Craft Stamper Take it, Make it Challenge Reminder June - Bleach Blocking.

Hi all, Craft Stamper have a reminder post up on the blog for the Take it, Make it Challenge for June, which is Bleach blocking - without the bleach!  This is a technique created by Hels Sheridan, and is in this month's Craft Stamper Magazine.

It's a matter of covering some card with different colours of distress ink, blending them as you go.  Then take a piece of cut & dry, or your distress tool, and wet the sponge.  Lay the wet sponge on area's of your coloured card for 10 seconds or more, then lift and blot.  This lightens the colour and leaves blocks where it takes the colour out. Repeat all over where you want lighter patches.  You can overlap this stage.

I chose to make this tag, and once I had dried it off a little, |I used the diamond stencil from Indigoblu and some mowed lawn distress ink to go over the background to add interest.

I stamped Jane from Indigoblu in black Memento ink, and when dry, used a tiny paintbrush to remove some of the ink with a bit of water, from her eye area, which makes it stand out more.  The sentiment is from Alice II, and just fitted nicely.  I then stamped with my new favourite toy (a piece of lego), in white Gee Sso good, to make dots on the tag.  A final touch with a promarker to her lips, and she was done.  The ribbon was some fluffy wool, which I just used both colour distress inks on to colour it.

Hop across and join in the challenge, and see all the great entries here: 

We love to see your makes, and you could get published in the magazine!

Have a good week,

Best Wishes,

Nikki K. xx

Craft Stamper Take it, Make it Challenge June 2014 - Bleach Blocking.

Morning everyone, it's that exciting time again, a new challenge over on the Craft Stamper challenge blog.  This month it's 'Bleach Blocking'. . .. without the bleach!

This is a simple background technique.  Colour your background with distress inks as usual, then taking a clean blending tool, dampen the sponge, and press it in blocks around your distress ink background, and it will lift colour, making it look 'bleached'.  The colours I used here are fired brick, spiced marmalade, and shabby shutters.

If you don't have a distress tool, you can just use a piece of cut and dry foam, or even just a square bit of kitchen sponge.

To my project, I have added some stamping with a block of lego my husband found on a beach in Wales last week, most impressed I have him hunting for things for me, he is quite good at it!

I have scribbled round the edges of the dots in some places, then added black gesso credit card lines, circles with a deodorant lid, and stencilled through a tando sequin waste stencil in other places.  I also used the end of a spectrum noir marker!  

Minky from Stampotique was stamped directly on to the card, and then I stamped her again onto a seperate piece, and coloured with promarkers, and cut out.  she is glued on top of the first stamped image, so you can see her hair etc, as it was too hard to cut out!

The sentiment is from an Indigoblu stamp plate, and I just thought it went brilliantly with the rather miffed look on her face.  I used a piece of the leftover card to stamp it on, and edged the card in fired brick distress ink.

I absolutely love this stamp, I'm a latecomer to Stampotique, I've admired them from afar for years, but never actually bought one, and I got this one from someone having a craft clear out, she is now my prized posession!  

I have to say, I felt like she looks the other morning, I was trying to find something in my shed, but I could barely even get in there for all the stuff, and it nearly all came back out. . ..through the window!!!  So I had chocolate instead. . .

Anyone else ever feel like that?

Hop on over to the Craft Stamper challenge blog, and join us this month in this easy technique, don't forget we need real stamping on the cards as well for it to count.  (And not with your feet). 

The rules are on the page too, there aren't many, we just ask that you link the actual project you have made, back to the challenge blog, to spread the word.

Have a fab time playing,

Best Wishes,

Nikki. xx