Partial Masking and Ink Blending

Good morning! Jess here with a whimsical card featuring our From the Vault Floral Carousel Filly. I am a 90s girl through and through and I have fond memories of riding the carousel in our shopping mall when I was a young girl and choosing a pony similarly colored to what I created today! ;)

To start I stamped that gorgeous filly with Versamark and heat-embossed her with silver sparkle embossing powder. I also stamped her on masking paper and fussy cut a mask. I didn't bother cutting out a mask for the little stars or the ribbon because I knew I'd color over any ink that got on them.

Then I placed the mask over the horse and placed additional masking paper along the sides to create a strip of exposed card panel. The side masking strips also help keep the mask down over the horse.  Also, as a quick tip, I almost always mask, blend, then color just in case I make a mistake during blending.  That way I won't ruin an image I just spent a lot of time coloring!

I blended Pool Party, Splash, and Grape Slush Reactive inks across the panel and then removed the masks. I used my heat gun to dry the Reactive inks and then colored the filly with Copic markers in similar shades. I also added a little yellow for some contrast in the flowers and stars. Then I stamped the sentiment from Hang in There Potted Plants with Grape Slush Reactive ink and heat-embossed it with clear embossing powder. Finally I added a little sparkle with a Spectrum Noir clear sparkle brush and clear lacquer to finish the card!  It's been several decades but this was a nice nostalgic trip to my childhood! :) I hope you enjoyed it too! 

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!


  • Linda S.

    This is such a beautiful card. I really like the silver sparkle with the bright colors.

  • Helen

    A lovely card, Jess. This carousel image is a lovely design, highlighted so well with your blended color strip. tfs

  • Lagene

    Awesome creations! Thanks for the masking tips!

  • Henriétte

    Although I am not a girl from the 90s but from a (much) earlier date, I also can remember the rights on a carousel and still love those gorgeous horses. Thanks Jess for your awesome card with for me nice memories.

  • Karthikha Uday

    Gorgeous blending!! :)