Tuesday's Technique - Bokeh

I have finally decided to give the Bokeh technique a try!  And, I'm SO glad I did!  What a fun technique!  It was much easier to do than I originally thought and I figured out a few tips and ideas that might help you to venture into the world of Bokeh!

Supplies Needed:

• Piece of white card stock (I cut mine to 4 3/4" X 3 1/2")
• 3 different colors of ink (In the card above, I used Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky and Blushing Bride.)
• Sponges
• Circle punch template (see the picture below)
• White craft ink
• Daubers

 

Circle Punch Template:

• If you don't have the circle punch sizes I used, use what you have.  You can also cut out circles using the Circles Collection of Framelits with the Big Shot Die Cutting Machine.
• Note: Many tutorials I watched cut the holes from clear acetate or window sheets.  I found that using a piece of card stock worked better for me and I explain why in the instruction steps below.

Steps for making your own Bokeh card:

• Use a different sponge piece to swirl on the three different colors of ink.  You'll want to completely cover the white card stock.  Use a circular motion.
• Lay the template over the piece of inked piece of card stock and begin swirling on the craft ink with the dauber into the different sized circles.
• Choose random places to make the circles.  Pick up the template and reposition and add as many circles as you'd like.
• If you'd like the white ink darker, let the first set of circles dry (or heat with a heat tool) and then go back over the first set of circles with more white craft ink.
• Once everything is completely dry, stamp desired image with Memento ink.

 I chose to make my template out of card stock instead of a piece of acetate or window sheet.  Why?  

First, I found that since craft ink on a window sheet doesn't dry, I was getting ink on my fingers as well as on the back of the window sheet which in turn was transferring ink all over my background piece (in places I didn't want).

Second, even though you could see through the window sheet so you knew where to add the circles, I found it was too distracting to see where they were going.  I guess I was "over-thinking" it and I wanted more of a random placement of circles.  Using a piece of card stock helped me to just put circles here and there and not get hung up on the "perfect placement" of everything.

So, there you have it!  A fun technique to try!  Have you already done this technique and discovered a few tips for yourself?  I'd love for you to share your tips and ideas in the comments section below.  It's all about crafters helping crafters! 

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Happy Stamping,