Bokeh Background

 

Hello, welcome to my blog!! 

I want to start out by thanking everyone for the support and nice comments you all leave for me. I truly appreciate the support of this blog!! I enjoy card making and bringing my creations to you, this wouldn't be possible without your support, so again, thank you!!!

Today I tried something new, the Bokeh technique! I've heard of and seen cards with this technique but have never tried it myself. This technique resembles highlighted circle areas, like in photography, out of focus or blurred out light spots. It can be a subtle look or bold and vibrant. I went with a soft background using light colors for my first try and have to say, I really love the results! I didn't have any solid circle stamps or stencils so I created a stencil using my Infinity Circle dies which ended up working great! To create an ink blended background, I used Oxide Inks. I figured the creaminess of these inks would be perfect for this technique. To create the circles over my background I will use white pigment ink. Let's get started!! 

I will be doing all of my work today on my Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat.

To start I cut a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panel out of Neenah White Cardstock using my Tim Holtz Guillotine Paper Trimmer. Using my Blender Brush, I blend Spun Sugar Distress Oxide Ink onto the panel. I then blend Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide Ink randomly, blending into the previous color a bit. Next, I blend Milled Lavender Distress Oxide Ink randomly, followed by Tattered Rose Distress Oxide Ink, blending each color into the neighboring colors.

For my next step I need to blend some white circles. To create a stencil with multiple sizes of circles, I take a 5" x 6" piece of Acetate and arrange different size circle dies from the Infinity Circles Die Set over it. I then run them through my Big Shot Die Cut Machine. I remove the pieces and now I am left with a stencil that can be used over and over. I place the stencil over my panel and with my Blender Brush, I blend using White Pigment Ink. I blend randomly over my panel using the different size circles, making sure to overlap some of them. *I dedicate one of my blender brushes for white pigment ink only. You do not want to mix the pigment ink with other inks as it will cause blotchy blending.

Using my Scor Buddy, I place a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Soft Stone Cardstock into and score at 4 1/4" creating a side folding card base.

Taking my Stitched Rectangle Die, I cut my blended panel down running them through my Big Shot. I then take a piece of Double Sided Adhesive Foam, remove the release paper and adhere it to the back of my panel then adhere to my card base.

Next, I take my Botanical Rectangle Die and cut out of Neenah White Cardstock, running them through my Big Shot. I trim off the short angle piece leaving me with a corner die cut. I add Liquid Glue then adhere to the top right corner of my panel. 

Using my Venessa Butterfly Large Die, I cut out of Vellum running them through my Big Shot. I add Zots Glue Dots to the body of the butterfly and adhere onto my card front at an angle.

I now choose a die from the Phrase Builder Sending Die Set and cut out of Neenah White Cardstock three times, running them through my Big Shot. I then stack and glue the die cuts together using Liquid Glue. I add Liquid Glue to the back of the die cuts and mount onto my card front.

For my sentiment, I place a scrap piece of white cardstock into my MISTI Stamp Positioner. I choose a stamp from the  Sentiment Strips 2 Stamp Set using Versafine Clair Nocturn Ink. I trim my sentiment into a thin strip and angle cut each end. To add a little bit of dimension, I glue two thin strips of cardstock to the back of my sentiment then glue it onto my card front, over my greeting die cut using Liquid Glue. *Using thin strips of cardstock instead of foam tape is a tip I learned from Jennifer McGuire to use up scraps! Finally, I use my Jewel Picker to add Water Droplets with Liquid Glue and this completes my card. 

It's always fun trying new techniques and I love the results of this card! I played it safe and went with soft colors making this technique more subtle. I think it would be interesting and fun to try on darker shades to get a more vibrant effect! The colors and technique I used on today's card would make a beautiful baby card as well!!

If this is the first time visiting my blog, welcome and I hope you return. If you are a returning visitor, thank you so much for your support!

Should you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comments section. I'd love to hear from you and what you thought about today's card.

If you would like to be notified by email each time I post something new to my blog, you can click on the subscribe button at the top of the page. *Be sure to verify your subscription through the email link to activate. There is also a follow button that you can click on located below my profile if you would like to follow my blog.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you come back soon!

Happy Stamping and God bless!!

Jeannie