Backgrounds to the front please!

Monday again! I think I must have tripped and fell into a time warp on Friday night because I sure don't know where the weekend went to. Monday morning also means a fresh new challenge theme over at  Simon Says Stamp & Show where good old 'background stamps' are in the spotlight. I'm a huge fan of background stamps and can't get enough of them.

I was very glad to have a chance to play with my new Distress Paints and see how they performed. Yippee, something new, as full time mummy duty leaves me very little time to try out new stash. Oooh, I'm feeling all trendy.

I started my experimenting with colours and effects and I have to say I luuuuurve the paints. They are so vibrant, versatile and fun. I must also add that you really only need a little bit of paint to create a great blast of colour, so if you are thinking you'll use them up too quickly, let me tell you no! 

I actually was too generous and could have swooshed at least twenty tags with my left overs. Steady on next time Sarah. When you spritz them with water they really move and wick in a great way but retain their intense colour.

I worked with Ranger Specialty Stamping Paper which is coated so my paints really moved. In fact, I decided to play with the paints on a larger piece of paper and then I cut my tags from my favourite part. I dried them well and then in comes the background...

 l used just a section of Tim's Grunge Alphabet, also stamping in Distress Paint. By using just a part of the stamp and rolling it across the tag without an acrylic block, you can achieve some great effects. I do this a lot. It is a great way of getting more out of your stamps, especially if you are into art journalling too. I have also done this with the eyes on the first tag by masking off the bottom section.

I stamped the faces and eyes in Jet Black Archival Ink which you need to get that crisp, permanent image. Be sure to heat set as ink does take longer to dry on Specialty Stamping Paper. I added a little Distress Ink around the edges and then headed to my typewriter to create the wording which just came into my head whilst I was busy.

I wanted a little extra dimension and felt a butterfly fitted the mood. I refrained from lots of extra stamping and just decided to let the colours and images do the talking (she says, rambling on here...)

 So there you go lots of colour, painty love and a guest appearance from the background stamp. It's a great theme and I am sure everyone has a background stamp! Check out the really wonderful ideas from the rest of the Design Team here! We are on the hunt for our top three artists and there is this very generous $50 voucher to be won too.
With that, I am away... until the next time!
Sarah

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