January Leading Lady Greta Hess | Take Three

Our January Leading Lady Greta Hess is back for her triumphant performance!  If you missed her smashing debut you must see it...CLICK HERE or her sensational second performance showcasing her oh-so-clever coloring methods CLICK HERE.   Today, Greta has a tremendous trio of cards showing off a wonderful design element that adds just the right amount of drama!

Without further ado, Greta...

Thank you again to Shay for giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my love of Winnie & Walter products.  I hope you've found some inspiration for your own cardmaking.  The month is speeding by and it's time for Take 3. 

We all have times when it's hard to come up with an idea for a card.  One of my solutions to that problem is to use a favorite design element.  My choice is to mask off an area for inking.  There are many variations, so cards can all look different.  I generally use more solid images, but you will see today it really works with any stamps.

First is a sympathy card using A Tree for All Seasons.  I began by heat embossing the tree with a couple coats of embossing powder to obtain a thick, shiny image.  Then I masked off the area where I wanted color.  Distress Inks faded jeans and peeled paint were applied with stencil brushes for softer colors.  I heat embossed the sentiment and added brown splatters.  The panel was matted with light blue textured cardstock for a simple, flat card which, unfortunately, I need to get in the mail.

Next up is a fun winter notecard.  This is the first time I've used kraft cardstock for the technique, but it won't be the last!  I white embossed the front 2 trees from Yetitide Greetings with Evelin T Designs & masked them before adding the tree in the background.  The matching dies were used to make the masks--so quick & easy.  Then I masked off a horizontal strip & used an ink cube direct to the paper.  The trick when using kraft cardstock is to use an ink with pigment properties, like the Delicata Emerald Green I used.  The white embossing picked up a hint of the green which I actually think adds to the effect for this card.  I stamped the sentiment using words from The Big, the Bold & Seasons and added a few white sequins for embellishment.

For my final project the masked area is a rectangle in the center of the card.  Distress Inks bundled sage, milled lavender & spun sugar were sponged on beginning at the bottom right & moving to the top left, rather than straight across.  Instead of embossing, I stamped the bloom, stem and leaves from In Bloom: Eva's Favorite Flowers in Brilliance Starlite Black.  It's another ink with pigment properties giving me good coverage on top of the Distress Ink background.  I curved the straight stem onto my acrylic block and masked the card front to get the length I wanted.  The same ink was used for the beautiful word from Sentimental: Thanks (Black Friday 2018 free with purchase stamp set which will be released for sale later) and a single gray gem completes the card.

Be sure to check the Leading Lady posts on my blog to enter the random drawing for a $30 Winnie & Walter gift card.  I'll be back next Saturday for my final post.