Crafting gets expensive. It’s so easy to browse a small business online retailer or a big box store, add a couple things to your cart, and, before you know it, you’re spending $50. Is it worth it? Yeah, of course! But I always love when I can get those same products on sale or with a coupon.
That’s the story with this card.
Stencils are something I feel I’ve gotten rather comfortable using lately. My collection of Distress Oxide Inks is supplied where I have multiple variants of every major color (shoutout to my favorites: Cracked Pistachio &Tumbled Glass). And I think my blending tools are definitely improving.
Last weekend, my fiancé and I had some time to kill between Sunday Breakfast and a movie. I had (2) 60% coupons for Joann Fabrics, and figured I might as well find some Copic Markers to add to my collection.
Detour: Copic Markers. I believe you should never pay more than $5 per Marker. Crazy when you are always seeing a suggested price of $7.99 for a Copic Sketch. Between websites like CarpeDiemMarkers.com and coupons to Big Box Retailers, it’s totally possible to pick-up markers for around half the regular price.
Back to the story!
When browsing Joann’s, I found a pair of stencils on sale for about $5 for the pair. A lightbulb went off, and I thought these stencils would be perfect for making a rainbow ombre background by blending Distress Oxide Inks!
When I got home, I cut (2) 4.25″ x 5.5″ bases, 1 black and 1 white. I trimmed the edges of the white so, when I placed it on top of the black, it would create a nice black border.
I have some generic removable spray adhesive (I’ve been wanting to get a can of Pixie Spray, but it looks like it’s sold out almost everywhere). I sprayed it onto the stencil, waited a minute, and positioned my card onto the stencil. With the stencil face up, I took out the following Distress Oxide inks:
- Picked Raspberry
- Abandoned Coral
- Spiced Marmalade
- Squeezed Lemonade
- Twisted Citron
- Salty Ocean
- Shaded Lilac
Now, I have both the Ranger Ink Foam Blending Tools and the Picket Fence Life Changing Blending Brushes, and I sorta flip flop between which to use. For this card, I decided to use the Foam Blending Tools, and they worked like a dream! I was so happy once I peeled the stencil off and saw how beautiful the ombré turned out!
Next, I wanted to give the card some more colorful personality. So, what better than a sassy stamp? I had been itching to use my Technique Tuesday “You Aren’t Normal” set, and this stamp just stood out to me.
I wanted to stamp the sentiment onto a white band that stretched across the entire card, and also frame it in black. Once I put everything together, voilá! There wasn’t a single thing about this card not to like
Since I stamped the sentiment in Danube Blue Memento Ink, I wanted to pair it with an envelope that matched the ink. I had a Royal Blue A2 Envelope from Paper Source in my envelope box that was the closest match.
For a liner, I had recently gotten some scalloped paper from Lawn Fawn that had a blue option. Perfect Pairing.
And there you go! Sometimes all you need is a good sale to help get your creative juices flowing!