Stencil This

It's almost that time of year again. Yay!! It's time to DARE to get DIRTY! It's a little 'gimme some luv' thing that Splitcoaststampers puts on for their fans. It's a great time to try new things, or fall in love all over with old things. It's a time to put all domestic duties on hold while you roll up your sleeves and get DIRTY!

(By the by, you can be a fan for 6 months for about $15 US or a full year for $25.)

The fun starts Saturday, July 27. But we're cheating. Shhh...don't tell Lydia! Hee hee! See, there's a shopping list already, and a get-out-of-anything pass to print off and post on your bat cave. And where there's a list, there are questions. Always questions. To me, the questions are where the real dirt begins to fly! We don't stop until August 2nd, and you have time after that to continue to play the challenges.

The goal - yes, there is one - is for you to PLAY with abandon. It's all about what you've got on hand. There's a shopping list, but most of the stuff you probably already have, but might not know it. Here's a little discussion for you. Ok, so it's a monologue, but you get the idea.

**AT ANY TIME, CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE**

The supply is stencils. The questions are many. Here are a few things that were laying within short reach of my workspace, the Bunny Nest in the ArtLab. See all those goodies? Now, think about your space. Got ideas? Good! Now, here's one way to use that really big circle die, and a miscellaneous snowflake-like star punch:

Distress ink, sponge applicator, mush it through the punch, and voila!

Get the idea? Good. See how easy? Don't have the sponge applicators or distress inks? No problem. The same thing works with makeup sponges (or even a kitchen sponge) and any water-based ink stamp pad that you probably already own.

Next up: Acrylic Paint - don't have any? No sweat. Buy the CHEAP stuff. Here's Bella from Home Depot, but I have a dozen similar bottles from other 2 for a buck paints. Have a reinker? No? Ok, have an ink pad you can smash onto a paper plate? Just add cheap white acrylic paint, thus:

Then apply, using a cheap foam brush or a makeup sponge, etc. Heck, go all wild and use those phingers!

Word of the day: Prestidigitation. Look it up! Hee hee - yeah, slight of hand or magician! Getting even more ideas? Ok, now about that huge die cut circle. What kind of fun can we have with that? Take a gander:

Big circle, white cardstock under. Distress inks, foam blender. You need another piece of scrap paper as wide as your circle.

Get ink on your foam/sponge. Scrub it around on your mat, a paper plate, piece of wax paper, etc. You just want to work it into your sponge a little so the sharp lines aren't too visible. Apply with a circular motion.

Repeat with your second color. Move the paper, and you can see the red sun flare over a horizon. Now, move your paper scrap up to cover what you just made. Repeat with a darker color below.

Remove the piece from under the stencil. Select your silhouette stamp, apply dark black ink to it, and stamp, lining up the horizon of the image to the horizon you created.

Now then. You should have more than a hat-full of ideas of things on hand. I cannot tell you that any of these samples will work with any specific challenges, because I do not know what magic the Splitcoast elves will be bringing. I just want to get you to dip your toes in the water, and ASK THOSE QUESTIONS!

One of the most marvelous things about Splitcoast is the variety of stamping skills and experience the member represent. The other marvelous thing is the willingness to share the knowledge with everyone. If you get stuck, or need a visual aid, stick your hand in the air and wave! Let's get ready to RRRRUUUMMMMMBBBBBLE!!!

See ya there!

~ky