Polished Stone Technique

Our Craft Group had a play with the Polished Stone technique recently. It's a very simple technique, lots of fun to do, and can produce some stunning backgrounds.

Why don't you give it a go?

Materials

• A4 Glossy White Cardstock - cut to size (I cut mine into quarters)
• Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol)
• Two or three Classic Stampin' Ink Refills
• Cotton Balls

Method

1. Use only two or three different colours, otherwise it may look muddy.
2. Add some IPA (isopropyl alcohol) to a cotton ball.
3. Add a few drops of each colour to the cotton ball. The number of drops depends on how much of each colour you want. For example, you might use 1 drop of a darker colour and 3 or 4 drops of a lighter colour.
4. Dab the cotton ball onto the cardstock. DO NOT RUB! Just dab all over, you can go over places where you've already dabbed, if you like. It doesn't really matter how much you do, just keep going until it looks OK to you. If you turn the cotton ball as you dab you will avoid duplicating the pattern over and over.
5. Once it has dried, you can stamp directly onto the Glossy Cardstock if you like, to use it as a background, or run it through a Big Shot, or cut it into smaller pieces.

Examples

Here are some of the cards I've made using this technique. I cut a couple of the pieces in half and used them with Designer Series Paper but I think I prefer them whole as a background.

Stamp Set: Watercolor Words Photopolymer 

DSP: Color Theory 

Stamp Set: Layering Love 

Stamp Set: Label Me Pretty 

Punch: Pretty Label Punch 

DSP: Color Theory 

Punch: Starburst Punch 

Stamp Set: Lots of Love 

DSP: Color Theory 

Punch: Starburst Punch 

Punch: 1-3/4" Circle Punch 

Stamp Set: Remarkable You 

Stamp Set: Sorry For Everything 

Stamp Set: Lovely As a Tree 

Stamp Set: Happy Birthday Gorgeous 

Stamp Set: Remarkable You 

Stamp Set: Remarkable You 

Stamp Set: Lovely As a Tree 

Stamp Set: Daisy Delight 

Ellen Budden