Dotted Swirls, take 2

This week I created another card using the Dare 2B Artzy Dotted Swirls stamp set.  I recently watched a video by another crafter where she water colored with Distress Oxides, and I wanted to give it a try.

I heat embossed several images on water color paper with white embossing powder. I used swirl stamps from Dotted Swirls, and a leaf and flower image from the Wishing Happiness stamp set.  I taped my paper down onto a board to prevent warping as I add water.

As I prepared to work with a color,  I smooshed the ink pad onto the side of my glass mat, and spritzed it with water. I then used a paintbrush to paint the leaf and flower images, and the background, taking care to let an area dry before painting the area next to it if I didn't want the colors to mix. (The embossing helps prevent this as well.) 

When I was done painting, I let the piece dry for a bit, and then removed the tape, and trimmed 

                                                                         the edges.                                                                                                                                                                           

I cut the word "thanks" using this die 3 times and glued the layers together for dimension, then  added Nuvo Crystal Glaze and let it dry for a shiny finish. I adhered the card panel to the same color cardstock that I cut the thanks from and assembled the card.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will take a look at some of the fun Totally Tracy stamps from Dare 2B Artzy!

Dotted Swirls

I am happy to be guest designing for Dare 2B Artzy this month! I was asked to use a stamp set from the Totally Tracy line called Dotted Swirls. This set strikes me as a great one for mixed media projects, or as embellishments for scrapbook layouts. Since I am not a mixed media crafter, nor have I scrapbooked in several years, I wanted to find a way to use this set for cards.

I began by stamping the two dotted images with VersaMark embossing ink all over my card panel. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder.

I then blended 5 colors of Distress Oxide ink over the panel.

I wiped the ink off the embossed areas with a dry paper towel to make the white images pop, and cut the panel with the stitched rectangle die from the Leaf Background die set.

I heat embossed this sentiment from the Wishing Happiness stamp set on vellum, and attached it to my card front, along with some iridescent sequins. I popped the card panel up with white fun foam onto a black layer, and then onto my A2 card.

I enjoyed playing with this set and will have another card for you next week using some of the other swirls in the set, and another fun technique using Distress Oxide inks.