Brick Wall Technique

Every month our little Stampin' Up! group has the opportunity to participate in a swap, normally it's a card, but occassionally it's a 3D or scrap page, last month we did a technique swap. Well I was severely time anaemic for most of last month for a myriad of reasons and when I'm short of time my stamping is the first thing to go!! Anyway I went blog surfing and found a really simple technique called "brick wall" and yes it really is as simple as it sounds. You take a normal stamped and coloured image and cut it up like little bricks and then stick it all back together with small gaps between the pieces to represent the cement.

So this card I made - I love this new level 2 hostess set from the autumn/winter mini catalogue!

Then I re-made it, but cut the image into bricks first, (hint: keep the pieces in sequence when you cut them - unless you like doing jigsaw puzzles!) after I had stuck it all down I thought I should have sponged the edges of each brick to give it a more subtle appearance.........maybe I'll make a 3rd version when I get time!

Stamps: Asian Artistry (level 2 hostess set)

Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Old Olive & Soft Suede
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry. Melon Mambo, black & very vanilla
Accessories: Aqua painter brush, SNAIL, paper trimmer

So what do you think? A super simple, yet effective technique you could use with virtually any larger sized image stamp. Do you prefer the bricked or unbricked card (dodgy photography aside that is!). Of course if you'd like to earn this stamp set for free - host a party or a catalogue party and depending upon sales it could be one of your rewards!