Hello everyone!! It’s Channin here with another technique to share with you today!! This week I’m playing around with creating gradation backgrounds by layering non-background stamps. I’m not really sure why but I just love to stamp backgrounds!! I think it’s simply because I just love to stamp. Which is a good thing because for today’s card I did a lot of stamping. First, I picked my stamp. For this technique, I generally favor non-background stamps with more surface area. So basically, stamps that are more solid, less linear. For example, I made a card for August’s challenge using this technique and I chose to create my background with the fairly solid circle stamps from the Flower Circles Stamp Set. For today’s card, I decided to go with the striped bag from the Little Gifts Stamp Set. I thought that the stripes would allow me to create an interesting gradation. Now that I had my stamp picked out, I experimented on some scrap paper to find the right pattern. I chose to create a horizontal pattern in which I would overlap the stamp by stamping the proceeding layers in some of the negative spaces created by the stripes of the previous image. Next, I picked out my ink colors. I decided to go with rainbow colors. I chose Waffle Flower inks, Happy Go Lucky, Safe Choice, My Pleasure, Oh Happy Day, You Said What, Chirp Chirp, New Fish in Pond, and Daydreaming. I then arranged my inks on my table in the order I wanted to use them (rainbow order). Now, with my stamp picked out and my inks in order, I begun stamping my pattern on a 5” by 6 ½” white card base.I used My Pleasure as my starting point for my rows. I would also vary where I started to disperse my colors so when I was finished all my colors were not just in a column. {Oh and yes that is my daughter's dirty hand in the shot. She just came in from the backyard and had to see what I was up too.} Once my background was completed I stamped and white embossed “21” using the Sketchy Numbers Stamp Set on a scrap of black card stock. I then fussy cut my numbers out and adhered them to some black craft foam. I then stamped my sentiment, which is also from the Sketchy Number Stamp Set in black on my stamped card base. Lastly, I adhered my numbers under my sentiment. Oh and since I was making this card for a specific person (my brother), I went ahead and stamped the inside. I used the Sketchy Alpha Stamp Set to create “you!” and used the Sketchy Numbers Stamp Set for “happy birthday”. I hoped you enjoyed and will try creating some gradation backgrounds with your non-background stamps! Have a creative week!! ~Channin   Products: Stamps:

Little Gifts Stamp Set

Sketchy Numbers Stamp Set

Sketchy Alpha Stamp Set

Inks:

Happy Go Lucky

Safe Choice

My Pleasure

Oh Happy Day

You Said What

Chirp Chirp

New Fish in Pond

Daydreaming