Hello friends! Katy here with you and for todays project I am taking the Josephs Coat Technique and making it even simpler by using stencils instead of clear embossing. I also made my own stencil using the Square Matrix Die and 7.5 mil mylar.

When making your own stencils with your dies, be sure and use a metal shim or precision base plate when die cutting mylar this thick.

I used Flamingo, Yellowstone, Blue Raspberry and Grape Color Hive Inks (in that order) to create my rainbow blend. I knew from my blending on stamps project a few weeks back that the first three colors would work, Grape was a shot in the dark as I wasn’t sure if it would be too light or even too dark. It happens to be the perfect color to create this rainbow blend, if you have any of the other purples, be sure and tap off the ink from your sponge or brush before adding it to your paper. This is a great way to lighten a dark ink.

The Square Matrix Die is a Slimline Die. I chose to make these cards into A1 aka 4 Bar cards because I wanted the design to go edge to edge on the cardstock. As I type this… you could also make this into an A2 size by using an A2 card base and a panel that measures 3 x 4 1/4 inches, in my mind those measurements would work because you are taking 1 1/4 inches from top and side so it will have the same amount of space all around the front of the card base and you would still be able to go edge to edge with the stencil. You could also create mini slimline cards with this die/stencil. Here is a similar stencil that you can use to create full size A2 cards that will go edge to edge.

I find that stencils with smaller lines or spaces like here, here and here work best for this technique because you use less black ink and it shows your design colors vs using a stencil with large openings like this which covers most of your background with black ink.

I have a video tutorial for you below. If you have trouble watching here on the blog, click here to watch on Youtube.

I used a heart die from my stash and layered it with 3 additional hearts to give it some dimension. If you have foam tape that would work great too. The Happy Birthday sentiment comes from the I Adore You stamp set from Maker Forte and Alex Syberia. I used 1/4 inch double sided adhesive to adhere my panel directly on my black card base, again if you have foam tape you could pop that up too.

I love how vibrant these colors are against the black card base and that pop of white embossing from the sentiment makes it the star of the show.

Here are the products used in todays project. Please Note, affiliate links have been used at no cost to you. If you click a link AND make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. These earnings help to support my Youtube channel and my website. Thank you for your support.

That wraps it up for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by and I will see you next time.

Katy ❤️