Lesson time!

This is the table ready for action, with all the stamps I thought we would need laid out, all ready mounted (I do listen to Barbara Gray), ink pad in place, copy paper for practice and design, and baby wipe box for immediate stamp cleaning.  Organised or what.  Out of sight to my right is the big grey box with everything else needed for later stages.

Still fairly tidy, having got to the next stage.  We have worked through the copy paper bit - I would have liked to do more of that really, but I wanted to make sure my friend had a finished card to take home with her.  In this shot, she has transferred her design to the Clarity silk card, made sure it was dry, and is now colouring in with Promarkers.  She does not possess as much stuff as I do, so I very deliberately limited the equipment to the bare minimum.  For example, I only gave her 6 Promarkers and four ink pads, including the black for stamping (see the list below for our list of things).  The mauvy stuff is my new low tack tape (I had run out of tape), which is holding the Clarity card onto the backing of copy paper, and also giving a sharp clean border.

This is the final result.  We brayered the sky with Adirondack Cloudy Blue and just a touch of a more purply hue from a Big and Juicy - her first attempt at that technique, which went remarkably well, partly thanks to the Splodge mat (I love that thing).  Because she does not possess a brayer or a Splodge mat, the ground and the hills were done in a very low tech way, with a torn piece of paper and a make up sponge using Adirondack Juniper.  The hops would have benefited from a little more time spent getting a bit more depth and shape, but we needed more time and different lessons for that.  The background was created using the cling film technique on Clarity silk paper, and the Cloudy Blue and Juniper so that everything matched.

For a first go at most of the techniques, I think she did remarkably well, and should be very proud of her achievement.  It did help that my black ink pad is starting to run out so the stamps did not slip too much on the shiny surface, but she did well with the tree shadows too, using second and even third generation ink to get the faded look.

This last photo proves that it does not take too long to completely lose a large green cutting mat.  I suspect it will take me most of the morning, at the very least, to sort everything back into the right place and then I can finish my card (on the table).  Then I must find that melt dust, and all the other things people have asked me to look for, like tweezers and washi tape (What is that - must look that up).

I think I was reasonably well organised for this first attempt at teaching these techniques (probably more organised than I was when I was teaching full time), and I was very pleased with the results my friend got.  We had a three hour session, with a drink break, and managed to create a completed card (apart from gluing the topper into place which she will do at home).  Well done, girl!

What we used:-

copy paper

Clarity silk card

Clarity silk paper

Clarity Oast House Kit with trees from the Waymarker set, and birds from the Harbour Kit

Adirondack - Pitch Black, Cloudy Blue, Juniper, Stonewashed

Big and Juicy - Soothing Sunset

Promarkers - Satin, Sandstone, Blush, Soft Green, Pastel Yellow, Lime Zest, with Slate to do the edges

Speedball brayer

Splodge mat (12x12)

Mist spray

Make up sponges

Kitchen roll

Cling film

Post it notes for making masks

Crafters Companion Stick and Stay

Pinflair Glue Gel