Oh Happy Days

Three weeks today marks the first day of my retirement from full time work. When my husband and I moved to our home in rural Oxfordshire we knew that it would not be too long before this day came, so have been planning for it accordingly. That is not to say that we know exactly how this will work, but it is our intention to do so. For the next couple of years at least my main focus will be on running my own business here at Old Stables Crafts HQ.

As our team challenge for the next couple of weeks is to design projects using colouring techniques, I am going to be looking at a number of these this week. The first seemed an appropriate project to mark the forthcoming retirement date, so is a card using the Scenic Sayings stamp set. This card uses two colouring techniques and embossing resist.

The first thing I did was to stamp onto Shimmery White cardstock using Versamark ink and then heat emboss with clear embossing powder. I then did a colour wash using Elegant Eggplant and the Aqua Painters, waited for the ink to dry a little and then polished the ink that was sitting on the embossed image with a piece of kitchen roll. Once the card had dried, I attached one of the Seasonal Decorative Masks over the card with washi tape and then added Crushed Curry Ink with the Sponge Brayer.

I am really pleased with the result, it is not at all my usual style, but is certainly something I will be looking at doing again.

All the products I used are listed below. I would encourage you to give these techniques a go and to try some unusual colour schemes, you never know what the result will be.