Polished Stone Prettiness

I don't know about you, but there are certain techniques... most, in fact!... that I shy away from.  My strength seems to lie in coloring, which is hysterical, cuz it terrifies me.  I have a horrible time coloring things that can be any color... Magnolia Tildas, for example.  I like things that "should" be a certain color... roses=red, dogs=brown, etc.  But I digress!

Polished stone is not one of my favorite techniques.  In all honesty mine has usually turned out very muddy.  BUT... it was the challenge over at Stamp TV, so I decided to give it a try. :-)  Here's my version...

I took my almost dry Encore Metallic Gold pad and lightly applied it directly to my glossy cardstock.  Then I put a little alcohol on a cotton ball and 2 drops of mustard reinker and applied it.  Then again with Cocoa.  Then again with Orange.

I stamped and embossed the pumpkin from GKD Whimsical Autumn on my background and cut it out with my circle Nesties.  Then I cut a circle out of a rust cs - the next size up - and layered them over the empty circle that I had cut out.  The "friend" is from GKD My Cuppa Joe.

I think the key for me was to use colors that I love and to let each layer dry before applying the next.  Maybe it had something to do with how wet the cotton ball was???

Thanks for stopping by.  Let me know if you try a polished stone background.  I'd love to come see it!! :-)