Hi there!
Thanks for popping in.
Just got back from our Clarity Open Days in Yorkshire.
Very happy with the way it went overall.
Could have been busier, but hey! 
The visitors who came had a good time.

It being so late,
and my neck being what it is, 
I decided to dig out a blog project
from last year which I particularly enjoyed making.

It was funny.
As soon as I saw the artwork in the file this evening, 
I remembered it being a bright Sunday morning when I made it.

And I was right. 
The mind is a wondrous thing.
So here’s a little Christmas offering,
using a cool stencil and some Christmas miniatures….  

Thought I’d use a stencil and make another little window….

Abstract Squares No.2

Decided to use some water-colour paper. This makes the end result really soft when you work with dye-based inks. 

And the Abstract Stencil; loads of windows!
So I have cut the water-colour paper to 7″x7″ to fit the stencil, 
and taped it to a piece of copy paper.
This is good watercolour card.

I know, Christmas seems miles away, but if you are going to make your own cards this year, you may want to start thinking about it! 

Here, I’ve used the little window miniatures from this very popular Window Stamp Set.

Decide which window is going to be your centre-stage 
and mask it off with Post-its.

Tear a piece of copy paper ,
and add some night sky with a make-up sponge.

like so…

Use Tumbled Glass – a lighter blue – 
with a stencil brush, to define the rest of the windows.
Just brush back and forth across the stencil, concentrating on the outer edges.

I like to look at where I am headed, 
so I lift the stencil complete with tape to peek…

In fact, when it comes to stamping, I think it’s best to remove the stencil and just work with Post-its.
Dab the little tree in the Denim then in the Latte before you stamp.
Beautiful blend of colour. Gives you a super greeny blue.

Have another peep…
nice. Less is more, but I think we need a little bit more here!
Cover up the piccy with a Post-It and brush Latte through the centre. Beautiful warm colour on the water-colour paper.

Now set to work with Post-Its, masking off windows and stamping the little snowflake from the set through the apertures 
(First and second generation Denim ink).
You can see through the Post-its if you want to add the illusion of splitting an image between two windows; just remember to factor in the stencil bars or lines! 

Add Happy Christmas from the International Greeting set.

Dust around all 4 sides with the latte on the stencil brush.

You will find that the water-colour paper yields a very soft, almost velvety result. Stamping on Water-colour with dye-based ink (water-soluble) is ideal.

See how you can make it look like the snowflakes are falling down behind the apertures? Or you can bring them to the front!

I think we need a little snow…
white fineline pen at the ready!

Blimey! If that snowflake there lands on you, 
it will knock you out!!!
Let’s call that one the moon!

If you haven’t go a white pen, 
I have figured out another trick in the last year.
You can dip the finest Groovi embossing tool in a tiny amount of white acrylic paint to dot dot dot wonderful snow, too. 


Err… the clue’s in the name of the Fresco paint!
Snowflake Paint

Mount on a complimentary background. 
I opted for sparkle.

So there we are. This abstract stencil really is very versatile!
If I had more time, I could make a whole collection of these 50’s retro looking Christmas cards, and create a different centre-stage scene each time, with different miniatures from the little window set. 
In the meantime, we have also introduced all the wee folk stamps!
Now wouldn’t they work well through this stencil!!!

So much can happen in a year…

love and hugs,