Notes on a Sketch
Earlier this month, I went to the Art Specially stamping convention in Zeist. While I was there, I saw a great card example on display in a booth and of course, as soon as I got permission to take a photo…my camera batteries died. (Argh!) So I dug out my little notebook and made a quick sketch. I love the idea of stamping a single image several times, cutting the paper into sections, then re-piecing it. It’s a quick, simple way to get a unique effect. The original card used a flower image, and I figured the technique would work well with swirls as well.
For this card, I stamped the swirl from our Winter Swirls set three times onto a piece of watercolor paper, positioning one swirl vertically and two horizontally. The two horizontal swirls are placed in opposite directions.
I filled in the open areas of each swirl with blue watercolor, then cut the piece of paper into thirds and inked the edges of each third with Faded Jeans Distress Ink (this will help each piece stand out.) Turn all the pieces face down on your work surface, then tape them back together. Mat the piece on black cardstock and attach to the front of your card. I also added small clear rhinestone stickers at the center of each swirl—I think it just adds a subtle, sparkly effect.
As you can see by my sketch, the original card was cut into six sections. I only cut mine into thirds, but I think this technique is so versatile you could easily adapt it to different numbers of sections, or different stamp images. And you could also dress up the design with a stamped sentiment, ribbon or other embellishments.
PS. For those who notice that brown sheet underneath the third photo, that’s my Craft Sheet—it’s probably the very best crafting investment I’ve ever made because it protects my work surface when I’m painting, inking, stamping or embossing.
