Hello, welcome to the Stampin’ Pretty Pals’ Blog Hop! This month our Design Team’s theme is “Fun Ways to Use Your Stampin’ Up! Products” where we show our favorite product tips. We hope you enjoy and will be inspired by them! Don’t forget to leave comments! We love hearing from you. At the end of my post, you will find the full line-up to help you “hop” along from Pal to Pal.

Today, I will show you how to use a Decorative Mask, ink, a Blending Brush, and a Stampin’ Spritzer to create a fractured night sky background.

Let’s grab supplies.

And grab your night sky color. I used Night of Navy. I also think that Blackberry Bliss, Basic Black, or Evening Evergreen would look great. When you get comfortable with blending, try layering the night sky colors.

BACKGROUND MAGIC

Cut Pearlescent Specialty Paper to 3-1/2″ x 4-3/4″. You are going to have fun with this so you should probably cut the whole 12″ x 12″ into smaller panels. You will get (7) 3-1/2″ x 4-3/4″ panels from the 12″ x 12″ sheet.

Lay the ‘fractured’ or stain-glass mask over the Pearlescent paper. Hold the mask securely while you gently add ink with the Blending Brush. TIP: Do not end on a hard line if you want an organic look Remove the mask and set it aside. Don’t clean it yet! Spritz the mask and flip it over. Press it onto a cardstock panel for use on a future project.

Supplies for fractured night sky masking technique

Gently spritz water over your inked paper. The water will bead up a bit. TIP: Careful not to spritz too much water. Use a paper towel or wad of an old t-shirt (my preferred rag – good recycling plan) to dab the water off the paper. TIP: Dab straight down and straight up. Do not rub!

inking through mask
dab off water drops with tshirt rag

And now you have a beautiful night sky. Of course, you could do this without the mask but I think the mask adds another dimension. It feels like you are looking into the future or through a piece of fractured glass. Is this a Wrinkle in Time moment? Maybe I should call this a ‘tessellation’ technique.


FACTIOD: A tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering a plane without any gaps or overlaps. There are only 3 shapes that can be used in a tessellation: a triangle, a square, or a regular hexagon. I think that tessellations are also planar tiling. These patterns can be seen in mosaic work and I also see tessellations trending in rugs. So, I think this technique is a really loose example of a tessellation. I have taken lots of liberty in explaining this. LOL!


WORD OF CAUTION

This technique will not work on regular cardstock. The Pearlescent Specialty Paper has a coating that allows the ink to sit on top of the paper. The ink will dry. But plan on leaving it alone overnight just to be sure you don’t smudge it. Then complete your card or project.

SCRAPBOOKERS DELIGHT

Imagine using this technique on a scrapbook page! I can envision using this as a background technique for star-gazing or just as a fun edgy technique on a teen page. It’s a good thing that the Pearlescent Specialty Paper comes in 12″ x 12″ sheets. I am adding more to my order today. Don’t forget to add some to yours.

FINISHED CARD

I used the sailboat from the Sailing Home stamp set and Smooth Sailing dies. The star is from the depths of my retired embellishment drawer.

Fractured Night sky cards
sailboat and ship's wheel on fractured night sky background
sailboat for Father's Day on fractured night sky background

More inspiration awaits! Use the Blog Hop Line-up below to visit the rest of this month’s Design Team. My fellow Pals are excited to show you what they’ve created! Mark your calendars for our next blog hop on July 14th for “Wonderful Cards from the Garden” when our Design Team creates a project with flowers or scenes from the garden. Don’t miss the fun! Until then, have fun in your craft space.

Stampin’ Pretty Pals Blog Hop

  1. Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty!
  2. Su Mohr at Aromas And Art
  3. Jennifer Roque at Stamp Camp with Jen
  4. Ann Murray at Murray Stamps INK <—–You are HERE
  5. Deb Walker at Deb Stamps Life
  6. Debbie Crowley at expressively deb…
  7. Stesha Bloodhart at Stampin’ Hoot!
  8. Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
  9. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
  10. Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs
  11. Debbie Mageed at Secrets to Stamping
  12. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
  13. Sue Jackson at Just Peachy Stamping
  14. Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
  15. Peggy Noe at Pretty Paper Cards
  16. Lori Webb at Clever Copies
  17. Rae Harper Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
  18. Windy Ellard at Windy’s Wonderful Creations