Favorite Background Techniques

Nellie van Leeuwen is our hostess this week at Stampotique Designers Challenge Blog. Her challenge is "Your Favorite Background Technique".

This is what she had to say about her challenge.

"What's your favourite technique to make backgrounds? I love making backgrounds with on a craftsheet. Quick and easy and yet a different result all the time.."

 If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should 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 that great prize!!!  

Here's my card with Stampotique's 3 Dwarfy Gnomes and 4 Dwarfy Gnomes (Kira Nichols).

Nellie's challenge made me think a bit, which is always a relatively scary thing. I realized that I have several favorite ways to create a background for my projects. I then realized that all of them have three elements in common, namely paint, stencils, and ink. So I went ahead and did just that.

I must confess that my project took a left turn somewhere (Albuquerque) and came out completely different than I originally had planned. But sometimes the journey is half the fun!

3 Dwarfy Gnomes and 4 Dwarfy Gnomes were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, and fussy-cut. When I was done cutting, I coated all their shoes, their eyes, buttons, and belt buckles with several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen. Pink chalk pencil was used to add blush to their cheeks. 3 Dwarfy Gnomes and 4 Dwarfy Gnomes were set aside while I created a forest background for them.

Music patterned paper was adhered to 180 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) using Media Matte Medium (DecoArt) and left to dry. Translucent White Media Fluid Acrylic paint (DecoArt) was mixed with a drop of Pthalo Blue MFA paint and painted over the music-covered cardstock to create a blue sky.

Potting Soil Archival ink (Ranger) was sponged through the Branches Reversed stencil (The Crafter's Workshop). Leaf Green and Emerald Green Archival ink (Ranger) was sponged over the Tiny Circles stencil (The Crafter's Workshop) to add a green leafy look to the tree branches. Sepia and Black Pitt Artist's pens (Faber-Castell) were used to add fill in, add dimension, and shading to the tree branches.

The painted, inked, stenciled cardstock took a ride through my Big Kick inside one of the dies from the 5x7 Card Creator die set (Spellbinders). Jet Black Archival ink (Ranger) was used to edge the die-cut panel.

The sentiment was created with my Dymo labeler and adhered to the base of the card front.  3 Dwarfy Gnomes and 4 Dwarfy Gnomes were adhered to card front and added to a 5x7 card. Black Photo Corners (3L Adhesive) were added to all four corners to finish the card. I now realize that you can't see the music paper very well at all due to the positioning of the 7 Dwarfy Gnomes. If you squint, perhaps you can!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Loves Rubberstamps Challenges: Create Your Own Background
• Papertake Weekly Challenges: A Cut Above
• Through The Purple Haze Challenges: Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Work It Wednesday