Tutorial Tuesday: Reverse Masking Technique

Happy Tuesday, Friends!  Can you believe that the end of January is nearly upon us?  Wow!  Time sure flies when we are all having fun!  Speaking of fun, you should pop over to Facebook and see what a blast we had on Sunday at the Seasonal Block Party!  It was a FULL HOUSE and everyone had a great time!  Thank you to those who came and crafted with me on Sunday!

Okay, so do you remember our last Tutorial Tuesday?  I showed you the Masking Technique.  I got a lot of positive feedback---many of you really enjoyed learning how to do this!  Today, I'm going to share with you the opposite technique; the Reverse Mask.

This technique is perfect for your background stamps or the sponging technique (which I will teach at a later time---I can't be giving away all the secrets in one day, you know!).  What's great about the Reverse Masking Technique is that it can highlight a specific area and then you can build outside of that space for a nice "wow" factor which requires very little effort.  It's also perfect for when you want to create layering without the added bulkiness.

Let's get started!

Supply List:

• Cardstock
• Scrap Cardstock (I generally use the really cheap stuff from Hobby/Craft stores, but even copy paper can do the trick, if you need it!)
• Ink and Stamps of your choice (again, your large background stamps are really nice for this particular technique!)

Begin with cutting your scrap cardstock in the same size as your card base (or the layer you're stamping onto).

Next, use a Framelit or Thinlit (even a punch will work) to create the shape where you want your stamped image to show.  I used one of the Layering Circles from the Layering Circles Framelits.

Once you've got that die cut out, place your scrap cardstock over your card layer.

Now stamp your image onto both layers.

When you remove the top layer (your scrap cardstock piece), your stamped image will only be where you wanted it to peek through!

Here's a peek at a finished piece using the Reverse Masking Technique.  I stamped my Lovely Lavender onto the rest of the card, giving the illusion of multiple layers when really, there's only one!

Isn't that a really neat effect?!  I think it really looks neat, especially since it almost looks like a spotlight on the wood grain stamped area. 

Here's another example of the Reverse Masking Technique utilized with the Sponging Technique.  I used the same mask and then applied color, again creating a really neat illusion of multiple layers.  This really gives the illusion of a "spotlight" effect, too!  Gorgeous!

Let me know what you think of this technique!  I just love hearing your feedback!