I needed a couple of thank you cards so I could be all caught up thanking folks for their online orders at the end of the year. For this batch of cards I used items from the January – June mini catalog. I have always loved stencils for paper crafting and I was super-excited when I spotted the Butterflies & Flowers Layering Decorative Masks in the catalog. Stampin’ Up! has had a variety decorative masks for a while which are great for creating interesting backgrounds with different tools. They haven’t had layering stencils/masks for a long time; the last set that I recall was for creating Christmas ornament imagery. I absolutely love this set of decorative masks, and I especially appreciate that the set includes layering masks to create flowers or butterflies as well as some all-over patterns for backgrounds. I can’t wait to create more with them!

I do have a couple of tips for success with these layering masks, and I hope that they are helpful to you.

• Have lots of Post-Its on hand to cover the sections of the masks that you aren’t using
  • The company combined images on a single sheet (to save costs I assume), so be aware of other openings in the stencil
• Use some temporary tape like low-tack Painter’s tape or washi tape to hold the mask in place while you work
• Be extra cautious with your hands; wash them often because it’s easy to pick up stray ink from the mask and then smudge it on your project (ask me how I know)
• Take your time lining up the image; it’s tempting to rush to see the finished product, but you’ll be happier if you go slow and line things up well before inking
• Experiment! Have fun creating images that you may not use so you can build your skills and find color combinations you like

This sketch was my inspiration for my card. I was a little less strict in my interpretation of this challenge than I usually am. I thought the stack of overlapping flowers and leaves were a close approximation of the squares on this card. I also added a small sentiment which wasn’t part of the sketch inspiration. The nice thing about using the masks to for my design is that it’s a nice non-bulky card which won’t have any challenges going through the USPS system. I think this sketch is perfect for creating a Clean-and-Simple card with lots of white space. Thanks so much to the Freshly Made gang for another fantastic challenge!

Happy & Heartfelt Cling Stamp Set (English) [158005] $24.00	Butterflies & Flowers Layering Decorative Masks [158142] $10.00	Blending Brushes [153611] $12.00	Polished Dots [158134] $7.50
Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146985] $8.75	Merry Merlot 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146979] $8.75	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $9.75	Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad [147102] $7.50
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [147090] $7.50	Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [147108] $7.50	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [147101] $7.50	Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad [147112] $7.50