Effulgence note
Posted: February 7, 2017 Filed under: Color Burst, Effulgence | Tags: color burst, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders 13 CommentsWhen I was making my pink and gold love card last week I had two panels on the go. I created both using the emboss resist method along with colorburst powders. I didn’t do too much blending on this one so the patterns the powders made after I’d spritzed them remain, especially on the left hand side of the panel.
I embossed the ‘Effulgence’ stamp on hot pressed watercolour paper in clear powder then sprinkled ultramarine and violet colorburst powders over the panel. I spritzed the panel from above and watched the colour move before adding any more powder or water.
I wanted the area around the flowers to be completely covered in paint so I blended some areas with a paintbrush. Around the edges I left it abstract. The panel was very tall and thin so I ended up with a tall thin card finished with a sentiment popped up over the flower stems.
Supplies:
Stamps: effulgence, sentiment collection (PB)
Paint: violet & ultramarine Colorburst watercolor powder (Ken Oliver)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper
Ink: versamark (tsukineko)
Also: clear embossing powder
Stillness
Posted: February 2, 2017 Filed under: Stamped Landscapes, Winter Ledge | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks, WOW embossing powders 12 CommentsAfter a week of balmy temperatures hovering around zero, we are back to real winter weather again and bright scenes like this one. Winter here is often prettiest when it’s the coldest.
I stamped and embossed this scene using ‘winter ledge’ and a stamp positioner so I could get the thin layer of snow on the branches. The trick to this is to stamp first in versamark then move the cardstock up ever so slightly then stamp in pigment ink, in this case versafine onyx black. Once the panel is stamped twice you can emboss both images at once. The embossing resists ink once you sponge or paint over the top. I sponged this scene in memento Danube blue ink creating snowy hills behind the branches with post-it note masks.

I hesitate to say that I hope you are all staying warm as I know our family in Australia have been wishing for a little respite from the heat. I hope you are enjoying the weather, whatever the weather, whether you like it or not!
Supplies
Stamps: winter ledge, snippets (PB)
Inks: versamark, versafine onyx black, memento danube blue (Tsukineko)
Papers: Neenah solar white
Also: clear embossing powder
Lovely Neighbourhood
Posted: February 1, 2017 Filed under: Color Burst, Neighborhood love | Tags: color burst, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 2 CommentsThese cute little dies are part of a set called Neighborhood love; I love the little house and building dies Penny Black has brought out even though they challenge my fear of the fiddly factor. I started this card by positioning a frisket film circle mask on a piece of watercolour paper. I sprinkled ultramarine blue powder and a tiny bit of merlot over the panel and spritzed it lightly from above. I spritzed only until I could see some patterns appearing but stopped before all the spots of colour started joining together. I used a heat tool to dry it, pointing the tool down at the panel not from the side to reduce the chance of the wet paint moving across the panel. It reminds me of a mosaic.
I painted another small piece of watercolour paper with merlot colorburst powder then die cut the buildings from the piece and attached them across the bottom of the panel.
I removed the mask then wanted to hand letter a sentiment inside the moon; I ended up not being game and chose this sweet sentiment from the ‘forever & always’ set.
Supplies:
Stamps: Forever & Always (PB)
Die: Neighborhood Love (PB)
Paints: Merlot & Ultramarine Blue Colorburst powders (Ken Oliver)
Inks: Versafine onyx black ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah epic black cardstock
Also: Grafix frisket film
Gold love
Posted: January 31, 2017 Filed under: Color Burst, Effulgence, Guest design | Tags: color burst, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders 12 CommentsI’m thrilled to be a guest on The Foiled Fox blog today. If you have never visited The Foiled Fox you absolutely should; their blog is full of delightful projects and their shop is stocked with all the good stuff, paints, inks, stamps, markers, tools…and so much more. To find out more about this card just pop over to The Foiled Fox where there are some more pics and details.
Supplies:
Stamps: effulgence, all about love(PB)
Paint: Merlot & Tangerine Colorburst watercolor powder (Ken Oliver)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, gold shimmer
Ink: versamark (tsukineko)
Also: gold embossing powder
Elephant congrats
Posted: January 30, 2017 Filed under: African Trees, CAS, Tribal | Tags: CAS, Darkroom Door stamps, Ranger Distress inks 8 Comments
With fond memories of the One Layer Simplicity challenge I decided to make a one layer card for the current Case This Sketch challenge.

I masked my card base and stamped the ‘tribal’ stamp from Darkroom Door in distress inks. I stamped one colour after another just inking part of the pattern each time. With the mask still in place I sponged over the stamping in the colours listed below. Next I repositioned my first mask and added a second mask to reveal a thin strip of cardbase above the pattern then sponged with fired brick distress ink. To complete the design I stamped an elephant and a sentiment in fired brick ink.

Some goals are reached with much elephant-like plodding rather than the speed of a gazelle!
Supplies:
Stamps: All Occasions, Tribal, African Trees (Darkroom Door)
Inks: Distress wild honey, spiced marmalade, fired brick, vintage photo inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: neenah natural white cardstock
Stencilled breeze
Posted: January 27, 2017 Filed under: Brusho, CAS, Fresh Breeze | Tags: Brusho, CAS, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 7 CommentsEarlier this week I posted a card made out of a leftover, the negative print from a stencil used for watercolouring. Today’s card is a positive print made through a stencil (not using the same stencil as the earlier card). I created the stencil for this card myself by die-cutting the shape from a piece of stencil plastic. You could use an old plastic folder as long as it is not too thick for your die cutting machine to handle. The die I used is ‘fresh breeze‘ from Penny Black. I taped my home made stencil to a piece of cold pressed watercolour paper and spread moulding paste over it, keeping the layer fairly thin with a palette knife. Next I sprinkled yellow and green brusho powder over the stencil then spritzed with water to activate the brusho. Too much water and it seeps under the stencil, not enough and the brusho doesn’t activate. Once the brusho appeared a little blurry I removed the stencil and let the panel dry for quite some time.
I chose the angled rectangle layout and messed it up by attaching the panel upside down on my card base. I had to cut it out of the cardbase and attach it to a new one so it is a tad bulky under the stencilled panel! I matted in green and trimmed off the top of the die cut word so it would appear to be attached to the mat. I inked just two words on a sentiment stamp so I could turn it into a phrase.
I’m going to add this one over at the Sweet Stampin’ Dies and Punches challenge. Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies:
Stamps: Heartfelt (PB)
Die: Fresh Breeze , OMG (PB)
Inks: Cottage ivy memento (Tsukineko)
Paint: Brusho (Colourcraft)
Paper: Canson 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper, green cardstock
Also: moulding paste
Stencil negative
Posted: January 24, 2017 Filed under: Brusho, Promenade, Uncategorized | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black stamps, Penny Black stencils 14 Comments
The technique I have to share today is one of those ‘don’t waste all that pretty paint’ techniques. Sometimes I will be creating something and paint or ink ends up all over a mat, stamp or in this case, a stencil after the initial project is completed. Rather than simply rinse the ink or paint off it is usually worth taking a print or swiping a piece of paper through the excess paint to pick up all the pretty.

I was creating panels using the Penny Black stencil, promenade, along with molding paste and brusho paint. Once I had finished sprinkling brusho over the stencil and paste, I spritzed with water before removing the stencil. The stencil was covered in diluted brusho so I pressed it onto a piece of cold pressed watercolour paper and this patterned piece was the result. Incidentally I also made two cards with the stencilled shape on them but they did not photograph well at all. They look fine in real life!

I like the ‘negative’ print from the stencil enough that I might just create a negative print as a technique on its own. But then would I end up with a pretty ‘positive print’ as a by product of my creating!?!
This post was brought to you from my ‘pile of possibilities‘.
Supplies:
Stamps: Amazing (PB)
Stencils: Promenade (PB)
Inks: Versamark(Tsukineko)
Paint: Brusho (Colourcraft)
Paper: Canson 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper, Neenah epic black
Also: white embossing powder
African Trees 2 Ways
Posted: January 23, 2017 Filed under: African Trees, Darkroom Door | Tags: Darkroom Door stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 14 CommentsI have something new to share with you today, some stamps from my homeland! No, not Africa, Australia. The images are of African trees but the stamps themselves are from Darkroom Door in Australia. I have recently added Darkroom Door designs to my teaching schedule so I will also be sharing some projects here on the blog. My first class with Darkroom Door stamps is in February; it features these trees and you can find it on my Upcoming Classes page.
I decided to make two cards of similar design but with different techniques. On the one above I painted a distress stain background to create a graduated wash then stamped the trees in distress inks. I did first and second generation stamping to get some paler more distant trees. I stamped and spritzed the darker foreground trees then painted grass at the base.
The second card doesn’t include any watercolouring. I began by brayering a pale green sky, dark at the bottom and pale at the top. I used first and second generation stamping again to add background trees then sponged some ground at the base and stamped darker trees followed by even darker ground. I like the misty feel of this one; I haven’t been to the African plains but I think maybe they look a bit like this in the early morning or perhaps when its very dry and dust is in the air.
Supplies:
Stamps: African Trees (Darkroom Door)
Inks: Memento new sprout, bamboo leaves, olive grove (Tsukineko) & Distress peeled paint, forest moss stains and inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah natural white cardstock, co-ordinating green cardstock































