How is this achieved?
 

I love the soft appearance of the sentiment on this card:
SC241 BVT18 by angelladcrockett - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers

I especially like how the center almost has a "glow" to it because it is lighter. How do I get this lighter center which gradually gets darker toward the outer edges? Is this usually done with ink or chalk? Thanks!

It looks like it was sponged with a light color. Just pounce a sponge(like 1/4 of a SU! Stampin' Sponge) onto your ink pad and dab lightly around the outside of your element until you achieve the desired result. It takes a little practice so that you don't blob it. Go lightly and add more as needed.

I show how to do this in the Crayon resist tutorial in the resource section.

You can get the same look by leaving the Nestabilities die over your cardstock and airbrushing copic markers over it.

Hugs and smiles

Thank you for the replies. I tried one with chalk and it worked better for me than ink. I'll keep trying!

I always use my Ink Blending Tool and Foams from Ranger. I personally can control the ink better than with a sponge alone and I can use the same ink color to edge as I used to stamp the sentiment (which helps add to the soft glow).

I use one of those jumbo sponge daubers (the purple ones you get at th craft store). I alwas sponge in circles, and you can control the pressue for lighter or darker colours. I will also start with a lighter colour all over (leaving a small white space in the centre), then move to a medium colour, which does not go quite as far into the middle, then on the very outisdes, I will sponge the darker colour.