Playing with some new stamps

I got a new plate of Cherry Pie Halloween themed stamps this week, and wanted to have a quick play with them this afternoon, in between washing Bestival mud out of clothes and children.

Everyone is going crazy for the "Bandana" technique at the moment - and I think this is the closest I'll get to it, as I'm not really crazy about the all out doodles and dots thang.

I wasn't at all sure about the white pen - I thought I'd ruin the image, which looked just fine in plain black against the blended pigment ink background - but I have to admit it does work. I think the in thing to say is that it "makes the image pop" :)

The photos aren't great as I have just taken them after dark under my kitchen lights with no flash, but you get the general idea.

This really was a quick necklace to make from start to finish - maybe an hour's work in all - but I like it. I'm sure I'll be wearing it at Halloween.

The background is sunset orange, terracotta, cranberry and eggplant pigment inks (Ranger), blended with cut and dry foam onto plain white card. The owl, tree and bats were stamped with black pigment ink over the top. and then I added highlights with a white gel pen to make it look like strong moonlight was shining from the top right.

I cut the piece of card into two 1" x 3" sections (the size of a tall piece of Ranger memory glass - like a microscope slide) - the piece with the owl on became the front of the necklace, and the tree branches that extended out to the right of the owl became the back.

Then I sandwiched the stamped pieces between memory glass - clear for the front and frosted for the back - put them into a Ranger memory frame in black patina finish.

Finally I needed something to hang it from. I tried it with various silver and pewter chains, but nothing seemed quite right. So instead I got out my beading board and laid out a pattern of very dark blue seed beads and rectangular black matt glass beads, which seemed to work. A couple of dalmatian jasper beads at the center of the necklace either side of the pendant, and a nice patina'd clasp that mached the frame well, finished it all off nicely.



I am looking forward to making more necklaces with the Ranger memory frames - they are so easy to use but look so professionally finished. Maybe a square one next time....