StamperJoyce's Creative Corner: Fun with Stencils and Pastes, Part 1

February was a terrific month to be a StampNation member. In addition to the usual excitement, we celebrated our 5th birthday! Now, Catherine Pooler and the Dream Team usually put together a special event for our birthdays (as well as something quarterly), but this year they went over the top! They served up a FREE (to members) class on using stencils, and the participation was amazing. No wonder, since the content was both thorough (nineteen lessons throughout the month!) and well-presented. I learned so much my head is still spinning, and I can't wait to get back to playing with my stencils.

(By the way, the Creative Stenciling and Mediums class will be offered to non-members as part of the Technique Toolbox series later this year. Jump on board if you can -- you won't be disappointed!)

We covered so many techniques, but the one that caught my fancy the most was working with embossing pastes and similar mediums. I was a little hesitant at first because I knew it could get messy, but once I figured out some ways to do it more efficiently it became more fun. In the course of two sittings, I used my stencils and creative mediums to make what would become ten cards. I'd still be going strong if I didn't have to take care of things like eating, sleeping, and housekeeping.

Oh, and I had to stop stenciling to give myself enough time to make my cards, since every card a SN member posted was a drawing entry to win one of many most excellent prizes. I'm happy to say I won a Mini MISTI which is already in my possession and being used every time I stamp. Love it!

So, I'll go through my cards in the order I made them and give a little info about each one as I go. I'll do five cards here and five cards in the next post. Hang on to your hat, because heeere we go!

Card 1: Wappy Hirthday Bishes

I used regular Wendy Vecchi white embossing paste and added yellow (Daffodil Delight) ink to it before spreading it through a stencil onto Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White cardstock. (In hindsight I would have used a brighter white.)

As you might be able to see in the next photo, I stacked several layers of the die cut words on top of each other to give them depth, then used a clear Wink of Stella brush to add sparkle to them. The balloons were created with a SU punch and also highlighted with WoS. The balloon strings are white baker's twine, and the finishing touch was three strategically placed sequins.

I kept the inside pretty simple:

At the time of this posting, only one person has commented on the switcharoo in the first letters. I find that hilarious! Even when I've pointed it out, people look at me like I'm daft before they finally notice them.

Card 2: Count Your Blessings

I had twice the yellow embossing paste I needed, so I decided to make a second pass using that same stencil.

I learned the importance of working fast while doing this. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but the paste is a bit drier and was starting to crumble. I used a die to trim off the worst of it, and I think the remainder made a cute card.

The inside:

Card 3: Checkerboard Christmas

This next card was made using translucent embossing paste and a checkerboard stencil.

I used the translucent embossing paste once before, but with some blue added to it. If you'd like to see that card, it's here.

I like how the embossing turned out, and I kept the card simple. The card base is Cucumber Crush, and the accents are Real Red. Here's the inside:

Card 4: Pearlescent Butterfly

I cracked open a brand new jar of pearlescent embossing paste for this next card, and was amazed at how pretty it is. It's a bit wetter than the two previous pastes, and I was dealing with a flimsy (detailed) stencil, so a bit slipped under - but I don't know if you would have noticed if I didn't tell you.

I finished up the card using a SU embossing folder, die, corner punch, and some pearls.

I kept the inside simple as well:

Card 5: Bronze Hugs

My next choice was Viva Metallic Bronze 3D Modeling Cream, and it turned out to be a WOW! This stuff was thick and went on surprisingly dark, so I was glad I used Very Vanilla cardstock.

I finished up the card with some stitched circle dies and chocolate sequins, but hoped the background would still be the star. The card base is either Chocolate Chip or Early Espresso, I can't remember which.

I ran into a little glitch with the "to you." I'm kinda weird about mixing Whisper White and Very Vanilla unless doing so is an integral part of the design, so I hit the wall when it was time to choose an embossing powder. After a short powwow with my stamping buddy Carey, I decided to try embossing with white and then (very gently) altering the color with a skin-toned Spectrum Noir (alcohol based) marker. It worked! Here's the inside: