Happy Everything! Mixed Media Sakura Celebration Card

Hi Friends!

Today I have a card with a secret to share with you today.  This card may look like it is made with Kraft card but it actually isn’t!

Inspiration

I took my inspiration from an Altenew class called Masking Unleashed, which is one of their Level 2 classes and has six lessons, each featuring a different masking technique.  I chose the ink blending + masking option to make my card since that’s a technique I love to do anyway, and this time I wanted to make white card look like kraft card!

Overview of my card process

I used the companion die set for the Build-a-flower Sakura Blossom stamp set since this is one of my favouries and I love cherry blossom – and there just happens to be loads of it all over my cherry tree in the back yard!  I was not sure how this was going to work with the masking/ink blending technique but I always like to try it and see what happens.

The first step was to cut out all the masks I needed for the layout I planned in the photo below.  Then I wanted to make the card look like I was using Kraft card so I used Sand Dunes ink which gave me the colour I wanted.  My watercolour paper is cut to 5.25 x 8.25″ and it’s a hot press paper.

I used a blending brush (cheap makeup version) and started blending my ink onto the background.

Here’s how it looked after one coat of ink blending.

Here’s how it looks under the masks!

I lifted all the masks and repositioned them slightly offset, almost like a drop shadow, before blending another layer of ink on top, creating the drop shadow effect.

Then I lifted all the masks off and stored them with the dies for future use.

I cut the Sakura flower centres out of vellum using the die, two for each flower.   I had this HAPPY die cut already cut and heat embossed in shiny black, so I decided to use it and create the sentiment HAPPY EVERYTHING, using the FOR EVERYTHING stamp from the Mega Greetings stamp set, and to make it easier to stamp, I cut the FOR off and just stamped and heat embossed the EVERYTHING.

Just when I thought I was finished with this card, I decided it was just a little too plain for me, so I covered everything with the masks again, before adding some splatters using white gouache, black fluid acrylic and gold metallic acrylic paints!

Here’s a closer look at the Sakura flowers with their double vellum centres (and some of that lovely splatter!)

And a closer look at the black heat embossing words.

Thoughts

I really love how much like Kraft card this ink blending looks and how white the masked areas are and how much they stand out in vibrant white.  Masking is not something I do very often but it really is a clever technique and very useful for all kinds of effects, a lot of which are featured in the class.  Black and white and Kraft makes me happy 🙂 I hope you enjoyed reading about this card and that you find inspiration from it.

Challenges

Mix It Up #37 AG and Masking – I chose the optional masking this time
A Vintage Journey – Beautiful Blooms – nothing says Spring like cherry blossom

PROJECT RECIPE:

Altenew – Build-a-flower Sakura Blossom dies, Sand Dunes ink cube, Mega Greetings stamp set, Script Words 2
Neenah Classic 110lb cardstock
Wow embossing powder – Black Glint
Versamark ink
Finnabair – Black fluid acrylic, Unicorn Hair Metallique paint
Winsor & Newton white gouache
Archival Ink – Vintage Photo
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
SSS masking paper
From stash: scrap card for diecuts

FYI Here’s a list of all my Class posts for Level 2:

.Beyond Basic Backgrounds
.In the Mood for Color
.With A Twist
.Creative Watercolor Media
.Polychromatic
.Beautiful Details
.Color Your Day
.Impressive Heat Embossing
.Magical Marker Techniques
.Masking Unleashed  You are here

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