For this week's make I decided I would use some greyboard panels which come in a set of 6 (yes I know I have only used 5 as I have no idea what I did with the remaining one!) using lots of different Stamperia products that are in the That's Crafty! shop. These tags panels have a white surface on one side and a natural greyboard surface on the other meaning you can work on one side without having to add another layer first. This post is about building layers to create your final piece, the layers do not have to be dimensional but by layering colours, techniques and products you create a sense of movement and texture in your projects.

Panel 1: To create the background I started by using a blending tool to add Blue Navy ink around the edges fading it in towards the center. I then took the same ink and applied it through the Letters and Numbers stencil to add a darker colour and more interest before using the same ink pad with the text stamp from Clocks stamp set to small areas of the panel.  

I then decided which elements from the Girl and Flowers and Elements Ephemera I was going to use and played around with the placement. BEFORE adhering them in place I then was able to position one of the rub on elements from Inspire set that goes with the ephemera into place. It is important when using the rub ons you make sure the layers beneath it are properly dry otherwise they are difficult to get to stick in place.

Next I glued the epehmera in place before adding a quote and the doodling with a black pen around the edges of the panel and key elements of the die cuts - note the  micron pen I used does not cover the rub ons very well. Finally I added some diluted black paint splatters.

Panel 2: 

For this panel I chose to tear one of the A6 rice papers diagonally before adhering parts to the tops right and bottom left of the panel. Next I added some stencil detail with Blue Navy ink through the Book Stencil before edging the tag with more of the Blue Navy ink using Borders 2 stencil. I then added ephemera, doodling and a quote. 

Panel 3:

For this panel I inked the white surface softly with Cream ink before adding torn elements from the text rice paper in the A6 set. Next I added some text using Coffee ink through the Post Card Stencil before adding ephemera and a quote. I then edged the tag with some of the Coffee ink before adding my doodled lines.

Panel 4:

For this tag I used the Turquoise ink pad to add colour to the tag before adding some of the Cerulean Blue around the edges. I then spritz through a stencil and having added say too much water so it ran underneath dabbed the surface dry adding more texture from the uneven lifting of the dye based inks. Next I added some stamping with the Cerulean Blue ink and the clocks from the clocks stamp set. Having created the background I then added the ephemera  and quote. Note; if a piece of ephemera is too big for your project cut it up - the house is one piece cut asymmetrically giving me the two elements that I added to the tag. Finally I added my doodled lines. 

Panel 5:

For this tag I added I added torn strips of the text rice paper to 3 areas of the tag before inking over the whole surface with Cerulean Blue. Next I added some stencilling with the Blue Navy ink through the Music stencil before adding my chosen ephemera and word quote. I added my doodled lines and then some black splatters to finish the piece.

To complete my tags I took some paper from the Our Way paper collection and inked the edges top c-ordinate with the ink I had used on the front of the panel.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and it has given you some ideas about how to layer your different products to create varied backgrounds.