Neat & Tangled April Release - Day 3 and Giveaways

It's time for Day 3 of the Neat & Tangled April release.  I've got several projects to share with you today.  First up, a few cards featuring my newest stencil, Patchwork Fields.  I was inspired by aerial views of fields when creating this design, but I think it's really versatile, could double as stonework, or just a modern pattern.

I created three cards using three different techniques today to show off the stencil.  First up a very basic technique - inking with Versamark and then embossing.  There are so many different embossing powders out there right now, and you can get so many different looks just by changing it up.  For this card I used Rainbow Black Embossing Glitter from WOW.  This powder is gorgeous and gives such a rich look.

Since I wanted the background to be the star of the show, I added a simple white mat, and the Awesome die cut sentiment (die cut four times and stacked together) with a strip of vellum behind to help make the sentiment stand out.

The first shot doesn't do justice to that gorgeous embossing powder, you can see better here what a beautiful, rich look you get from it!

Next up, I used the stencil with some paste to create texture for my card.  I used some mixed media paper, and just added paste on the left side of my panel - no masking, just eyeballed it.

Once the paste was dry, I placed the stencil back over the design (I did wash the stencil off in between), and then lightly misted it with some Heidi Swapp Gold Lame Color Shine.  I didn't want this on the whole card, so I placed a paper over about half the card to shield it a bit, and I was very light with the mist.

The small gingko cluster from the new Have Courage set was stamped and embossed twice on cardstock using Hero Arts White Satin Pearl embossing powder.  I added some very soft Copic highlights to the centers of the leaves and adhered them to my panel.

The sentiment is from the So Many Sentiments set and was embossed in white.

Finally, I used one of my favorite techniques for stencils with small areas on this next card.

You start by placing your stencil and then inking with two or more colors.  You could do this with just one color of course, but I think multiple colors adds a lot of interest.  For this card I used Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw, and Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink.

Once that's done, leaving the stencil in place, trace around the openings with a fine journaling pen/marker.  I used an American Crafts 03 Journaling Pen.

Then you remove the stencil and randomly color some of the openings in with black (I used a fine Sharpie) and gold (American Crafts Metallic Marker).  There's no right or wrong in terms of what you fill in, I just try and go for a balanced effect.

Once the panel was complete, I trimmed it down, matted it, and adhered it to my card base and then added a sentiment from Have Courage.

We are also showcasing a new stamp set today called Happiness Is from Danielle.  I really love the sentiments in this set and had to create a card to share.  

I used the large main oval sentiment/image to create some patterned paper by inking the stamp with Versamark and stamping it onto my panel in a repeating pattern.  You get a wonderful tone on tone effect when you stamp with Versamark.  I wanted to add a little bit of color to the background and highlight that central 'Happiness' as part of the sentiment for my card, so I added some soft coloring with Copics to the sentiment and the hearts.

The bear image is from the Mommy, Daddy, and Me set we showcased yesterday.  It was colored with Copics and die cut.  

The secondary sentiment, from the Happiness set, was stamped on a patterned paper panel, and then it was just a matter of assembling the card.

That was a lot to share today!  Remember, I'm drawing some winners from comments left on the blog and my IG giveaway posts this week for my new products, so be sure to leave a comment here and then head over to my IG (@mprantner) to get extra entries there.

You will also want to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see what the rest of the team created and enter to win today's featured products there as Danielle is giving away a set.

See you back here tomorrow for Day 4!

*Affiliate links in text to Neat & Tangled and below to Ellen Hutson

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Neat & Tangled Dies, Awesome

VersaMark Ink Pad

Dreamweaver Embossing Paste, White, 8 oz.

Heidi Swapp Color Shine Spritz, Gold Lame

Hero Arts Embossing Powder, White Satin Pearl

Neat & Tangled Clear Stamps, So Many Sentiments

COPIC Sketch Marker E42, Sand White

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Worn Lipstick

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Scattered Straw

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Carved Pumpkin