Ink it! Stamp it! Blog Hop #3: Technique - Retiform

 

Welcome to the Ink It! Stamp It! Design Team Blog Hop - we hop every month so be sure to pop back and visit us again!  Today our theme is Technique and I have chosen the Retiform technique to make a feminine and a masculine card.

You are currently at my page - Stephanie Fischer, The Crafty Thinker.  At the end of my post there is a full line of team members, please click on the name after mine in the list to continue the hop.

Feminine version of a Retiform card featuring Beautiful You , Flourishing Phrases, Daisy Delight and Butterfly Basics

Retiform is one of those techniques that I love but seem to rarely use - in fact I think my last retiform card predated my blogging!  It's so easy and effective though that it seemed a good time to drag it out of the archives!

Method:  It's basically just masking and sponging!

1. You may want to plan ahead of time the pattern you want to create with your sponging.
2. Hold a piece of clean paper (I just use printer paper) in the position required. 
3. Lightly sponge your chosen colour from the masking paper onto the cardstock. (ie place your inky sponge down onto the masking paper and gently slide the sponge onto the project)
4. Remove the masking paper and place it back onto the project, lining it up on the crisp edge of ink you've just created.
5. Repeat step 3
6. Move the masking paper to the next position you want to create a line and hold in place.
7. Repeat step 3
8. Repeat step 4

When you have finished creating your pattern of lines, it's time to add some stamped images.

Tips: 
- This technique works really well with images that are larger than the space available so that they  look cropped.
- I'm a big fan of the monochrome so I like to use only one ink pad but this is not necessary.

1. Choose the area where you plan to stamp.
2. Protect all the adjacent areas of your project by carefully placing masking paper along relevant lines that you've created.
3. Stamp your chosen image.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3

Using Soft Suede ink produces a lovely sepia effect in this Retiform card

For this masculine version, I basically repeated the same steps except that I started off by using a circular mask.  In order to sponge inside the circle and also to stamp inside the circle, I used the paper from which I had cut the circle to mask the rest of my project.

I used the same colour ink (Soft Suede) to watercolour the central image.  Whilst I combined several stamp sets, the overall theme is transport. The grass in the central image is from the High Tide stamp set.

I hope you've enjoyed this this technique and these cards and I welcome your comments. 

Thank you so much for joining us today. We hope you'll join us again next month for our 3D projects! I'm Stephanie Fischer and to keep hopping around see the list below to see who is up next with another great technique.

Thanks for visiting
'Til next time
Stephanie

Product List

Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Stamp Set

[137154]

Beautiful You Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143637]

Country Livin' Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[141925]

One Wild Ride Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[141724]

Guy Greetings Wood Stamp Set

[138825]

Daisy Delight Photopolymer Stamp Set

[143669]