Multi masking and an observational comedy moment

I did a bit of multi masking to build up the layers on this card.

1st I stamped the gate onto spare card and then cut it out, being careful to make sure both the gate and the frame were intact. I also needed a selection of flowers stamped onto post-it notes and cut out too.

Then I was ready to start on the card. I stamped the flowers in the foreground, using a stamp that came with Craft Stamper magazine, and then covered them with the post-it note versions.

Next I positioned the gate cut out, choosing somewhere it would hopefully be easy to position the actual stamp later. I inked over all the exposed are with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. Then I switched to the frame I had cut the gate from, positioned it over the inked areas (the flower post-it notes are still in place at this point) and inked the exposed gateway with Bundled Sage Distress Ink.

Now it's time to peel away all of the masks, it's best to hold your breath whilst you do this, I'm sure it helps. There were a couple of white lines where the edges of masks had been, so I used an inked cotton bud to carefully blend them in.

The Paperartsy word stamp was next in the top, left corner across all the different inked areas. Then I reapplied the post-it note flowers and stamped the gate over the top of the whole lot. The gate stamp is an old one from a QVC kit, a cheap foam backed one. They are OK, but I would recommend having cotton buds on hand and cleaning away any ink that has found it's way onto the edges before stamping.

All that remained was to turn my multi masked image into a card with some layered flowers, Stickles glitter, Prima swirls, a Tim Holtz pin and a ticket that I received in a swap (I think I stamped the message on with a Kanban stamp).

Challenges:

Allsorts #91 - Inspired by nature

Take A Word #17 - Door

A Spoon Full Of Sugar #140 - Birthday wishes

Oldie But A Goodie #13 - Spring is in the air

Onto my comedy moment yesterday. I attempted to pay my water bill by phone and had to do battle with a computerised woman.

1st of all she couldn't understand my postcode, then when I read my card number out she said "Would you prefer to use the keypad?" and finally when I had finished and said "Yes" that everything was correct she started saying "Just answer Yes, or No." At this point I got the giggles, which was of course a fatal mistake. I could just picture Miranda Hart giving an aside to camera saying "Tuesday, I can't say it any plainer than that, can I?" Irate computer woman gave me a reference number (so fast that you would have had to be the bionic woman to write it down) and I await my credit card bill to find out how much I have handed over to the water board, if anything at all!

** Kate **