ornate Frames, Stampin’ Up! (retired)

Waffle Flower Grip Mat, 8.5 x 6.5, Scrapbook.com

Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up!

Bling: Whiteout Mix, A Colorful Life Designs

Versamark Embossing Ink: Simon Says Stamp

Clear Embossing Powder: Wow, Simon Says Stamp

Black Ink: Memento, Simon Says Stamp