Brave Wings

Today's project is a retirement card with a Distress Ink background in greens and with a 'graduation' sentiment inside. I chose a stamp from a graduation set as the inside sentiment because of the words. It can be tough leaving behind a job you've been doing for so many years, leaving behind memories, but it really is, like graduates, looking forward to the future flying on brave wings.

Supplies

InLinkz.com

Putting It Together

Another coworker of mine is retiring at the end of the week, so I decided to make her a card as well. I chose the palette of green, white, and black for the Unity {Show and Tell} Facebook group challenge for April.

I wanted to do emboss resist with colour smushing, so I first stamped and embossed the feather and sentiment on a 4" x 5 1/4" panel of lightweight watercolour cardstock. I embossed the feather with black and the sentiment with white pearl. I used watercolour cardstock because it can stand up to a lot of wet and the smushing technique is very wet. But, I didn't want a thick panel so I used the "student grade", 90lb cold press Strathmore 200 Series. 

Using various greens, I smeared and dabbed Distress Ink minis on to a plastic divider sheet that I use as my painting palette. I don't have any Distress Oxides yet, so this is all the original Distress Inks. (I am so eager to try this with Oxides. Waiting on budget...)

I liberally sprayed the smeared ink with water. Distress Ink reacts to the water and does wonderous things.

I then smushed the panel into the wet.

After looking at the panel to see if there were empty spots, I smushed those spots into the remaining puddles of wet.

After wiping up the remaining wet from the plastic, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the colours on the panel. I smeared some more ink on the plastic. I didn't add water because the panel was already wet enough.

I smushed the panel on the unwetted (or 'dry') ink to pick it up in spots. With the non-Oxides, as long as the colours used can blend together well and play nicely together, you can do this to layer on additional colour that doesn't blend completely into the other colour already present.

I also tapped on some Perfect Pearls in Festival Green to add a subtle shine and a different pigment in spots. After adding on the Perfect Pearls, I continued to do some 'dry' smushing and wet the panel with a quick light spritz to add even more. The colours also deepened as they soaked into the paper and dried. I sparingly used the heat gun to dry the panel since I didn't want to overheat the embossing. 

When I was happy with the colour of the panel and it was fully dry, I used a white gel pen to add white accents to the feather.

I used the blending tool and Pine Needles to go over the edges of the panel. This gives a finished look to the edges. If I had used one of the lighter colours, the panel likely would have had a overall lighter look. I also, possibly after this picture, used the white gel pen to go over the sentiment since some ink had seeped under the edges and I wanted the sentiment to stand out more. 

To keep track of the colours I use to write up the post and make the supply list, I make notes on a bit of scrap listing the inks and stuff used as I go.

To add a soft subtle colour behind the inside sentiment, I used a Clarity brush to add Cracked Pistachio. 

I affixed the coloured panel to the card base and added some green gems. I never know where to put them. I cluster in threes following the advice of various card maker gurus. I try to find the place to place them that feel balanced to me. All in all, though, I am very pleased with how this turned out. 

Challenges

Unity {Show and Tell} Facebook group: Black, White and Green with Unity Stamps

Crafty Card Makers: Pearls or Gems

Tuesday Throwdown: Embossing

Crafty Gals Corner: Embellish It

Scribbles Designs: Shades of Spring

Through the Craftroom Door: Anything Goes

Crafting From the Heart: Anything Goes

Scrapper's Delights: Anything Goes

Pearly-Sparkles: Anything Goes

Crafty Friends: Anything Goes