<![CDATA[Mess up a technique? Make up your own!]]>Yep, that is what I did here. I got a wonderful skeleton stamp from Lost Coast Designs. I mounted all of the pieces on cling foam and placed them randomly on a clear block and inked it with clear embossing ink then set it aside. I was setting the stage for what was to be some highly successful soot stamping (mind you I have NEVER tried it in my life but the tutorials looked easy enough-famous last words.)  So, I lit a candle and held my glossy cardstock face down over it….hmmm, not much happening…well, maybe if I get the paper a little closer to the flame…!!!, oh no paper is on fire, dunk the paper in my painting rinse water and try again. OK second try, easy does it, OK I am seeing some ghostly smoke on the paper, nice! Oh @%*#! the *!@$%&# paper is aflame again! Well, 3rd time is a charm right? Nope, it really wasn’t. Let’s not go there.  So, I stamped the image on the remaining panel of glossy cardstock, grabbed a cotton ball and rubbed some black chalk over the panel, it’s not soot stamping but it’s not a fire hazard either.

DCF 1.0

In case you were wondering what was supposed to happen with the soot stamping I’ll tell you. The candle would cover the paper in a fine layer of black soot. You would then ink up a stamp with clear ink and stamp on the paper to lift up the soot and have a white image. The object is not to catch the paper on fire. It turns out that NOT catching a piece of paper on fire is harder than it seems.

DCF 1.0

Of course the card is a nod to my favorite TV show BBC’s Sherlock, can’t wait for the next season…well I guess I will have to won’t I 🙂 In the meantime I realized that I can stream BBC radio4 on my computer and I love the radio shows they have! They even have a Doctor Who radio show and just about the funniest thing I have ever heard, a show called Cabin Pressure and you can listen to the most recent episode on demand. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch (the dude who plays Sherlock) as a pilot and sometime Anthony Head guest stars (He was Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as the Taster’s Choice guy from the 90’s-great voice!) And the actor who plays Douglas has a voice like honey, the woman who plays Caroline is also top notch, the casting is perfect! The writing is by John Finnemore who also plays a hilarious part in the show (Caroline’s inept but lovable son Arthur)   it is really worth a listen! And while I was listing to the live streaming I heard that John Finnemore has a sketch comedy show too! Ahhh, all for my listing while crafting enjoyment! Why don’t we have anything like this in America? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

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