Let Green March In!
Posted: March 14, 2016 Filed under: CAS, Nature's Paintbrushes, One-Layer Simplicity challenge | Tags: color burst, One-Layer cards, Penny Black stamps 11 Comments
The One Layer Simplicity challenge is hosted by our very artistic team member Karen Dunbrook this month and she has challenged us to use green and one neutral tone on our one layer cards. I have a few of the new liquid metals from Ken Oliver so I thought I would try out the Verdi Gris along with some green colour burst powder.
I taped a wide margin on my watercolour paper card base, sprinkled green powder over the exposed area and spritzed with water. Once the colour was moving I added some of the verdi gris liquid metal mixed with some water. You cannot see the shimmer in my photo but it is pretty in real life. Once the panel had dried a little I splattered some water droplets which lightened the colour in a few spots. To finish it off I added the large ‘Nature’s Paintbrushes’ stamp and a sentiment in black. Making a one layer watercolour card can result in a buckled card base but ironing it fixes the problem and dries it at the same time if you happen to be a little impatient.
If you haven’t checked out this month’s challenge take a look and get inspired. It is fun to see all the different greens already featured in the submissions received.
Supplies:
Stamps: Nature’s Paintbrushes, Sentiment Collection(PB)
Mediums: Colorburst powders, Liquid Metal (Ken Oliver) Versafine Onyx Black ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Cold pressed Fabriano watercolour paper
Well Done
Posted: March 10, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink 9 Comments
I am flitting back and forth between poppies and alcohol inks at present; I hope you don’t mind. Jane Clempson is continuing to create inspiring alcohol ink projects over on her blog so I have a list of techniques yet to try.
This one started out the same way many of my panels have with me dropping three colours randomly over the whole surface of the yupo paper. Once the colours settled and stopped jostling each other I started dropping blending solution here, there and everywhere. It made some pretty patterns but nothing I hadn’t tried before so I switched to splattering blending fluid over the panel with an old paintbrush. The droplets were smaller and more numerous and achieved the bubbly look you see here.
I was inspired to position my sentiment front and centre after seeing this card by Jane. I die cut the sentiment from both the patterned panel and a piece of pink fun foam (both with stick-it adhesive on the back) so I could position the fun foam in the space left by the die cut and then the inked die cut back on top of the fun foam. Looks simple described in print but in reality it drove me crazy working those fiddly little words into the fiddly little spaces with a fiddly little pair of tweezers! Cute effect though, don’t you think?
Supplies:
Dies: Well Done (PB)
Alcohol Ink: Stonewashed, Raspberry, Raisin & alcohol blending solution (Ranger)
Paper: Yupo, Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock, Pink cardstock
Also: stick it adhesive, fun foam
Poppy Gems 3
Posted: March 9, 2016 Filed under: Poppy Gems | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Speedball elegant writer 10 Comments
This is the third of my Poppy Gems cards; each design has been a little ‘cleaner’ than the last. The main difference on today’s card is the clean white background behind the orange blooms. I have stuck with the same layout each time which incorporates almost the whole large stamp. I think there is scope to mix it up for my next Poppy Gems offering.
I stamped the whole image in Vintage photo distress ink which blends really easily with water or stains giving a slightly brown tone to all the added colour. I used the stains listed below to paint the flowers and leaves and added some elegant writer pen in the flower centres and on the veins of the leaves. Once again I added water to the elegant writer to get it to bleed and add some extra tones to the images.
Supplies:
Stamps: Poppy gems, Special Thoughts (PB)
Inks: Versafine Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko) Vintage photo distress ink, Ripe persimmon, Mowed Lawn, Mustard seed and Vintage photo distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstock
You Rock
Posted: March 8, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink 7 Comments
Oh these alcohol inks are so much fun! During an experimental session the other day I discovered I could blend over the top of a panel I did not like with blending solution which would not remove all the colour but would make it a soft blended background on which I could start a new design. The possibilities are seemingly endless.
This panel was done in two steps. I began by dropping two blues and a red on the yupo paper to create large circles. When the big circles had stopped mingling I used a Q-tip and some blending solution to add little circles over the top of it all. The finished effect reminds me of bokeh.
