What did I see the other day? A tutorial over on Splitcoast Stampers on how to make a card with Northern Lights using sponges. Well, if it involves sponging I'm all over that! I had to get my sponges out and give it a try, but first I checked out a bunch of pics of the northern lights. There is such a variety of color and shapes, and they are so beautiful to look at! I've seen them in person a few times and the last time it was actually a bit red. What an amazing sight! That's why I added the verse on each card. I did do my sponging a bit differently than the tutorial, but after looking at the pics I knew exactly how I wanted to attempt to make my cards. :)
I was going to throw this piece away because the first time I stamped the trees on they weren't dark enough. :( Then I thought I'd highlight them with a white gel pen, but it ended up looking terrible. That's when I remembered I had the stamp-a-ma-jig (I know, Red Hot Stampers, not the thing-a-ma-jig! lol). Whew, I managed to save a piece and make a card. The trees are a lot whiter in this pic than in person though. I just can't get the white to not reflect so much when I'm taking the picture.
This is actually the first piece of card stock that I sponged. I liked it so much I just kept going! :)
The theme for this card from this week's Paper Players theme challenge #170...Wildlife. I couldn't make a card without at least one animal. :)
Like usual I had to take a pic of the group. :)
Thanks for looking and have a great day!
Sara
First Card
Stamp Sets: Lovely as a Tree
Card Stock: Basic Black, Pool Party & Naturals White
Classic Stampin' Pads: Night of Navy, Pacific Point,
Pool Party, Coastal Cabana & Pistachio Pudding
StazOn: Black
StazOn: Black
Embossing Folder: Argyle
Punches: Modern Label & Word Window
Candy Dots: Neutrals (Black)
Smooch Spritz: Vanilla Shimmer
Sponges
Second Card
Stamp Sets: Evergreen
Card Stock: Basic Black, Pool Party & Naturals White
Classic Stampin' Pads: Night of Navy, Pacific Point,
Pool Party, Coastal Cabana & Pistachio Pudding
StazOn: Black
StazOn: Black
Embossing Folder: Argyle
Punches: Modern Label & Word Window
Candy Dots: Neutrals (Black)
Smooch Spritz: Vanilla Shimmer
Sponges
Third Card
Stamp Sets: Walk in the Wild
Card Stock: Basic Black, Pool Party & Naturals White
Classic Stampin' Pads: Night of Navy, Pacific Point,
Pool Party, Coastal Cabana & Pistachio Pudding
StazOn: Black
StazOn: Black
Embossing Folder: Stripes
Punches: Modern Label & Word Window
Candy Dots: Neutrals (Black)
Smooch Spritz: Vanilla Shimmer
Sponges
Beautiful cards, Sara! I LOVE this technique! Thanks for sharing it with The Paper Players!
ReplyDeleteYour sponging abilities are absolutely amazing! The cards are gorgeous and I love the verse you used!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Stunning!
ReplyDeleteCan you explain what you did differently than the tutorial? Your Northern lights captures the sense of motion. Most of the cards I've seen miss this element of the Northern lights & wind up looking like colorful night skies.
ReplyDeleteHi...I will try to explain how I did my sponging to get the look that I did on my cards. The two cards with the trees look like the light is starting from the top and heading down and outward, while the moose card makes it look like he's the "center" of the card and the light is projecting out of him. For the tree cards I started sponging from the top of my card with the lightest colors I had (pool party and pistachio pudding). I pretty much wanted those colors to show through after I added the remaining colors. The trick when I applied it on is that I only went in one direction. Everything was sponged downward and outward...meaning I wasn't going straight up and down, but I'd start in the middle and angle it to the side, but never going upward. The same stroke over and over as I added in the different colors, making sure I didn't ever completely cover my lighter colors. I kind of did the same thing with the moose except I started where I thought the moose was going to be and stroked up and out...yup, always that same direction. I also used the natural white paper that SU! used to sell. It isn't smooth like their regular cardstock, but a little bit rough. Between the texture of the cardstock and the sponges with the consistent strokes in one direction I was able to achieve that look. I've never tried it on their regular cardstock so I'm not sure how it will look. I hope this answers your questions! If not let me know and I'll see if I can help you out more. :)
DeleteSara