What a stressful morning I’ve had. I’m on my 3rd coffee and it’s not helping, please send chocolate! Despite planning ahead, technology let me down and I’ve spent the past few hours trying to resolve issues. As a result I’ve only just been able to finish today’s blog post. Still, I hope you think my first project and video using the Artistic Mix Decorative Masks was worth the wait. Of all the masks Stampin’ Up! has created in recent years I think the Artistic Mix set is their best yet.
ARTISTIC MOSAIC
When I first saw the Artistic Mix Decorative Masks in the catalogue I kind of skipped over them. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve bought previous sets and just not used them much. However when I took a second look in the catalogue I was excited to see that these masks are a little different. They’re still made using a really robust material that will stand up to inking and washing, but they’re designed to create layered patterns.
As soon as I opened the pack I numbered the individual masks to make it easier to keep track of what I was doing. That way I’d be able to explain it to you, and replicate something I particularly liked. Today’s bookmark was my very first attempt and I’m officially hooked.
When I sat down to test out the masks I reached for a bookmark base that I’d created a little while ago using the Tailor Made Tags Dies. In fact I filmed that process so you could see how I create these long bookmarks from the much shorter tag dies.
So now I have a batch of bookmark bases just waiting to be decorated.
The main reason I ordered these masks was because I wanted to create my own plaid designs. However to my surprise it was the mosaic tile effect I ended up trying first. A bookmark seemed the perfect size for a test piece.
TWO MASKS TWO COLOURS
Creating the design on the Thick Very Vanilla Card bookmark was really quick. First I laid the floral motif mask on top of the card and held it in place with sellotape. Next using a Blending Brush in a circular motion I went over the mask with Starry Sky ink. Then to add some extra interest I added more ink towards the bottom left corner of the design.
With that done I removed the mask and replaced it with the more open tile mask. After carefully adjusting the mask so it sat evenly between the flower motifs I held it down with sellotape as before. Then I simply used my Blending Brush to go over this mask with Balmy Blue ink. Once I was happy with the colour I removed the mask to reveal the completed mosaic design.
To complete my project I cut two 6″ pieces of Starry Sky 1/8″ Metallic Woven Ribbon and folded them in half. Then I threaded the loops through the hole in the bookmark, passed the cut ends through the loops and pulled gently to secure the ribbon. In just a couple of minutes my mosaic bookmark project was done.
To say I am impressed with these new masks is a complete understatement. This is one set that definitely won’t be ignored like the others. In fact I was so excited I went back and filmed a video to show you just how simple the process is. There will certainly be more projects and videos as I explore all that the versatile Artistic Mix Decorative Masks can do.
Oh, in case you were wondering, as I used Stampin’ Up!’s Classic Stampin’ Ink I was able to wash the masks using plain water. Then after drying them with a cloth they’re ready to use again.
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