Teach, so you can learn..

It's one of "The Martha Rules." I'm listening to that book on my Ipod and it's very good. This one is rule #4. And you probably already know this, but the best way to really learn something is to teach it. Which is why I love teaching stamping - I love learning.

So I am teaching you something I discovered today.

I was searching for a design for a masculine card, and I settled on this pear from Infinite Goodness. I love all pear stamps, and this sketchy (in the best sense of the word!) style is really beautiful and good for all sorts of styles, I think.

I decided to emboss it and then color it with Copics. If you're not familiar with these first hand, I know from experience that they seem very mysterious to the uninitiated. But if I had to sum them up, I would describe them as a COMBO of a marker and a blender. Because of what they're made of, you are blending and coloring at the same time. So going over and over and over what you've colored actually blends and softens it, instead of making it more intense and harsher, as would a regular marker. Does that make sense?

However, this results in a saturated paper, which you dont' realize until you turn it over to adhere what you've done. And if you're me, and it's today, when you flip it over, you see something really totally beautiful and different from what you've done on the front. A work of art all by itself. (I actually like it better than my finished card) Notice how most of the yellow seeped through to the back after I blended it heavily - almost none of it is left on the front. So I'm showing you that, plus the finished card, with the "front" side out. But don't be afraid to teach yourself something new and unexpected by accident!!! I sure did that today.

Hope your day was happy & fun.

PS - my car is fixed and Spottie cat is better every day.