One Layer Hearts

Well its Saturday again - hurrah - even if it is grim outside and I'm trapped in the house all weekend due to parking issues and local sporting events - I don't care as I can play all day in my craft room.

As its Saturday I've started with my favourite challenge of the week - Less Is More - which as it's the second Saturday of the month is one layer week and it must feature hearts.

I've made a couple of cards - first off a very simple teeny-tiny card with my Chemistry set from There She Goes as I just love it at the moment.  Stamped in black, and coloured the hearts with lady bug momento ink using a waterbrush and a couple of copics for the cork and bottle.

For my second card, I've used some of my new found inky techniques.  I have to say the online class I'm doing is one the of the most useful things I've ever done and its really helping me get over my inky phobia - now if someone can tell me how to get the damn stuff off my fingers (or better still how not to get it on there in the first place!) I'd be very happy!!!

For this card I masked off a strip with post-its, stamped a solid heart using pearl ink and pulled it away quickly to get a stippled effect and some texture - I embossed it with clear gloss ep.  I overlapped a text heart and embossed with ultrafine silver ep.  The hearts are from a set by Srappy Cat.  I added a white pearl sentiment from Verve and embossed that with clear gloss too.  I sponged deep mahogany and scattered straw ink over everything roughly with a make-up sponge - this is the trick I learnt - don't worry about how smooth you get the ink - simply over-spritz it when finished with water or pearlised water.  I used pearlised (made myself using blond moments powder in a tim holz mini spritz with water).  I wiped the ink off the embossed areas whilst the ink was wet then dried the whole thing with my heat gun and hey presto - smooth inky finish the easy way!

Time for some lunch and the off to see who else is playing today.