Technique Thursday - Masking by Dot

Hello everyone and welcome to Technique Thursday at Rubber Dance.
One of my all-time favourite things to do is the masking technique.  I use it in almost everything I do, I can't help myself.  So I thought it might be fun to show you how to use masks to create a card.

This is the card in it's finished state.  I've kept the colouring and the background really simple because I wanted to concentrate on the masking today.

So here goes ...

This is my rough draft which has been stamped onto photo copy paper.

When I'm not sure what I want to do then I play with the stamps to see what happens.

I was really happy with the order of the stamps with this rough draft.  It is now my guide.

Because the design for the card had been worked out, I know what masks I need to cut from photo copy paper.

I use this paper because it is thin.

When cutting out a stamped image I also cut 2-3 mm in from the outside of the stamped image.  The thickness of the paper means that the image wont meet up with the image under the mask if it is cut exactly. 

Mind you, if I don't get the distance of my cutting right, then it isn't something that a little black fine-line wont fix.

Everything is now ready and it's time to start the card!!!

Step 1:

Stamp the 2 flowers that are closest to you.

Step 2:

Place a mask on each of the flowers and the stamp the puppy.

Step 3:

Add a mask to the puppy.

Step 4:

Stamp the 2nd puppy.

Step 5:

Now add the mask of the 2nd puppy.  

So a quick recap - there are now masks on the flowers and both puppies.

Step 6:

We have the flowers in the front, the puppies in the middle, so now we stamp the flowers that are behind the puppies.  We are working from the front to the back.

Step 7:

You can stamp as many flowers as you like, placing masks as you go.

Step 8:

When I take the masks off I can see what it looks like.  This is when I decide whether it needs more or not.  But I am happy with this so far.

Step 9:

I had cut enough masks to cover every flower and puppy so I placed them over all the stamped images.  The circle is a die-cut.  I decided to just add a splash of colour.  The easiest and funnest way to do this is by stamping ink from my craft sheet with an acrylic block.

Okay ... so this is where I stamped the words crooked.  

No way was I going to start all over again!

 I decided to re-stamp the words onto some photo copy paper, cut it out and edge it with some black fine-liner.  I then glued it over the top of the words that were crooked.

To finish it off I've cut the card down.  Sketched some border lines. Coloured in the puppies and hearts. And added some blending around the edges.

The only colours that I've used on this card are Salty Ocean and Tea Dye in distress inks.

I hope you have enjoyed this technique and decide to give it a try sometime.

If you aren't too sure about it, then that is what photo copy paper is for.  And pick some easy shapes to cut out, that always helps.

Happy Stamping!
Dot x

Stamps used are:

Friends Fur-ever

Textured Flowers