This month I have been playing with Spellbinders dies as stencils for creating textured backgrounds. This is is a fairly subtle technique with lovely results.

The first thing to note, is that not every die will give you the best results with this technique. Turn your dies over to the smooth side and look for one that has lots of not too small details in the negative space. The large Splendid circle die is perfect for this.

Materials used:

Bazzill Basics Paper:

 10-1001 Bazzill white

Spellbinders:

S4-328 Foliage

S4-354 Splendid circles 

 Other Materials Used: 

Pion design papers 

Ranger perfect pearls

Jo Sonya texture paste 

Lindy's Stamp gang mists 

Hemtique twine 

My two angels metal embellishments

 Bella! tags

Step 1:

Adhere any background elements first. I have added a 6cm strip of co-ordinating paper across my layout and some vertical strips with notches cut into them.

Step 2:

Place your chosen die SMOOTH side up onto your layout. (I recommend taping it down if possible). Apply texture paste over the die, ensuring that all the holes in the die are filled. During the process keep as much downward pressure on the die as you can to prevent the paste "bleeding under the die, so you get a clear image.

Step 3:

Place aside to allow the paste to start to dry. Moving it too early will result in smudges. Before it dries too hard into your die, carefully remove and immediately wash your die to remove any traces of paste. (An old toothbrush is handy). Tip: before it dries completely, consider adding a dusting of fine glitter.

Step 4:

Once completely dry, complete your layout by adding your photo and embellishments. I sprayed my tags and die cut leaves with a variety of paint mists. Add a title ( I used a mixture of metal embellishments and a stamp. Tie twine into your tags.

Tip:

You can add colour to tint your texture paste, but avoid liquid mediums that will compromise the density of the paste. Try powdered chalk.

 Created by Design Team Member ALICIA