Welcome to my crafty blog! Today’s card features one of the ‘elegant ladies’ stencils from ClarityCrafts, which was already out on my desk from an earlier project. There’s a few more steps to this one than my usual creations (I think I’m just a lazy crafter at heart, which is why I love CAS designs!!) I was inspired by the ‘elegant’ theme at Time Out and picked up blend & emboss from Just Add Ink‘s ‘take two’ challenge (although you could argue I’ve included white as well!). Finally, I’m also going to share it with Happy Little Stampers for their stencil challenge.

I started by embossing the stencil outline onto a piece of white card cut to fit a 5×7 card blank – I taped the stencil on a hinge across the top of the card so I didn’t have to keep removing it and then ran it through my embossing machine using a rubber shim. I used bits of masking tape to cover her head, arms & legs, popped Clarity’s ‘floral flourish’ stencil under the ‘elegant ladies’ one and sponged ‘ripe persimmon’ and ‘dried marigold’ through it. I’d normally use a brush to blend inks, but the stencil design is so fine it easily moves with a brush & I get a blurry image, so I dabbed with a sponge instead.

I reversed the masking tape to then cover the edges of the dress (still keeping the stencil outline in place) and blended ‘tattered rose’ Distress Oxide and ‘watering can’ Archival inks onto her head, arms and legs. I then used a torn piece of copy paper to gently sponge the ‘watering can’ along to create the shadows on the folds in her dress.

I removed the outline stencil and replaced it with the inner piece, taping it into place across her head to act as a mask. I laid Clarity’s ‘London skyline’ mask across the card and gently dragged ‘black soot’ Distress Oxide down across it with a sponge. I also used a torn piece fo copy paper to add the ground for her to stand on.

Having peeled all the various masks and stencils off, I stamped the sentiment from Clarity’s KISS ‘celebrate your day flowers’ set, mounted the topper onto a piece of the ‘Waimea Falls’ companion paper and attached it to a 5×7 card blank.

I’m so pleased with how this turned out, and the only stamping is the sentiment! I’m really busy making loads of cards at the moment, thanks to lots of upcoming birthdays and a couple of recent orders from friends. Back to the craft desk!