It's time to hit the beach

This glorious, summery weather has inspired me to create a beach scene. I’m loving my brayer at the moment so I thought I’d have a go at something a little more ambitious than previously.

With the help of Michelle Zindorf – widely regarded as the Queen of Brayering in the stamping world – I made this beach scene. I used Michelle’s scene as inspiration, then went my own way for the rest of the card.

These instructions only tell you how to create the main image panel as the rest is pretty self-explanatory. For tips on brayering, see this earlier post. 

I’m not sure if you can tell from the photo but I started by stamping a few shells in Versamark on the left, to see if the ghosting technique would work with a delicate outline image. It has left a very (very!) subtle hint of underwater shells.

I brayered a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock from the corners – one corner was Tempting Turquoise, the opposite was a combination of Creamy Caramel and More Mustard.

I stamped a selection of shells from the Seaside stamp set, turning them round for variety. They were coloured with blender pens and markers, although blender pens and inkpads or Watercolour Wonder™ crayons would work just as well. To add some highlights, just as Michelle did, I used the white gel pen. Wasn’t so keen on this on the bottom right shell so have brayered a little over the top, to tone it down.

Next I used the speckly stamp from Bird on a Branch – this set is worth the money for this little stamp alone – and added some speckles around the edges of the cardstock. More Mustard and Close to Cocoa on the right; Taken with Teal (didn’t show up much) and Night of Navy on the left.

To add the “surf”, I battled with the Whisper White ink pad and the speckly stamp for ages before I actually read Michelle’s tutorial and discovered that she’d done this with the gel pen. Doh!

Finally, I give it a little spritz with my Champagne Mist shimmer paint spray.  It’s very subtle – fact, in this light, I can’t even see it. I really wanted to drop water onto it to see if it would create a wet look, but I chickened out! Maybe next time...

I love the look of this card – I’ve always been a sucker for seaside-themed cards... well, everything seaside-y really.  I’m already planning my next version. I want more beach and less sea and will maybe experiment with some masking fluid (if I still have some).

Stamps: Seaside, Bird on a Branch, Tiny Tags

Cardstock: Kraft (soon to be called Crumb Cake), More Mustard, Night of Navy textured, Very Vanilla

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Night of Navy, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Basic Gray, Versamark

Accessories: Markers - Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa; Medium Jewelry Tag punch, Linen Thread, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - More Mustard, Champagne Mist shimmer paint, white gel pen, brayer

All products by Stampin' Up!®

More ghostly goings-on

Finally, for our last project at the brayering class, we tried the ghosting technique, which I described here. This time we also had a go at using two different colour inks – which I have only done on the green sample, here. I brayered Sage Shadow from the top edge and Handsome Hunter from the bottom edge. It takes a surprisingly long time to reach the middle!

I’m afraid I rushed these samples and you can see what happens when you combine So Saffron ink with a dirty brayer.

Stamps: Best Wishes & More

Cardstock: Whisper White, Barely Banana,  More Mustard,  Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Handsome Hunter

Ink: So Saffron, More Mustard, Sage Shadow,  Handsome Hunter, Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant Versamark

Accessories: ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Whisper White, Scallop Edge Punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®

Ghostly goings-on

Yesterday was my brayer class and I hope I convinced the ladies who came along that it’s time to get their brayers out of their boxes and start using them!

We made three simple brayered cards – this wasn’t one of them but this was one of the techniques we used. This is “ghosting” and it’s very simple.

You stamp an image with Versamark® and then brayer over the top. That’s it.

The Versamark resists the ink – but not completely, which is how you end up with these “ghostly” images, which are paler than the ink around them. You don’t need to let it dry, it works straight away.

To brayer the cardstock, always work on a flat surface with a piece of scrap paper underneath your project. Ink your brayer by rolling it in one direction repeatedly on your ink pad – not back and forth.

Starting OFF your project on the scrap paper, brayer back and forth on your cardstock, gradually working in from the edge of the cardstock. Repeat... and repeat. When you start to get a colour build-up at the edge of your cardstock, you can start brayering ON the cardstock and gradually you will build up the colour.

Here are some more brayering tips:

• Always store your brayer on its plastic guard– if you store it rubber down, you could end up with dents in the rubber
• Roll the brayer over the ink pad in the same direction – lift and roll again.
• Get lots of ink on the brayer
• Don’t rest your finger on top of the brayer like you would a wheel handle as this applies too much pressure
• Always start brayering off the edge of your project to remove some of the ink and avoid lines
• Use lots of scrap paper under your project
• Make sure your surface is flat as any lumps and bumps will show through (think brass rubbing!)
• Roll the brayer back and forth over the project, reinking when necessary
• Smooth cardstock such as Whisper White and Very Vanilla, or glossy cardstock work best
• Colours will appear much more intense than with stamping so use paler inks for a subtle effect

Stamps: Best Wishes & More
Cardstock: Barely Banana, Whisper White, Lavender Lace
Paper: Vellum
Ink: So Saffron, Sage Shadow, Lavender Lace, Handsome Hunter, Versamark
Accessories: White eyelet, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Whisper White, Eyelet border punch, Oval punch

All products by Stampin' Up!®