SEASIDE NOTIONS

Have you ever heard of the retiform technique? Using this technique, you create divided sections on a piece of cardstock in which you can stamp various images.

Through my research into the retiform technique, it appears there are various ways you can achieve this effect. To do the technique on the cards I show below, I used a piece of scrap cardstock, ink and blending brushes.

I sifted through my stamp sets searching for a set that has a variety of related images in a few different sizes. 

With these stamps in mind, I went to work on a piece of light-colored cardstock that measured 4" x 5 1/4". I didn't want any of my lines to be parallel to each other or the edges of the cardstock. I think that by being careful with this, the resulting card will have more of a carefree look rather than being too structured.

My first line was the one that extends from the bottom to the upper right corner. To make this dividing line, I gently sponged Coastal Caban ink against a piece of scrap cardstock held firmly in position. You must be sure that your scrap cardstock is long enough to reach across any expanse of cardstock you will be encountering. 

Once my first line was sponged in place satisfactorily, I moved on to the next one, which was the one that ran from about the middle of the left edge to the lower right corner. In this way, I proceeded to create sponged lines all across the piece of cardstock, always keeping in mind the sizes of the stamps I planned on using in the sections.

When all my lines were created to my satisfaction, I went to work stamping in my images in Soft Suede ink, adding, also in Soft Suede, a small "thank you" within the sand dollar space.

Mounting it onto a Coastal Cabana card base gave me a pretty quick and easy one layer card.

Shown below, I show the Valentines I made 

for my two grandchildren using the retiform technique.

I hope you understand my brief instructions on how to do the retiform technique for yourself. Between my directions and lookiing at my samples, I'm sure you can figure it all out nicely. Otherwise, you can refer to videos on YouTube. In that way, you will also discover other ways of doing this fun technique.

Retiform

Smiles.