Distressed Stencil Backgrounds

Hi everyone!  It's been far too long since I've posted but I'm glad to be back!  Today I have two cards that I made using my Poppystamps Quiet Bird Sash die and a distressed stencil background.   The sash dies by Poppystamps are very unique because the ends are open and do not cut.  Because they do not cut at the ends, you can do custom apertures using any shape dies you have.  For the card above, I used the sash die with a square shape die.  For the card below, I die cut the sash and then used an oval die.  All you have to do is slip the shape die behind the cut sash die like so...

For my background, I used a stenciling technique with Distress Inks and baby wipes.  First I blended two types of ink colors onto watercolor paper (do not use cardstock for this technique).  For this technique to work well, blend lots of ink onto the paper.  Then I laid the stencil over the panel and gently rubbed over the paper with a baby wipe.  You do not need to use a lot of pressure, the watercolor paper responds quickly to the baby wipe and the color starts to come off.  You can take off as much or as little ink as you wish.  I did a version in green/blue with my Memory Box Garden Birch Trees stencil...

and a yellow/coral version with my Memory Box Texture Splatter stencil.  

The final step is to add the window panel over the background with foam tape.  Here's the finished card using the yellow/coral background.

That's it for me today!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a Happy 4th of July to all my friends in the States!