Wednesday Night Lights

I was late to the FB video but so was Sharon! Not as late as I was as I had to go back and watch it from the beginning. Sharon demoed Taylored Expressions Tri-card Stencils. Taylor has been doing these multi layered stencils for a few years now and while they can be challenging, they are fun to do. In the past Taylor’s stencil featured four cards done on one 8 1/2” X 11” piece of paper. This year’s stencils are three cards designed to be done as mini slim-lines. You can still use just one 8 1/2” X 11” piece of paper and frankly, I think this makes the inking process a bit easier. In this  demo Sharon is using the fall leaves stencil set. 

Sharon also used this smaller sentiment on her final card.

On the back of the packaging you can see what you will end up with.

A great thing about these stencils is that they have gentle marks indicating 1,2,3 and 4 so you know your order. Also, look closely to the right of Sharon's finger and you can see a little square cut in the edge of the stencil. There are a total of six squares on each stencil. To make lining up your stencils easier you match these little squares up as you change stencils. I take a pencil and draw a light outline of each square so I can make this process easier. The squares do not encroach on your design and can be easily erased when outlined.

Sharon wanted to illustrate that she used brushes for these stencils. 

Like me, Sharon has several sets of brushes. These are Taylored Expressions brushes vs. the Picket Fence brushes above. They come colored coded and with white bristles which makes them easier to identify. I use my colored brushes with my oxides and my Picket Fence brushes for my regular distressed inks. One advantage to the Picket Fences brushes is they can be purchased in smaller sizes and amounts.

These are the inks that Sharon used on these cards. They are Pink Fresh. At the end you will see another set of cards done with her favorite, IO inks.

Sharon used an 8 1/2" X 11" piece of paper and butted the edge of the stencil to the lower left hand corner. This way she has the upper portion of her paper as a test, wipe off zone for her inks before she applies. You can also use the Waffle Flower Stencil mat with the raised edge that will help to hold your stencils in place.

Sharon started with a soft yellow-orange and then she added shading with a slightly darker color and even used a touch of violet/purple at the end.

Fast forward to the end of her stenciling where there are stems and veins. Sharon used a brown for the stenciled stems.

Sharon also used a smaller round stencil brush to make inking these areas easier than using the larger head  brushes.

Here Sharon is adding her sentiment.

This set also has a small stamp set that lets you stamp the veins of the different leaves depicted in the stencil.

Here Sharon is using one of the stamps to finish off her design. You can see the effect clearer on the card on the left.

Here are all three slim lines, finished and cut down to size.

Here is the other set of slim lines Sharon did with her IO colors.

The finished cards!

This is part of the die set Mona demoed on Friday. Sharon will use this to cut out one of her finished stencils. You can see what is left over further down. I bet Sharon could turn that 'left over' into a card.

Next is several cards finished using dies from PhotoPlay including stitched rectangles, tags, banners, and scalloped layers.

Sharon also used this multi leaf die to add to her card design.

Sharon mentioned this stamping platform in her video. I believe it is Stampaholic. (I have one and can't remember it's name!) I believe we still have them for sale at the store. Unlike the Misti it is open on two sides so that you can fit longer paper in it without crushing or bending it in your stamp positioner.

Lastly, two cards in the assembly process. 

We are offering a class featuring the holiday stencil set. Here you can see what the finished images look like from the back of the packaging. As part of the class you will get the stencil set.

Mona illustrated some tried and true interactive cards on Friday afternoon. These sets are from iCrafter. She also did the Impossible Card and one other. I am not going to post screen shots from this video as Mona is an incredible teacher, very well prepared and does such a great job, I'd have to post so many photos. I seriously recommend you check out the full video on YouTube when it is posted. My attempt to give you a complete explanation would not do Mona's teaching justice.

Sharon will be doing a Saturday morning video but I won’t be back til next week. I’m going to miss Saturday’s video and I won’t be able to review and post until Monday or Tuesday. Have a good weekend everyone and GO BILLS! 

My speed for corn mazes these days…

Have a great weekend everyone and Stay Safe! Go Yankees!