Technique Tuesday - Stencils & Distress Ink Backgrounds

Hi, Everyone,

It’s Technique Tuesday!

Stencils are very hot these days and there are many stencils out there to choose from.  One way to use Stencils is with Distress Inks.  Treasured Memories has a whole wall of assorted Stencils and the complete pallet of Distress Inks to spark your creativity.  

Today we are going to start with a white sheet of cardstock to create a beautiful background for a 12x12” layout.  We will be using Stencils and Distress Inks then adding vintage ephemera, stamped butterflies, Prima bottle caps, and 7 Gypsies velvet brads to showcase my little grandson.

Have a look:

Let’s begin.

To start off with, I chose a Stencil that comfortably fit on the entire page.  Using “Aged Mahogany” Distress Ink and a foam dauber, I inked the bottom left corner of the Stencil.

Next using “Scattered Straw” Distress Ink, I inked 4” upward on the Stencil being careful not to move the Stencil as I inked.

Then using “Pumice Stone” Distress Ink, I finished inking upward on the Stencil.

Next I glued a sheet of vintage book paper onto the Stenciled background.  To age the layout, I used Sepia Ink over a polkadot Stencil.  I didn’t ink the centre because I plan to put my photo there.

One thing that sets Treasured Memories apart from other scrapbooking stores is the large variety of Vintage Ephemera for sale.  When I first cast my beady eyes on this wonderful vintage kraft cake wrap, I knew I had to have it.  I wasn’t sure at that time exactly what I would use it for, but I needed it.  This is the project I have been waiting for.  I trimmed some of the cake wrap in the shape of a banner and glued it over the sepia polka dots saving the rest for later.

I distressed the edges of my photo using a paper distresser then glued it on.  I seem to have an infatuation with butterflies lately so I used the Tim Holtz butterflies and black Archival Ink then stamped them vertically and horizontally around the photo.

I used the same polka dot Stencil and Sepia Ink on a manila tag then tucked it under the left side of the photo.  I stamped more vertical butterflies on the cake wrap, cut out 3 of the butterflies and attached them to the layout with foam pop-dots.  With the remaining butterfly I trimmed the end of the cake wrap  into a banner shape and glued it to the top of the layout.  Keeping with the banner theme I typed my title, "I have Grandma wrapped around my little fingers & my little toes too!" and glued it under the photo.  *** Prima's metal bottle caps are amazing.   They have a hole drilled in the centre making it easy to attach it to your projects with a brad.  I cut out various circles from vintage book paper which are attached between the brad and the bottle cap, creating a cute little flower. . . and voila my layout is complete.

Happy Creating!