Hello! It's Sara, from Much Love Sara, here to share a fun card with you today. My Life Changing Blending Brushes are one of my favorite tools to play with in my craft room. So, of course, when I saw the Watercolor Trees and Bushes stamp set, I knew I had to create a beautiful sunset blended background to highlight these pretty images.
To begin this card, I began by taping an A2 sized piece of white card stock to my work surface. I laid the bushes stamp, from the Watercolor Trees and Bushes set, to the side of my paper, so that I could tape off that portion of the bottom of my page. On top of that tape, I taped down the center from the Artsy Sun Stencil - to use as a mask to create the "brighter" sun portion.
I began by blending Scattered Straw over the circle mask, and up from the bottom of my card stock panel. I built up the color until there was a strong yellow tone, before removing the stencil mask. Without adding any additional ink to my Life Changing Blending Brush, I blended the ink that was left on the brush inwards towards the center of the circle, leaving the center white. Moving up on the card panel, I blended Spiced Marmalade above the Scattered Straw, then Abandoned Coral, Chipped Sapphire, and finally Black Soot at the top edge of the page. Using a separate brush for each color is easiest, as it is quick to switch back and forth between the colors to make sure to get a smooth blend.
Once the sunset colors were at the saturation I wanted, I moved the tape that was masking where the bushes would be, and used that same piece of tape to mask off the area above where that tape had been - I used this same technique to create the ocean floor in this video about ink blending. Moving the mask allowed me to blend some Peeled Paint Distress Oxide ink in that area, to give is a slight green cast. Then I removed the tape from the image.
I used a heat gun to make sure the ink blending was dry, before placing my panel in my MISTI to stamp the trees stamps, and the bushes stamp onto my panel, with the Picket Fence Black Hybrid Ink Pad. I then used a powder tool on the top of my card - quite heavily - so that I could heat emboss the sentiment in white, with no stray embossing flecks sticking to any still damp ink. Once the sentiment was heat embossed, I brushed away any excess powder.
The card front was finished by sprinkling a little glittery ink over the sky portion. I then trimmed the panel down, and adhered it to a top folding white card base.
I hope you were inspired to create your own sunset today! Have a fantastic Tuesday.
Much love,