Stencil Inspiration, Distress Inks, and Mini Blending Tools

Here's some stencil inspiration for those of you participating in our Monthly Challenge on our Facebook Creative Community Page.  If you're not participating, you should!  We give away lots of fun stuff and share all kinds of creative projects.

I used the NEW Tim Holtz Mini Blending Tools and Distress Ink to create this fun pattern.  I wasn't sure I really wanted one more tool sitting on my craft table.  So, I originally declined to add this cute little tool to my bag of supplies.  Well, I wanted to try the fun technique below, and couldn't get the larger tool to work.  I kept getting hard lines, and it wasn't small enough to really control where I applied the color.  Needless to say, I now have a Mini Ink Blending Tool.  They are wonderful for working with stencils!

I used Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Inks to get this effect.  First, I layered my stencil on top of my Mixed Media paper from Strathmore (my favorite for these techniques) and applied the Picked Raspberry in a circle pattern as shown below.  Then, I added Spiced Marmalade (in circles) between each of the Picked Raspberry circles.  Finally, I blended Squeezed Lemonade in all the empty areas softening the edges of the circles.

I removed the stencil, and then misted the paper with water.  I held my spray bottle  at least 18 inches above my paper and sprayed it a couple of times.  I let the water drops sit on the paper for a moment.  Then I dried it with my heat tool.  I love that effect!

I trimmed the paper so that the black card base showed on each side.  Added my sentiment.  It's from the Simply Fabulous Sayings set from MFT Stamps.  For the final touches, I added enamel dots and some clear Wink of Stella to the edges of the black cardstock.  It's hard to see in this image, but it shimmery!