Technique Tuesday ~ Faux Leather

It's Technique Tuesday! Have you tried the Faux Leather technique? We've got some great projects for you today, but first I (Darcy) want to share a tutorial with you if you've never done it yourself.

So, what do you need to get started?

Masking tape and a piece of cardstock! Tear little pieces of tape and cover your cardstock in a haphazard fashion. This would be a good project for little helper hands! This is what mine looked like when I was done:

I trimmed the edges up with a pair of scissors. (Tip: if you are using this as a layer, be careful when you are trimming the edges! Ask how I know!) Next, I got my ink pad and a sponge dauber and got ready to get messy!

Ok, so it wasn't really that messy, but only because I remembered a piece of scrap paper underneath and didn't touch the top too much. I started out by rubbing the ink across the tape. However, I found that I got better coverage if I dabbed it on instead. In the picture below, the left side is dabbed, the right side is rubbed.

It will take a few days for the ink to dry on top of your masking tape. Therefore, if you want to use it right away, cover the entire thing with clear embossing powder and heat. This will set the ink, and I feel gives it more of a leathery look because of the shine.

Please visit all of our designer's blogs for more details of their projects and to leave them some love! I can tell you that on mine, you will find other color samples and ways to play with the tape if you want some ideas before you experiment!

Darcy Johnson ~ Dj's Stampin' Place

Donna Smit ~ Organized Chaos

Faux Leather...Fake balloons... April Fool's day has never been so fun!  Head on over to the Organized side of Chaos and check out some neat ways to "fake" a fun card for any occasion!

Tonya Ball~ Stampin' With Tonya

Since I didn't have any masking tape on hand I decided to give the Faux Leather Technique a try with out Washi Tape. I like the look and it is a fun twist on the technique.