Fun Birthday Splatters For A Niece!

One of my sister's girls has a birthday in my birthday month of August.  I thought I would like to try out the Splatter Technique that I was briefly introduced to just about a year ago in late August at a cardmaking/ teaching class given by the Stampin' Up duo. . .Dara Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum.  This first try was on a Christmas card, and it seemed a simple enough technique and quite effective so I thought I would try it again.  Take a look at my niece's finished card, which I cased using a card design by Darla Watson, a California Stampin' Up demonstrator that I visited during my trip south this past spring. 

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Bermuda Bay, Whisper White.  Sponging Ink--Pear Pizzazz, Bermuda Bay.  Stamp--Sassy Salutations (retired).  Stamp Ink: Old Olive.  Sequins--Metallics.  Splattering: Bermuda Bay Ink.  White Emobssing Powder.  Papertrey Ink stamp--Inside & Out: Birthday I.  Size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2".  (Thanks Darla Watson for your lovely original design).

The Story & Tidbits

Darla's card that I chose to case was definitely a clean and simple style, of which I am not generally a fan, but this particular card used one of my favorite color combination: teal and pear green; thus, it really caught my eye.  The original card had a less splatters on the front, as it was achieved by stamping the splatters with Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.  For me, it didn't have enough splatters, thus the idea came to mind to use the Splatter Technique that I had learned and used that one time.  It achieves a similar look to spritzing as well, but I find it much more controllable and your splatters do not end up as large, which is what I wanted in this case. 

First, I heat-embossed my sentiment with white embossing ink.  Next, I sponged my ink colors onto the front area as shown on the card.  I sponged until I achieved the color depth I desired.  The final step is to add your splatters either by stamping with an appropriate stamp, such as Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge, or by using the Splatter Technique, which I describe below.

The Splatter Technique is achieved by using a water brush, (in Stampin' Up lingo, it's called an Aqua Painter), which has its hollow barrel filled with water, stamping ink, and the flicking motion.  For your color, you can use a bottle of stamp re-inker by dropping a few droplets onto the inside lid of its matching stamp ink pad, or by squishing your stamping ink onto its box lid, or dropping your ink onto a large acrylic stamping block (because it cleans up easily).  There are other ideas out there as well.  For the flicking motion: gently squeeze the water brush barrel to load your brush tip with water, dip the wet water brush into the re-inker drops, lay the barrel of the water brush across your pointer finger about one inch below its bristles, and finally, flick (or snap) the brush barrel below the bristles with your other hand.  Reload your brush with water as needed and with ink, and repeat the flicking motion until you get enough splatters to suit.  The distance the brush is away from your paper will change the splatter effect.  So, practice with it, achieve the color intensity desired, you feel comfortable with the flicking motion, and you achieve the look you like.  

If you do not have a water brush, you can also use a regular paint brush (like one that comes in a children's paint set),  dip and wet its brush well into a small container of water and then into your ink drops and flick.  For the most intense color, you can use a regular paint brush, dampening it just to moisten, wipe off excess water on a paper towel, and dip directly into your ink drops and flick.  You can also mix your ink color and water prior to flicking.  The formula I was told to use for this method was approximately one tablespoon of water to one to three drops of re-inker, depending on how dark you want your ink splatters to be.

As you can see, there are a variety of Splatter Techniques and even more than I have mentioned.  Check it out on Pinterest or YouTube videos. . .enjoy Splattering!!!