An artsy approach to stamping

The other day I felt a bit artsy and gave in and played with some artsy stuff and made some awesome textured background. I will show you the photo first and then tell you what I used. So be sure to scroll on down..

And here is a close-up on the texture:

I basically placed the stencil over the black cardstock (I used washi tape to secure the stencil). Then I used a scraper and applied the "Ceramic Stucco" paste over the stencil and scraped off the extra. Then I've removed the stencil carefully and let it air dry. Now I am not sure how long it took because I went on with my other chores... But once it was dry, I simple sponged on Bermuda Bay ink. 

Here is what I used:

I absolutely love this stuff and can't wait to use it some more. The texture is very rough and interesting. I got the jar at the "M" craft store in the artist section and used my coupon at check-out to make it a bit more affordable ;-)

The sea horse was stamped in black StazOn and then colored in in Bermuda Bay ink with a little touch of Pacific Point using my Blender Pen. Then I cut it out by hand...

Oh and did you notice my new framelits? I LOVE the set called "Tags & Labels"! They have a smaller distance in-between the different sizes to make layering easier.

Supplies used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Some more Stencils

I think I had announced that I made one more card with the “Elegant Trio” Stencil… so let me post the card before I forget.
The picture didn’t turn out all that great, but I think you can still tell how easy it is to put the stencils to use.
This time I aimed for a simple, elegant and soothing card. Here it is:

I used our new Marina Mist with black and white, and really like the look.
Edited to add:
I simply use classic ink and sponge daubers and apply the ink gently in circular motion when I have more open areas or dab if it’s very detailed like this one. I keep applying ink until I don’t see sponge marks. It is SOOOOOO easy, you should give it a try!
This card style and layout could easily be used for manly cards in general. I know we always have a hard time with those cards.
Have a nice afternoon!