Although they might look black, the die cut sentiment and the mat are actually navy blue and the sentiment is embossed in clear powder to give it a glossy finish. I wouldn’t say I have settled on a favourite but I am liking these blues.
Supplies:
Dies: Well Done (PB)
Alcohol Ink: Denim, Stonewashed, Poppyfield, alcohol blending solution (Ranger)
Paper: Yupo, Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock, Neenah patriot blue 100lb cardstock
Standing Ovation
Posted: March 7, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Standing Ovation | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink 13 Comments
More alcohol ink fun to share today. The technique is similar to the one I shared last week but I mixed up the order a little on this one. You can see I have some pale colours in the background and bolder green circles in the foreground. I created the muted background first but putting a few drops of yellow and rust coloured alcohol ink on a felt applicator then dotting it all over the yupo panel. I then dropped the green ink to make larger circles; the green has a brown aura which matched nicely with my background. Once the green had stopped expanding I put some blending solution on a felt applicator and applied it all over the panel. The blending solution muted the background and created the cool blobby patterns on the green circles (you know, the ones that look like cells under a microscope!)
At this point I thought it looked a bit like a mass of flowers in a garden so I used the new ‘Standing Ovation’ stamp to add black silhouette images to the foreground. I matted in black and added a little sentiment on the white card base.
Supplies:
Stamps: Standing Ovation, Snippets (PB)
Inks: Archival jet black ink (Ranger) Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Alcohol Ink: Rust, Willow, Honeycomb, alcohol blending solution (Ranger)
Paper: Yupo, Neenah Avon Brilliant White 110lb cardstock, Neenah epic black 100lb cardstock
Poppy Gems 2
Posted: March 4, 2016 Filed under: gift card pocket, Poppy Gems | Tags: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolor paints, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 20 Comments
The Poppy Gems return today but in a more traditional colour scheme than last week’s card. I stamped with liquid watercolour paint on this panel, a technique not unlike what I often do with the distress stains. I used a paintbrush to apply the paint to the stamp then, after stamping, used water to blend the colour into the petals and leaves. In the centres and shadows on the flowers I layered colour to increase the intensity. The paints are Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolours which dry permanent. This feature was helpful when I decided to add a background weeks after completing the flowers. There was no chance I would make the pinks and greens bleed into the sky when I added blue with a watercolour pencil and waterbrush.
The little tag is a cut with the new die from Penny Black, ‘gift card pocket’ which comes with so much more than just the pocket die.
Thank you for dropping by today; I will be back soon with more alcohol ink adventure as well as another couple of cards made with the ‘Poppy Gems’ stamp. I hope you have a great weekend.
Supplies:
Stamps: Poppy gems, Perfect Pairing (PB)
Dies: gift card pocket (PB)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Ranger)
Pencil: Albrecht Durer watercolour pencil sky blue 147(Faber-Castell)
Paints: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus Liquid Watercolours – Set 1
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, pink cardstock
Also: linen thread
Under the microscope
Posted: March 3, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Flower Festival, Sunny Wishes | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Yupo Paper 12 Comments
I have a new medium to play with and it is so much fun! I have been impressed by alcohol ink projects in the past but Jane Clempson has recently posted a wealth of wonderful inspiration on her blog so last time I was at Crop A While I picked up a few colours to get me started. Oh dear, Jane, I may need all the colours!
I created this pattern with two blues and a yellow then had fun adding all the little blots with blending solution. Once it was finished it looked a little like a microscope slide of a rare tropical disease! Add the dragonflies and I am wondering whether flies and disease is really something I want to feature on a card?? What do you think; does it say pretty patterns or tropical disease to you?
Microscopes aside, I like the colour mix, the pattern of blurry blots and just watching the magic happen. I have half a dozen more ‘experiments’ waiting to be turned into cards so stay tuned for more dots, blots, squirts and squiggles.
