I am so excited to share the look you can get with this mermaid scale stencil! It's so easy to work with and the results are stunning!
The stencil and stamp set that I am using are part of the new release from Crafty Stamp Co. I love how well the products in this release all work together.
Right now we are in the pre-order period for this stamp set and stencil. The pre-order goes until May 30th or until they reach their initial quantity levels – so don't wait to pre-order yours today!
Are you ready to see this card that I have been dying to share with you?
I hope so!
How delightful is this card?
The stencil has a cute name, called Mermaid Tale (instead of tail, because it's not the tail) which I think is such a cute name. The stamp set is called Make a Splash Meadow. So many of Crafty Stamp Co's stamps will have Meadow or Stephen in the name after the owner's kids. Super sweet, right?
Working with the Mermaid Scale Stencil
My favorite tip for working with stencils is to have the Stencil and Stamp Tool (all supplies are listed below). It will hold your card stock and your stencil in place so you can easily work with it.
So align it as you would like and then pick your ink pads and your blending brushes.
For me, I went with inks from Catherine Pooler Designs, colors are listed with the supplies.
I love with this stencil you just kind of make it a large mess to begin with. You start with the colors of your mermaid and just do a bit of ink here and there. It's always better to start lighter with each color and add more, it's really hard to take color away once it's on there.
Then I use my lightest color, which for this card is yellow, and I blend back over the top of the entire piece of card stock. I don't always need to do this, if I have sufficient coverage – but I feel like I just make it a good habit and then I always have it done.
Coloring in Our Mermaid
To color in our mermaid, I went with my favorite alcohol markers, OLO markers. These markers are just too fun to work with and you simply can't beat the price of the markers or the cost of the refills. PLUS, changing your marker over to the re-inker is the easiest thing in the world.
If you ever tried to fill other markers, you know the pain I am referring to. But I also love that for $2.69, you have your replacement. So simple and brilliant!
For me, I like to work section by section. For her tail, I started with my purple section, then my pink, then finished with my turquoise. Since they all have a light color near the same spot on the color spectrum, it was easy to blend those colors where they connect.
Next I did her skin tones. I kept it simple with just two colors.
For her hair, I went with beautiful yellows.
Finishing Touches
To finish out this card, I let the mermaid scale stencil work completely dry. I added some water splatter since Catherine Pooler inks are water reactive. You can't see much of it on here since the background colors are so light. But in person you can tell.
Next, I splattered it with some white ink and that you can really see. It's not too bold, not to distracting, it's just right.
Finally, I went to town with my white gel pen to add some details to the mermaid. It adds so much to your colored image. Try it with it, and without it. It's a total game changer!
The Supplies
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And just like that…
We have our finished card! I love the way this card comes together. I meant to say above to not overthink which way your mermaid scale stencil is facing. I looked at a lot of images and it's used in all directions. So for me, I just chose the way I thought looked best and went with it.
I didn't make a video on this card, but if I get enough requests, I am more than happy to make one. Simply leave a comment below.
Happy Coloring! XOXO, Meg
