Thank you, Heather Telford, Ottawa, Canada

OK, now that my studio (crap room) is all cleaned up, I've been hesitant to start a new project.  I REALLY don't want to mess it up so I was just browsing the blogs I've added to my reading list and ran across this blog entry: OLW 106 Sponging.  I have always admired artists that could mask, sponge and stamp single layer cards that make me go "wow".  I've tried it throughout the years with little success (maybe it's a talent thing) and always had that technique on my 'I've got to learn that' list.  When I saw Heather's card, it renewed my interest.  As it happens, I have those two colors of Memento Ink so I pulled them out.  And, as I was cutting post-its I had an epiphany.  One of those aha moments.  So, here's what I did:  I pulled out my Cameo and opened MTC.  I added a rectangle from the "Import Basic Shapes" button and sized it to 4.25" x 5.5".  I then copied it so I had two rectangles.  On the first one I added a square smack dab in the center, on the other I added a heart.  I did a 'join' on both rectangles and this is what it looked like:

 

Then came the inspiration part - I cut these out of  a light weight transparency material.

I cut a piece of Georgia Pacific cardstock to create a 4.25" x 5.5" card and scored it but did not fold it.  I placed the mask with the heart on top of the front of my card and used a piece of Scotch Removable tape to tape it to the card.  I pulled out my large daubers and my Summer Sky Memento Ink and started sponging:

 

I sponged the top of the heart with Summer Sky and added Nautical Blue at the bottom.  I sponged first testing the intensity of the color on a piece of scrap paper.  After I determined I had enough ink on the card, I then blended with a circular motion.

I went through my stamp collection looking for a stamp that I thought would look good on my heart and ended up with this Penny Black stamp that had never seen ink before.

 

The sentiment is from my Stampin' Up collection and this is the final version of the card.  I may add some Star Dust Stickles to the snow on the right side but other than that, I'm calling it finished and I'd like to thank Heather for the inspiration.  And to let her know that I ordered four more Penny Black stamps like this one just for this technique.   These masks can be created for any sized card with any shape on the front, they can be used over and over and are easily cleaned.  Hope this inspires you as I was inspired.

Download the MTC file for the Masks