Supplies:
Stamps: Sunny Wishes, Flower Festival, Special Wishes (PB)
Inks: Archival jet black ink(Ranger)
Alcohol Ink: Denim, Stonewashed, Honeycomb, alcohol blending solution (Ranger)
Paper: Yupo, Neenah Avon Brilliant White 110lb cardstock, yellow cardstock
Orange Iris
Posted: March 1, 2016 Filed under: Passionate | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps 10 Comments
This is the third colour scheme I have chosen to stamp the irises and there may yet be more! Don’t be mad but I didn’t write down my colours and my desk is covered in stuff so your guess is as good as mine. I have been doing a better job recording my supplies by snapping a photo of the panel beside the supplies at the time of creating. Apparently I did not do that this time. What I can tell you is that I splattered some water on the panel first then stamped in watersoluble die inks; this creates some soft blurry patches here and there. I blended a few areas with a paint brush and added some finer details and splatters with watercolour pencils. I embossed a sentiment on brown card and popped it up over the panel matted in the same colour.
I just did a search of ‘iris’ on the interwebs and it came up covered in the relatively common purply-blue variety but there were also a few other colour combinations I might just have to try and replicate. There was one deep apricot one with blue accents and a burgandy one and a peach one and … this is going to be a busy stamp!
(BTW This pretty stamp is called ‘passionate’ and it is a brushstroke stamp. I just updated my classes page with details of my upcoming ‘Working with Brushstroke stamps’ class. I will be teaching it twice at the Riverside Drive location and twice at Crop A While scrapbooking store in Orleans.)
Supplies:
Stamps: Passionate, Snippets (PB)
Inks: A pretty orange ink and an olivey green ink
Pencils: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstock
Elegance
Posted: February 29, 2016 Filed under: CAS, Elegance | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks 11 Comments
Elegance is the perfect name for this new stamp featuring a bunch of calla lilies. I think I had some in my garden once but apparently you need to dig them up each year and replant them?? That was just not going to happen I’m afraid, no matter how elegant they might be. I have quite a few day lilies that come up year after year and multiply with no attention from me so I have just stuck with them!
I stamped in weathered wood stain because I wanted to keep the lilies looking white; ink would have worked just as well but I only had stain. I used my watercolour pencils to colour the flowers and background (colours listed below). I found a scrap of exactly the right blue card to frame the panel and matched it with versafine ink for the sentiment.
I must admit I am taken by surprise that Easter is less than a month away; 2016 is flying by!
Supplies:
Stamps: Elegance, A very happy easter (PB)
Inks: Weathered Wood distress stain(Ranger) Blue Lagoon versafine ink (Tsukineko)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils sap green 167, apple green 170, lemon cadmium 105, light orange 113, light grey 195, medium grey 197, night green 155 for background (Faber-Castell)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, blue cardstock
Poppy gems 1
Posted: February 27, 2016 Filed under: Flourish and butterflies, gift card pocket, Poppy Gems | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Speedball elegant writer 28 Comments
Over the next week or so you are likely to see the new ‘Poppy gems’ stamp a few times. I have already stamped it in four different colour schemes and varied the mediums and styles. This one is by far the ‘busiest’ and is quite the contrast to the clean and simple stamping I have been sharing lately.
I created this earth toned panel initially with just brown and black but after doing most of the blending with water I decided to add a bit of red to the petals over the brown. I stamped with distress stain and pulled it into the petals and leaves with a paint brush. I added black with the elegant writer pen which bleeds pink and green tones when wet. I decided to add the text details after the flowers were finished keeping it loose and watery with the addition of water to both the stamp and panel. I stamped the text upside down the first time so I had to make it blurred so my error would not be less noticeable!
I die cut a few flourishes with the new ‘flourish and butterflies’ die and attached them to the base for a tone on tone detail; you can just make it out in the photo below. The sentiment is stamped on a tag from the new ‘ gift card pocket’ die.
Thanks for dropping by; I hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend.
Supplies:
Stamps: Poppy gems, footnotes, snippets (PB)
Dies: flourish & butterflies, gift card pocket
Inks: festive berries, mustard seed, vintage photo distress stains & ink (Ranger) black elegant writer pen (Speedball)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstock
Heather Telford 