Handmade by Natty

Morning all!

For this week’s festive foray, it’s time to return to some layered stencils I purchased in the Spellbinders sale last year.

It’s the last of the three Layered Foliage designs, the Layered Merry Christmas Foliage six-step set.

Stencils: Spellbinders – Layered Merry Christmas Foliage

I knew I wanted to stencil this design onto coloured cardstock as I only have the stencils for this set, not the coordinating die that allows you to pop up the main sentiment.

So I thought pink would be a great choice for the background, and I remembered that I already had some pink cardstock ready cut to A2 size in a Spellbinders card kit I also picked up in the sale.

Well, this would surely be the perfect cardstock to use. Alas, no… this cardstock really rejected the inks I was using. 🙁 I’ve only ever had that happen when trying to use Versfine on Bristol smooth cardstock… it took forever for the pigment ink to dry in that surface – lesson learned.

But here I was just using regular dye inks, nothing fancy – who knows why the two were just incompatible.

So there are a few smudges here and there and some messy edges, but even using a heat gun to speed things up, the ink just wouldn’t dry on the surface.

It’s a shame as the pink cardstock is a lovely shade, it’s just not the right surface for ink.

Never to mind, I carried on through the layers using a mix of festive greens, pinks, and a touch of Dijon yellow – I’m really happy with how this combination of shades turned out.

But after that last step, I wanted to leave the panel to dry naturally at least overnight, so had to return to this project later to complete it.

So the next day, I looked at the panel and contemplated my options.

In the end I thought the only thing this card needed was some white highlights, and as I’ve been having trouble getting good and reliable results with a white pen, I thought I’d try simply adding some Dr Ph. Martin’s Bleedproof white paint with a thin brush.

Well, I don’t have the steadiest of hands when it comes to adding tiny details, but it’ll do!

And onto a simple card base that panel went. But to add a little something, I used the Deco edge on one of my Corner Chompers to decorate the corners.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Spellbinders – Layered Merry Christmas Foliage stencils Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	The Stamp Market – Aspen ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Begonia ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Blush Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market – Cactus ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Cheeky ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Cherry Kisses ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Cranberry ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market – Dijon ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Fern ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Forest ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market – Sage ink pad Shop at: MISC
Dr. Pj. Martin’s Bleed Proof White watercolour Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tim Holtz – Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Waffle Flower – Shader Brush Size 1 – Double-Ended (Pack of 5) Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	Royal Langnickel – Zen watercolour round wash brush set Shop at: AZ (UK)