Hi everyone, happy Sunday – and happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums, Grandmas, Nannas, Nonnas and Grannys out there 😊 I hope you have all been thoroughly spoilt and are enjoying your day, I know I am!

Today I am sharing some projects featuring backgrounds created using Stampin’ Blends, Vellum and alcohol. I have tried this once before and I was unsuccessful. It wasn’t until my friend Mandy told me you needed to use 99% that I had success. So if you plan to try this make sure you have the strong stuff – not the green alligator bottle that you can buy at the supermarket (that’s only about 70%)

These backgrounds are so easy to create, you basically pick your colours and scribble the colour down in any random patterns on the vellum. Then you add the alcohol. There are lots of different ways to do this, some people decant it in to a little pot and use a paintbrush or aqua painter to add it to the vellum. The way I did it was to use the spray bottle it came in and just sprayed it straight on. Using a small paintbrush I then just pounced about to blend the colours.

I made 4 different background pieces and then turned them into cards. The first I thought looked a bit moody and stormy so I I featured the Sail Away stamp set to finish it off.

For the second card, I used the Quite Curvy bundle. I coloured the leaves in Mint Macaron and Soft Sea foam and used the coordinating dies to cut them out. Added a few birds and a sentiment and called it done!

For the third card, I was used a soft sea foam base, and added a strip of the background piece across the middle. I actually mounted the background piece on a piece of white card as I thought it looked better than on the soft sea foam. I added animals from the “From all of Us” and “Back on your Feet” stamps sets and again – done. The backgrounds really are the hero pieces here.

The final card actually features retired products, but I have included it anyway as I really loved the black silhouettes on the bright background. The stamp set is called Silhouette Scenes and the tree is cut from the coordinating dies.

Making these backgrounds was really addictive, if you have some blends and vellum I encourage you to have a go. Bring alcohol they also dry really quickly – but do make sure your workspace is quite ventilated!

Which one is your favourite? Leave me a comment below and let me know.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, happy crafting x