Just a rat in a cage

Hello stampers,

hope everyone is safe and sound.

I made a set of Artist Tradings Cards for giving you some inspiration while so many of us have to stay at home. These are a bit special, or did you ever think of combining Banksy with romantic Victorian elements? 

There are tons of pattern paper in my stash and I just randomly grabbed a pad. I tore four pieces to a size a little smaller than an ATC. To make it appear a little grungier, I used two rose shades of Oxide Inks, smooshed them onto my craft mat, sprayed it with water and swiped my paper pieces through it. I like the look this technique creates, especially on the dark paper.

After giving it a good dry with my heat tool, I started stamping. I chose a few different stamps that were some kind of florid or vintage inspired and stamped them with Versamark Ink. With the aim to stay in the rose color sceme I used a Golden Peach colored embossing powder to add some texture. It is quite striking on the darker cards and very subtle on the lighter ones - I like both variants. For a more distressed look, I added some Oxide Ink in Brushed Corduroy to the edges.

Time to work on my focal image, and while writing this post I'm still quite happy how this turned out in the end. I stamped the Victorian display case on some watercolor paper and placed the Banksy rat stamp right on top so that it looks as if the rat was in the display. 

Then I used watercolor to add some color and cut out the display cases. As a finishing touch I used a glossy medium to add some shine to the glass. I first thought of using Glossy Accents for that, but I was too impatient that day to wait for it to dry, so I chose the other one which I could apply in a thinner layer. I tried to catch that pretty shine in the photo.

I always like to work in layers and I like texture, so I used my sewing machine to attach the torn and altered paper pieces onto black cardstock that I cut to 2.5 x 3.5 inch before. After that, I glued down the Display Case with some foam tape.

Now I just needed a quote and "I'm still just a rat in a cage" seemed like the perfect match to me. I stamped it onto watercolor paper, cut it into little pieces and added some of that Brushed Corduroy Oxide Ink to the edges so it blends in nicely. 

I finished my set by gluing down that quote down with liquid glue and some foam tape. Here are some more (detail) photos of the project.

Stamps used in this project:
Waybill/Invoice Background (19416)
Vintage Flourish (19623)
Leafy Twig (19591)
Victorian Flower Background (20343)
Steampunk Victorian Display Case (20348)
Banksy Rat Walking Chain (19426)
I Am Still Just A Rat (19281)

Other material:
- watercolor paper
- patterned paper
- black cardstock
- Versaclair Ink (Nocturne)
- Versamark Ink
- Distress Oxide Inks (Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet, Brushed Corduroy)
- Embossing powder ("Golden Peach" by Altenew)
- glossy medium
- sewing machine (optional)



Stay safe, keep stamping and see you soon!