Fun technique - Bokeh with sponging

I learned about this technique on our Newfoundland Stampin' Up! demonstrators FaceBook page. The group in St. John's had someone show them how to do it at a team meeting. As I'm on the other side of the island I don't get to go to these team meetings so I hit google to find out what it was all about. After watching a number of different videos of different ways to do the technique I finally decided to give it a try.

For my first attempt, shown on the right, I used re-inkers and water in a Stampin' Spritzer. I wasn't thrilled with the result but I probably will try it again. For my second attempt, shown on the left, I used sponging. It was so much fun and I love how it turned out. I will definitely be trying it again. I loved both even more when I used them to create cards.

This card was made with the paper on the left. I'll share the card made with the other paper soon.

For this card I cut a 5 1/4 x 4 piece of whisper white card stock.

I gathered my Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Canteloupe, and Hello Honey ink pads. I prepared a small piece of sponge for each one.

Starting with one of the colours, I dabbed the sponge on the ink pad a few times to ink it up before using the sponge to apply ink to the card stock in a circular motion. I did this in random places all over the card. I repeated this with each colour and continued adding circles of colour, overlapping in places, until all the white was covered and I was happy with the result.

It is important to let this ink dry for a bit before proceeding to the next step.

Using a piece of paper with circles punched out as a stencil and placing it randomly over the card, I used Stampin' Up!s Whisper White Craft ink pad to sponge circles. Using the stencil gave these circles a more defined edge. Finally I used the eraser part of a pencil as a stamp to make the tiny dots.

I let this dry for a long time before stamping the sentiment in the corner.

The sentiment on this card is from the Simply Wonderful stamp set, which is one of the Sale-A-Bration items that can be earned for free when you spend $60 during Sale-A-Bration. I stamped it with Memento Ink.

Next I prepared a card base by cutting a 4 1/4 x 11 piece of Calypso Coral card stock.

I cut a 5 inch piece of the Calypso Coral ribbon from the Best Day Ever Accessory Pack, another item in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. I taped it around the background piece before attaching it to the card front.

Supplies I used to create this card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

With the help of my 9 year old, I created this video demonstrating how to do the bokeh technique with sponging.



I will show you what I did with the paper I created in the video in a coming post.
(Update: Check my Birthday Bokehs blog post to see what I did with the paper)


If you are interested in trying out the Bokeh technique, let me know by filling in the contact form at the right and I'll try to arrange a class.

If you place an order with me for
- three ink pads of your choice
- card stock to match at least one of your ink pads
- ribbon to match at least one of your ink pads
- whisper white card stock
- whisper white craft ink
- sponges (pack of 3)
you will have an order totally just over $60 which, will make you eligible to pick a free product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. If you pick the stamp set I used you would be able to make 48 or more cards similar to the one I made here.
If you live out of town you can have the order shipped directly to you and I can teach you the technique via Skype or FaceTime.