If I only had a brain...

Kay Wallace is hosting this week's Stampotique Designers Challenge, which is "Textured Backgrounds". If you'd like to play along with this challenge, visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules, so that you'll have the chance to win a great prize!!!

Here's what Kay had to say about her challenge!

I am thrilled to be posting the challenge today!  That said, it is going to be a challenge with a bit of a twist.  This challenge is all about using texture in the background of your artful projects.  But, here’s the twist:  I am not challenging you to create a texture like mine, but challenging you to share with the rest of us through your art your “signature” or “go to” techniques for creating that texture in your backgrounds.  For example, Design Team member Coby vanWilligenburg has the ability to create amazing texture in a background by using Yupo (synthetic) paper and alcohol inks, yet her background remains as flat as a pancake!!  On the other hand, Design Team member Magda Polakow will create a textured background by building up many layers, yet it remains in the background and never overpowers her focal images.  So, share with us what YOU do to create that physical texture or just the appearance of it!  Above all, have fun!

 Here's my card, which features Scarecrow!

Being a me of little brain, like the Scarecrow who is the star of my card, I read the challenge as "texture", not "textured backgrounds", so I created a scene and put in (almost) as much texture as I could. I suppose I could have added more by creating a painted, pasted, stencilled background, but I didn't.

I stamped the Scarecrow with Jet Black Archival ink onto tan (twice), light blue, and blue (twice) Canvas specialty papers by FiberMark, who is no longer in the craftin' business. I hoard these papers because they are fabulous. This paper has two sides that are both textured, one shiny and the other matte. I stamped onto the matte because I wanted to color and/or shade the images. After stamping them, I fussy-cut one of the tan ones for the face, hand, rope belt, and feet and the other tan one to use as a base. The shirt, hat (twice), and pants were fussy-cut from the blue canvas. All the elements were colored with Distress markers and edged with a black Sharpie.

White raffia from my stash was colored on both sides with Distress markers, cut into short lengths, and then vertically cut. The Scarecrow was pieced to the solid one with raffia added under his hat, head, and pants legs. Once whole, he was put aside while I created a suitable background for him.

Here's a close-up so you can see the Canvas texture and the raffia.

 

Yellow paper was dry embossed using a Bricks Spellbinders embossing folder. The Emerald City was die-cut from green and silver glittered paper using the Cityscape Silhouette and the Cityscape Nighttime dies by Memory Box. Green textured cardstock was torn for the grass and wavy cut for hills. Clouds were die-cut using Puffy Clouds die by Memory Box, then detailed with Copic markers. The elements of the scene were all adhered to blue cardstock. The Scarecrow was adhered using several layers of dimensional adhesive. The entire piece was cut to size width-wise, then edged with Black Soot Distress paint.

The sentiment, Happy Birthday, was stamped onto a Talk Bubbles die by Simon Says Stamp and DoodleBug rub-on letters were added. The bubble was popped up on dimensionals over the Scarecrow's head.

Red and yellow cardstock were punched using a tiny flower punch, shaped, and adhered to the grass in the hope they'd look like poppies.

I first tried to take a photo indoors with a little help from my familiar, who apparently wanted to be involved.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Loves Rubber Stamps: Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
• Artistic Inspirations: Anything Goes with Sparkle
• Card Maniac Challenges: Use A Sentiment
• Craft Your Passion: Birthday Bonanza
• Craft a Scene: Let it be Springy