Paper Menagerie: Bokeh Technique

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Bokeh Technique

A week or so ago, I came across the Bokeh technique here using watercolor for the background. I was anxious to try it after I finished my blog hop project and a couple other odds and ends. Bad news came our way just after the blog hop, putting most of my crafting on hold. Then, just last Friday, I saw this tutorial using a sponged background. Since sponging is less messy, I decided to try it first. I pulled out my inks, sponges and a left over piece of cardstock that I previously cut various sizes of circles from.

My first attempt at the technique uses colors drawn from the Hopscotch paper pack. I made a baby card for my new little niece. I can't wait to send it!

I found it difficult to capture the true effect of the technique with the camera. here's a side view.

I tried to stamp my sentiment directly to the front of my card with less than stellar results. As Bob Ross says, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." I pulled out two white daisy circles left over from another project and covered up my "happy little accident." The circles play off of the sponged circles in the technique.

I added a silver charm from the Base & Bling Storyteller Charms Assortment. Since the Bokeh technique is the real focus of the card, the charm was just right. All of the sentiments on this card are from the Cute Koalas stamp set.

To maintain the austerity of the card, I stamped the sweet sayings at the bottom and left plenty of room for a heartfelt message.

The second card is more masculine since I needed a birthday card for my dad. I only sponged two ink colors onto the panel of the card before adding the Bokeh circles. The Glacier and Flaxen inks on this card are softer and harder to capture on camera.

I stamped the sentiment on vellum for this card and attached it with Flaxen Extra Thick Twine. I added a few Gold Sequins, but kept it simple so the Bokeh design would really shine.