Hey my crafty peeps!  Scrappy here comin' at ya with another project for the Altenew AECP class!  This project card features some stenciling techniques that, even I have to admit, I never thought of before.  This project is not my usual colors, but I was feeling the warmth and sun of a rare spring day here when I was inspired for this card.  It features an ombre inking technique that I have mostly done with pinks and purples, but, with the stenciling technique I used it with, I love seeing it done in these warmer colors.  Let me know what you think!

The beauty of this card is built up on an A2 card layer cut from Altenew Classic Crest Solar White 80lb cardstock. The base of the card is also A2 size made from the same cardstock.  Now, you guys know how I love to frame out the face of cards, but  for this one I kept the decorative layer the same size as the card front.  I wanted as much real estate as possible for the summery cluster of flowers I was envisioning. 

To set the tone for the warmth I wanted to bring out of this card, I blended Altenew Crisp Dye ink in Warm Sunshine and Mango Smoothie with blending brushes all over the card face layer.  I concentrated more color around the edge of the and then sprinkled water onto it.  I waited just a couple moments then patted the water spots with paper towel.  I didn't want a complete mottled effect, just a bit of a lighter background for the flowers.  Now for the fun stuff!

I cut a strip of watercolor cardstock about half the width of the card face and about 1/4" shorter.  Then I took the Classy Stripes Stencil from Altenew and laid on my craft mat. I took Altenew Crisp Dye ink in Permanent Black and blotted it all over the stencil.  Next I spritzed the ink covered stencil with water.  I then took the strip of watercolor cardstock and laid it diagonally on the wet ink and pressed it down.  I found that with this particular stencil, the effect worked better this way rather than laying the ink covered stencil over the cardstock.  I peeled the watercolor cardstock off and laid it off to the side to dry.  This technique did not leave a lot of color on the cardstock.  If you are looking for more ink left behind I would experiment with the amount of ink, how much more or less water, and how much more pressure you may have to use.  I liked how this came out light and mottled in a diagonal pattern, so I was happy with it. Now for the flowers.  I used the Fabulous Floral die set and stamp set from Altenew for these flowers.  First I cut the two flower shaped dies out of scrap cardstock. Then I chose the warm sunset colors for Altenew Crisp Dy ink:  Orange Cream, Canyon Clay and Ruby Red.  This will be the order I use them in for the technique.

 Taking the die cut scrap paper, I laid it on more scrap solar white cardstock. Using a foam blending dauber, I blended the inks listed above thru the die cut "stencils" onto the cardstock.  I made six of these, three each of the two styles.  For each stenciling I varied the direction of the blending so some are darker at the bottom, or on the side, or lighter on the bottom.  Next I removed the "stencil" and set the ombre flowers on my Stamparatus stamping platform.   Fabulous Florals is a layering stamp set, with the first layer being a solid stamp so as to start with a solid colored inkd flower.  Well, doing that would cover up this super cool ombre sunset effect, so I jumped ahead to the third and fourth layers which are accent layers and stamped those with Altenw Crisp Ink in Burnt Red and Mahogany Bark.  Burnt red was the third layer and Mahogany Bark was the fourth layers.  Then I cut these out with the dies.  I cannot tell you how cool this die cut stenciling ombre technique is!!!!  I am definitely putting this on my "video to do" list.  You have got to try it!!

Anyways, sorry, back to the card :) Now my black stenciled cardstock was dry so I cleaned the stencil up (i used warm water and dish soap to get the permanent black ink off).  I then laid the stencil over the cardstock so the bands covered the black stripes, exposing white stripes.  I taped the stencil down and used a foam dauber to blend on mahogany bark over the exposed stripes.  I removed the stencil and edged the piece also with the mahogany bark. The final touch for the flowers was to take a gold paint marker and edge them to hide any white edges that may show up after die cutting. 

To finish the card I used Tombow liquid glue to adhere the stenciled panel to the center of the card layer. Next I used double sided foam tape to attach the bouquet of sunny flowers although I did glue a couple flat onto the card face to give depth to the bouquet  The sentiment, also from the Fabulous Floral stamp set is stamped directly on the yellow part of the layer in Mahogany Bark ink.

Like I said, this card is not my usual style, and that's ok.  Go with the vibe that moves you and see what happens.  If you don't like how it comes out you can use the techniques you learned for another project.  And this die cut ombre stencil technique is killer.  I hope you try it out and if you do please let me know!  Also, please leave me a comment about what you think of this card.  Thanks so much for haingin' with me, and I will see you soon with another Scrappy project!!