Gretchen Barron: My Four Feathers Dream Catcher

Hello everyone and welcome to Inspiration in Action!

Today, I'm featuring the new stamp set "Four Feathers" from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I was intrigued by this set the first time I saw it although I didn't know quite how to use it. I decided to take the plunge today and began working with it and ... I LOVE IT!

It coordinates with the Feathers Framelits Dies which makes cutting out these little feather easy-peasy!

I decided to try something new wth the coloring technique. It's a modification of the "spritzing" technique where you spray water on the inked up rubber BEFORE stamping it. I decided to use rubbing alcohol as my spritizing agent so that it would dry faster. I love the water color effect this technique gives to the final images -- it really softens them and helps them look much more organic and earthy!

Here's the Steps:

Step One: I put all four stamps together on one large ac,rylic block and picked out six different colors of Stampin' Write Markers for my feather colors -- Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Hello Honey and Mossy Meadow.

I found that it works best if you only use 2-3 colors per feather. At first I tried to use all the colors on each feather but it got a little crazy!

Apply the color to the rubber using your lightest colors first -- apply lightest to darkest (to help your markers stay clean) Just randomly color the rubber, trying different things as you go to see what you like best.

When you're ready, give the stamps a couple quick spritzes with the rubbing alcohol (or water). You'll see the colors run together a bit.

Step Two: Stamp the images on your cardstock. I used Naturals White Cardstock because it has little flecks of color in it and the texture is a bit rougher than Whisper White.

You can see in the photo how the colors run together a bit and soften the image -- much like watercoloring.

Step Three: Once the images are dry (which doesn't take long if using Alcohol), they are ready to cut out using the Big Shot and the Feathers Framelits Dies.

Look at all these feather's I made! I guess I'm going to be making a lot of these Dream Cathcher Cards!

Don't you just love all the colors of fall! And the Framelits dies make quick work of cutting these babies out!

And now for the other really cool thing about this card -- the Spirelli Technique for the "Dream Catcher".

I used the Starburst Framelits Dies and choose the middle sized one (it's just a little over 3" in diameter). I used Baker's Twine for the thread (it takes about 3 yards of twine or string for each medallion).

Step One: Attach your string or twine to the back of the Die Cut, using tape.

Step Two: Bring the string to the front, making sure it's "wedged" firmly between two of the points on the Starburst. Passing the string over the front of the Die Cut, count 20 points and wedge the twine firmly in that spot, passing the twine to the back of the Die Cut.

Step Three: From here on out, you're going to wrap the twine around and around the medallion, advancing the string two points each time.

You can experiment with different widths and spaces to achieve the look that you want. This is just what seemed to work best for me. Continue wrapping around the medallion until you get back to the beginning point. Once there, pass the string to the back of the Die Cut and again secure the end with tape. You see the finished spirelli in Step Four.

Then you're ready to put all the elements of the card together. I stamped the Sentiment from the Merry Everything Stamp Set and punched it out with the coordinating Note Tag Punch.

I attached four feathers in a random pattern and then attached a button, tied off with a bit of Baker's Twine. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to attach everything (including the Spirelli Medallion) to the Card Front (Hello Honey embossed with the Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and the Big Shot. The Card Base of Rich Razzleberry.