The best cards are the ones that come with an unexpected surprise. For this card, I actually had planned to just feature a technique using the sponge daubers. Clearly, I got a tad carried away.

The card base is Crumb Cake cardstock, and the inner window is from the nested dies. The bird is stamped and colored with blends.
To make the realistic brick look, I first used the bricks 3D embossing folder. Then, I dabbed the sponge dauber onto my Merry Merlot ink pad.
There are two key tips to keep in mind with this technique:
#1 – After inking, tap a couple of times onto scrap paper (or your grid paper) to remove any excess or uneven ink.
#2 – The dauber is used in a brushing motion the length of the card. This way the ink darkens the edges of the bricks the most. If you touch the paper then make a brushing motion, you end up with dark circles of ink that will make the entire brick the same color (instead of just the edges).

This same technique can be used with just about any ink (even metallics)!

August 1-15 Host Code: BFZ3UTBG
Happy crafting!
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