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Grid Technique
(Author: Linda Ellenwood)

Stamp Credits: All stamp images are:  Stampscapes

Scenery Grid
8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Glossy paper
All images are stamped with a Marvy black stamp pad.

All coloring is done with Marvy stamp pads that are not real juicy. The dryer the better. I hold the pad at an angle and drag it from the mask to the picture.

The Marvy colors I'm using for this are #5 Yellow, #43 Brilliant Yellow, #13 Ochre, #6 Brown, #57 Rose Pink, #64 Plum, #25 Bottle Green, #72 Pine Green, and #29 Prussian Blue.

I arrange my stamps on a piece of paper before I start. You want the stamps close but they don't have to touch. This will give you enough area around the stamp for the grid.

     

The stamps I used are from top to bottom cabin #141E,Cloud with Lightening #020E, Tree Duo#86B, Ranger #066B, Tree Cluster #244E, Cabin with Fence #144F.

Stamp all images with black Marvy Ink and heat set. Carefully heat it with your heat gun. This will keep it from smearing in the next step.

Let your paper cool. I use a small piece of double stick tape on the back and stick my picture to a piece of scrap paper that is larger than my picture. Then I can turn it around to make it easy to drag my stamp pad in a comfortable position. Mask above the bottom cabin. Dab a little #43 Bright Yellow where you want it. Hold your #29 Prussian Blue stamp pad at an angle so that an edge comes in contact with the masking paper and lightly drag onto the picture. It's important that you start off of the picture and drag onto it. Use a light touch if your stamp pads are wet. Drag the #6 Brown from the bottom to color cabin. Always start off the picture and drag onto it. Repeat with #72 Pine Green to finish bottom scene.

     

It helps if you tape your masks to each other so they don't slip. Use a temporary tape so you can move them around. Make sure you don't tape your mask to the picture. Tape it to your scrap paper or other masks. Don't stick Post It notes to the uncolored paper. They work great after you get some colored areas. Mask off the Tree Cluster section and drag #43 Brilliant Yellow onto most of the picture. Then drag #72 Pine Green.

Mask off the Lightening section. Drag #43 /Brilliant Yellow across the lightening. Drag #64 Plum onto the left side. The Plum will separate the lightening section from the cabin scene that will be next to it. Without it the skies would blend together and you'd lose the grid. Drag #29 Prussian Blue to finish section.

     

Mask off the cabin section. Now you can use the Post It notes to cover the lightening section and the tree cluster section.

Drag #5 Yellow where you want it. I just drag this from the cabin up instead of from the edge. Use #6 Brown pad to color the cabin. I just drag very lightly where I want the color. If your pad is wet then use the stylus tool from Color Box to color the cabin. I use the white tips.

Drag #29 Prussian Blue into the sky leaving some white areas. Drag the #72 Pine lightly for the ground. Then go over the same area with the #25 Bottle Green. Be sure to darken the area in the right corner so it will be separated from the lighter green tree cluster. Drag #13 Ochre around the bottom of the section.

Mask off the Ranger section. Drag #43 Brilliant Yellow over section. Then darken the edges with #13 Ochre.

     

Mask off the Tree Duo section. Drag #57 Rose Pink over section. Darken edges with #64 Plum.

Drag all of the pads around the edges. Switch colors often for variety and interest. Start with the lighter colors first. You'll have to stop every now and then to let the picture dry a little so it will take more ink. The more ink you get layered on to the paper the better it will look.

Let your paper dry. Stamp Pebbles #256A for the ground in front of the bottom cabin. Stamp Reeds #068D and #067B all along the bottom of the picture.

Stamp #203 Oak Branch a couple of times on each side at the bottom of the picture. Just use the tips of branches. Then stamp #097 The Crooked Limb all around the picture. Use different parts of the stamp for variety. This will pull the picture together and give it a finished look. These little branches really add a lot of movement to the picture. Stamp Ducks in Formation #027A in several places around the picture. I also added a little #64 Plum to bring the Ranger and the Tree Duo together.

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