Reverse Stencil Technique

Good morning, I have a fun tutorial for you today. I love my Tim Holtz layering stencils. They are a quick, fun way to add some pizzaz to either your cards or a layout. One of my favorite ways to use them is in the reverse; adding ink TO the stencil rather than THROUGH the stencil. I'll show you how to get this cool, watery look.

 

Stamps are Unity Stamp Co's Lucky To Go

 

Unity Stamp Co stamps used No Words Bloom and Thanks Above And Beyond

Firstly gather your watercolor paper, favorite stencil, some distress inks, water sprayer, and a heat tool. I used Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch, and Wilted Violet, along with one of the newest stencils, Dotted.

Ink up the stencil, starting with the lightest color and moving towards the darkest. I wanted a small area, so I didn't ink up the whole thing, but you could. I used a paper towel to create some clean edges on the sides, but let the bottom do its own thing.

 I used a glimmer mist instead of plain water on two of my cards. Love the shimmer it gave.

Turn the stencil over and press down onto your water color paper. I did a little smooshing first to create my ocean on this example.

Some close ups to see the results. 

I also tried using oxide inks on black card stock and it worked great and really makes a striking card. Misting the ink does cause it to "oxidize" thereby muting the color, but I really like how it turned out.

Try some of these fun, reversed stencil backgrounds today!

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