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TUTORIALSTENCILTECHNIQUESTRETCH YOUR PENNIES

4/11/20243 min read

Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencils 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: 4.25 x 11, scored and folded at 5.5

Border: 3 ⅞ x 5.5 *

Card Face: 3 ⅛ x 5.5

See Cheating on Layers and Borders under Stretch your Pennies in the header

Card Face:

I laid the card face on my Grip Mat and positioned the first stencil (the houses).
Masking off each house separately to prevent smudging, I inked them in a variety of colours as shown. I removed this stencil and put it to the side.
I traced each of the houses on the card face onto copy paper and then cut them out. I used loops of Mint Tape to secure them over their inked partners and protect them, Then I laid the second stencil in place (the trees).
I inked up the trees using a couple of greens and varying the pressure to provide visual interest. I removed that stencil.
Now it was time to ink up the sky - and luckily the tree stencil also had a mask. I was able to lay this over the trees to protect them and add the clouds.
Rather than securing this stencil, I turned it this way and that to get different shapes in different areas, repeating until I was satisfied. I removed the mask for the trees, and those on the houses.
I placed the card face into my stamp positioner and stamped the sentiment with black ink a few times until I was satisfied with the intensity.

Other:

I looked through my Ready to Go binder *, and found the little mouse with the kite, previously stamped and coloured. It was the perfect addition to the scene.
I fussy cut the bunny, not worrying about the string he is holding onto or the tail of the kite. I also fussy cut each of the ties on the tail individually.
I put the card face into my stamp positioner and stamped the bunny where I wanted it … I stamped it a couple of times so that I got a good, clear image.
I glued on the cutout bunny, lining it up exactly with the stamped version, and I did the same thing with each of the dies for the tail. By doing it this way the strings reappeared exactly where they were needed in the image.
(Credit to Jennifer McGuire for this great hack!)

See Ready to Go binder under Techniques in the header to learn how I used this to save time and money.

Assembly:

I glued the blue layer onto the card base, centering vertically.
I glued the card face on top of this, again centering vertically.
I added the birds by hand, using a microliner.

Final Thoughts:

A whimsical, fun little scene! I was stumped on sentiment until I found this one…. I think it’s quite perfect!

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.

Stencils: All A Colorful Life Designs

Row of Houses

Tree Line Edger 3

Cloud Edger

Stamps:

Hoppy Moments, Stampendous, Amazon

Soar Confidently, Stampin’ Up! (retired))

Stamp Positioner: Misti, Spellbinders

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

Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up!

Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!