Ogres have layers... owls have brayers

Obscure title, eh? That's what excitement and exhaustion does to you.

And what a busy and exciting day Saturday was! It was my Catalogue Launch Party and, although I say it myself, I think it went very well. This is largely due to the fabulous help I received from my wonderful downlines Kelly and Tracey... and of course stamping stalwart Betty and my Mum! Not forgetting cake-making and Loyalty Card-stamping by my daughter! Thank you everyone!

And thank you, too, to everyone who came along and joined in the fun. I have some very exciting news for some of you, who have won PRIZES! But I’m afraid you can wait until tomorrow because I want to photograph the main prize which is rather fantastic.

So, to keep you quiet, here is one of the demonstrations I did at the launch. Do you know I prepared several of these to demo but only had time to do the one? So I’m sorry if you missed it!

In the past week or so I’ve been experimenting with brayering – it’s a new technique for me but I quite like it, even though it doesn’t fall into the “quick and easy” category that I lean towards.

For this card I used the Two-Way Glue Pen to attach a ¾” punched circle to my Very Vanilla cardstock. If you allow the Two-Way Glue Pen to dry clear, it’s a temporary adhesive, which is very useful. So, with circle in place, I began to brayer. It’s a long process but not that difficult. If you get stripes, just keep going... and going...

I did find that colours went much darker than anticipated – these two colours are Bashful Blue and So Saffron. Start with your palest colour and work towards the darker one.

Then I removed the punched circle to reveal the “moon” and stamped the owl from Animal Stories using the Stamp-a-ma-jig® to get it in the right place. The Stamp-a-ma-jig® came out again for the sprig from Autumn Days, giving the owl somewhere to sit. Finally, I highlighted the top of the branch and leaves slightly using the white gel pen.

The holes are made using my brand new Paper Piercing Tool, which sadly has gone missing! If you find this, first get a plaster to sort out your finger (because I have the little plastic guard and the protective casing) and then please do let me know asap, because it looks like I’m going to have to order another one!

Stamps: Autumn Days, Animal Stories
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla
Paper: Patterns Pack (last year’s hostess set – this year’s would work better!)
Ink: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, So Saffron
Accessories: Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, White Gel Pen, ¾” circle punch, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Bashful Blue, Rich Regals Brads, Brayer

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the link on the right to view it online.