Today is a better day. There's sunshine at last, and I was able to get to both Trader Joe's and the supermarket in just under two hours this morning. I'll take it.
I have a lot of stencils in my craft room. I love the designs I have and the cheaper price point, and I don't use them nearly enough. Recently, I bought a set of tulip layering stencils from Simon Says Stamp, and I knew they'd be perfect for one of my cards.
Of course, me being me, I wanted to know exactly the right way to use these stencils - what order, color ideas, etc., before just trying something, so I watched a few videos online. And, like the videos show, these stencils are not hard to use, easy to line up, etc. But it's that second stencil that's the kicker. That's the one in the upper right corner. Notice that it has both the flowers and some greenery that need to be inked in different colors. Perhaps everyone else can do this neatly without covering up the unneeded portions, but not me. I am far too messy for that. So I dutifully got out the painter's tape and ripped it into a million tiny pieces and got a decent result. But I didn't love the colors I chose, so I wanted try again. This is where the trouble began.
I didn't like my first try, but the thought of covering over all of the unneeded bits, first for the top half, and then for the bottom half of stencil 2 made me want to abandon the whole project. This is exactly a thing I am trying to unlearn. Then it hit me - I could use another stencil in the set as a mask. Eureka! Here's what I did:
1. Ink Stencil 1 (lower right corner) with the base layer of the flowers.
2. Leave Stencil 1 in place, layer over Stencil 2, and ink the detail layer of the flowers. Stencil 1 keeps the greenery covered.
3. Remove and clean off Stencils 1 and 2.
4. Ink Stencil 3 (upper left corner) for the base layer of the leaves
5. Leave Stencil 3 in place, layer over Stencil 2, and ink the detail layer of the flowers. Stencil 3 keeps the flowers covered.
6. Ink Stencil 4 (lower left) with the stems
Here's how it turned out:
I began the whole procedure using a Taylored Expressions Square Masking Stencil and a couple of Distress inks to add some color to the background. I left the masking stencil in place to make sure my tulips would stay confined, and added a Simon Says Stamp Thinking of You die for the sentiment. I even managed to retain the dots over the i's.
Slightly askew photograph aside, I'm delighted. And I'm even more delighted I came up with this stencil/masking technique which increases the likelihood that I'll actually use the stencil set again!
Tomorrow: Staying at home means everyday can have a tea time!
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