Friends Of Unity Blog Hop - Technique Inspiration

 Hi crafty friends! 

We are back with another Friends of Unity Blog Hop! 

I have been soaking in every bit of summer here and I am not going to lie... crafty time is taking a backseat to camping, lake-life and boat time... but I had to join in with my friends this month for our Blog Hop! 

There are SO MANY amazing techniques when it comes to card making - from beginner-friendly to more complex, and I was wanting to focus on something that is not  intimidating... and  ohhh-so-versatile... Ink Blending! 

I have struggled in the beginning to have my inks blend and look "smooth"... no lines .... and blending like butter ;)  the key is a couple simple things - using really good paper... and the right touch with your blending tool of choice. Practice makes perfect!

I love to use Bristol Smooth paper whenever I am creating a card and blending inks for a background - there are MANY really great papers, I just use this because it works for ME - if you have luck with other brands, absolutely use what you have!

As for tools - I have tried sponges and all kinds of tools but blending brushes work best for me. Again - it is totally a choice thing - use what you have and have fun with it!

Here is this month's first card to inspire you:

I like a spotlight on a background, so I had a scrap piece of cardstock and used a circle die to create a quick "stencil". I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Twisted Citron, then went over it slightly with Rustic Wilderness around the edges.

Ink blending sometimes seems so basic, but there are MANY ways  to step it up - sometimes simple is best, so I embossed this pretty fern-leaf pattern using an embossing folder from Stampin Up that was in my stash. The hardest part of this simple card was choosing which Unity stamp to use ;) 

I usually choose my stamps first and THEN design but this time I didn't and wow it was tough. I finally settled on Soul Joy - it's an oldie but a goodie! I added simple Copic  coloring and fussy-cut the image. The sentiment I added is from another great Unity stamp set called ...Sometimes I Wonder. It is a front & centre stamp set you need to add to your stash if you don't have it already - every sentiment is great! 

Next up ... another ink blending card with a twist or two ;) 

Silhouette stamps are PERFECT for ink-blended backgrounds! I love them because a simple combination of colors can create sooo many backdrops to a great Unity stamp - I decided to play with 3 colors of distress inks in Oxides this time - Abandoned Coral, Fossilized Amber and a touch of Wilted Violet. 

After I created the blended background I added a little "bokeh" technique to it -BUT - (here's a tip) be sure to really dry your Oxides before doing this as otherwise things just get muddy. I used my heat gun to be sure this layer was dry. 

To add the bokeh I simply took another scrap piece of cardstock and cut various sizes of circles using dies (I didn't have a stencil - so I made my own) After adding the white craft ink with a sponge I heat-set it again. I inked up Oodles & Retriever Silhouette and used my stamp platform to really make sure I repeatedly went over the image to get it nice and black. I added a sentiment from  Unity's Loved By a Dog for this card. Because my panel is just a wee bit bigger than the image I also went in and inked up each corner of just the grassy bottom of the stamp to bring it to the edge of the layer. I wanted to add a bit of shine, and I heat embossed the image and sentiment in clear, just to add a bit of shine! The card is a beauty when you see it in person. 

I hope you hop over to my friend's blog this month too - we have so many techniques to inspire you with! Crystal kicked things off this month  and we have some NEW ADDITIONS to our Hop ...  but here is a full list so you don't miss out on all the fun! 

Crystal 

Amber (you are HERE)

Kari (Welcome!) 

Gaylynn

Jane

Tammy

Jenni (Welcome!)

Dawn F

Rachel 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Peace Love n Ink 

Amber