Saturday 25 October 2014

Just Add Ink 237

So excited to see that this week's challenge at Just Add Ink is a technique challenge: clear block stamping. I can't believe that in the time I've been stamping, it never occurred to me to use the actual acrylic block as a stamp! Like all great ideas, so simple... once someone points it out!

So, I've spent the morning experimenting with using different combinations of colours and what happens if you do different things with the ink pad and how (or if) you dampen the ink afterwards. SO interesting!

Anyway, what I came up with as the starting point was to apply two colours (Soft Suede and Lost Lagoon) to the block by pressing and by swiping. Then I huffed on it. From my experiments, this seemed to give an effect half-way between stamping with dry ink and spritzing it with a mister. This gave a hazy effect somewhat like a beach, from which the rest of the card developed.



To heighten the beach effect, I added in a row of small pearl beading at the joining point to simulate wavelets on the shoreline. The tricky part there was cutting and applying single pearls in between the stalks of the beach grass stamping so they would still continue to appear to occupy the foreground.

It seems quite difficult to believe that the two sea-shells are stamped and sponged using Soft Suede and that the beach stamping with the acrylic block was also in Soft Suede. They look like quite different colours. 

The starfish is stamped in Early Espresso (but still sponged quite heavily with Soft Suede) so that the darker colour would give a greater sense of depth and perspective.

Pretty happy with this card. Thanks to the Just Add Ink team for the great challenge to get the creative juices flowing.

Ingredients
Paper: Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Soft Suede
Stamps: SU By the Seashore, A Dozen Thoughts, Wetlands and an acrylic block
Inks: Lost Lagoon and Soft Suede on the block. Other stamping: Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Other: Lost Lagoon ribbon, Linen twine, dimensionals to lift the white panel, the focal panel, the starfish and the white panel of the sentiment, sponge, Early Espresso marker to outline and define all cut pieces and great scissors to fussy cut the shells and starfish, about 10cm pearl beading.

6 comments:

  1. I think you've done a great job on this challenge Jan. Love the beach effect - the pearls work well - and also love how you have mounted it on the card.
    Mary

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  2. Absolutely beautiful Jan! I love how you have used the clear block stamping in this card, it's perfect with this stamp set! Thanks for playing along to Just Add Ink this week. Louise xo

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  3. Oh, wow Jan - what a great effect you achieved! Love your card; just gorgeous. Thanks for joining in the fun at Just Add Ink this week.

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  4. I love the thought you out into this Jan! You created just the atmosphere you needed for a sea side scene and using the pearls as the waves was inspired! Thanks for joining us at Just Add Ink this week.

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  5. Wonderful beach effect. ...love that you have discovered a new way to use the blocks too. It's fun, isn't it? Lovely beachy card. Chantell JAI

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  6. Oh my goodness I totally love your card Jan! The clear block stamping technique is totally perfect for your beachy themed card. Thanks for joining us at JAI this week!

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