Hey strangers! I know, I’ve been away a lot longer than I thought I would be. Everything just got so overwhelming, and I’m not good with commitments, even self imposed ones. I had to take a step back, or loose it.
It didn’t help that I was without a direct supervisor at work, and I was handling 50% of the team’s work (not from anyone’s fault, it’s our group’s structure). There was so much pressure on me, I needed time to breathe.
I’ve still been making cards, using that to decompress. It’s been so, so much fun to just make something. Not worrying about keeping track of the material I used, or trying to stick to one company’s products. I tried out some new technique, and just played.
Today I am sharing two cards I made by stamping through a stencil. I’m sorry, I don’t know the exact ink colors, but they are Altenew inks. I wasn’t planning on blogging about these, but afterwards I thought it might be fun to share.

For this card I used Taylored Expression’s 3/4 inch Stripe stencil on a panel of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardsock. I used Pixie Spray on the stencil so it wouldn’t move around. After I adhered the stencil to my cardstock, I put it in my MISTI. Then I placed the You Are background stamp from Simon Says Stamp in the MISTI, entered on the panel, and stamped with a coral colored ink. I had to stamp a couple of times, and really add pressure to the areas where the stamp was close to the stencil. Your going to end up with a little space, because of the thickness of the stencil.
I removed the stencil and thought the panel was still a little plan. So, I added the stencil back on the panel, and then used the same ink that I used to stamp to blend in some stripes. You can see my background stamp was a tiny bit off.

I decided to keep the rest of the design simple. I stamped the large floral outline from Altenew’s Extra Special (retired) with a slightly darker ink shade then the background. The sentiment strip is from Taylored Expression’s Simple Strips Background, matted on some brushed gold foil cardstock. I added the card to a coral card based, and added some gold glitter gems from Studio Katia.
This next card is actually the first one I made with this technique. This was the idea that inspired this technique attempt.

Sorry about the pictures, I’m still struggling with my camera turning white gray… For this card I used Taylored Expressions Masking Stars stencil and the same You Are background stamp from Simon. I used some blue Altenew inks to stamp the background through the stencil. Again, I had to stamp several times to get the impression I did. Then I used the same ink to blend over the stamping.

I trimmed the panel down a bit, stamped the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp’s Seeing Stars with Versamark ink. I then heat embossed the sentiment with Hero Arts Silver embossing powder. I added a strip of Holographic cardtock, as well as some stars. I think I used a Spellbinders Stacking die set for the stars, but not 100% certain. The card base is MFT Snow Cone.
I had fun playing with this technique. The star panel turned out a lot like I imagined it would. I just wish it has been sunnier when I took the pictures, so you could see the shimmer from the holographic cardstock. By the way, I’m loving holographic cardstock right now! Erin Lee Creative’s rainbow holographic cardstock, yummy! I grabbed some from Tonic and Simon as well.
I really appreciate you stopping by and reading my rambling. I very much everyone that has stuck around all this time. I’m not ready to back to posting 3 times a week, or stalking challenges (I have started checking some out again, so that’s a good sign). Please let me know if you are still interested in seeing what I’m making, even if the post isn’t so formal, with all the ink colors etc.
Also, please share how you are staying sane right now. I honestly don’t leave my house, which is so surreal. I did attempt a quarantine cut. It’s not horrible. I thought I would have worked my way through some home improvement projects, but I have not touched even one, lol. I rediscovered 90’s alternative radio last week and that’s actually given me a weird sense of renewal? Maybe it’s just the nostalgia. I’m burning candles and resting as much as I can. And making cards. And rambling because I don’t get to talk to many people, outside of work. My poor son now knows the ins and outs of my job way more then he needs too. Who else can I vent to, lol!
I hope you guys are staying safe, and finding ways to keep it together.
Stay safe, and thanks for stopping by,
Nicole
Hi again Sue. I’m going backwards on your blog hahaha. I love both of these cards. The first is absolutely stunning, the colours and design are beautiful. I have never ever thought of stamping through a stencil. I normally use stencils for backgrounds and then use die cuts over them. So, Thank you for sharing your talent with us. I will certainly be trying this technique as i have quite a lot of stencils.
Your second card is fabulous too. This could work as a birthday card too. I also love the way all the colours match.
Regarding the music, I’ve been listening to a lot of 80’s music, I’m thinking that i may be at least 10 years older than you lol.
Sue don’t worry about talking/writing or in your own words rambling on. Although I’m married hubbys does work strange hours at the moment and it feels as if i hardly see him at all. So like you i can go quite a ling time not talking to another human! I say human as i do talk to my dog lol. God knows what he’s (the dog) thinking when i talk to him as he looks at me like I’m bonkers. πππ€£.
Anyway Sue, you rant away. I think I’ve sussed out how to follow you! ππ.
Keep well, safe and happy.
Andrea X X (uk)
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