Technique Page Sponging

As simple as it may seem sponging is still a technique and should be included in the Technique Pages Book. I have gotten several emails asking me how I do my sponging. SO it was a perfect opportunity to create a page and tell how I do my sponging.

It's very simple. Though some of you roll your eyes when you read that. Sponging is all in the angle you hold the sponge. The straighter you hold the sponge to the edge of the card stock the less sponging marks will show up. I usually hold my sponge at a 45 degree angle and I sponge in one direction and then back in the opposite direction. This way I get an even coverage and the second time over the edge it gets a little darker too. I also treat each corner as a separate entity. When I get to the bottom of the side I'm sponging I stop and actually just sponge the corner. Then I turn the card stock and sponge the next edge. When I get to that corner I sponge it and so on. This gives the sponged area a smooth all around look to it. And on smaller pieces it makes the image look a little brighter because the edges are bolder and the sponging is even all around. I have sponged some items that I was told have a look of glowing to them. It was all because of the sponging.

I use round sponges only because that is what Stampin' Up! sells, though any shape will work. I cut the round sponges into 4 pieces. If I am sponging a lot I will use a bulldog clip and clip the sponge to it. It keeps my fingers from getting full of ink. Not that I can't wash them but when you are doing a lot of sponging the last thing you want to think of is being careful about picking up the card stock to sponge the next piece.

I have also used makeup sponges that I got at The Dollar Tree. They are ok to work with. I am not as thrilled with the results of them as I am with the regular sponges. The makeup sponges are a finer sponge and you get more ink on your edges. You don't get the smooth even look like you do with the other sponges. But they do give a different appearance and work for other projects that you want just a fine line on. Experiment with different sponges and see what you like the best. I am just sharing what I like working with. It's all a matter of preference!

For those of you who are patiently waiting, I am working hard on getting the last few pages to the 1st set redone. I am hoping they will be done by the end of the month or the first week of next month. I had been busy with income tax. It's usually not a big deal but I was asked to use a new program to keep track of my records so that meant entering a years worth of receipts in three months. UGH!! I decided I was not going to buy a single thing after that so I won't have to enter anything in for next year!!! LOL Don't ask how that is going!!! LOL Anyway it is all done and I could move on. Then my computer got a very nasty virus that attached itself to my Internet Explorer. Every time I went online it would randomly pop up websites and some of them made me glad I didn't have any little children around!!! I can't believe people can or would do that. But it happened and the virus checker I have couldn't remove it. Oh and get this, a virus checker offer would pop up quite often letting me know it could remove those types of viruses that attach themselves to your registry. I have no idea how I got it though I have my suspicions that it was at a place where I had downloaded some free digi paper. Lesson learned here was that NOTHING in life is ever free!!! And to remove the virus I had to reinstall my whole hard drive. The restore didn't do a thing so everything had to be backed up that I wanted to save and there were things I just had to let go of (like my email address book but I did print out a hard copy and am still in the process of entering in addresses!!!). It was a nightmare but now my computer runs SO well and SO fast. I have about an hours worth of addresses to enter and I should be done. Then I can move on to bigger and better things, right??? One can only hope!!! LOL

Anyway, enough about my trivial problems!!! I need to get back to working on the pages so I can get them out to those of you who are patiently waiting for them. And then I need to get back to making the the pages for the third set!!! I have a list a mile long of techniques to do, I just need to sit down and do them. And with the house pretty much cleaned up (except for 2 rooms) I can free up some time to play with stamps more!!! Gosh, I feel like a little kid with new toys that just wants to play all the time. Now I know how my son felt when he wanted to play instead of going to bed!!! LOL

Thank you all for visiting today, hope your day was creative!
Wanda