Lookin’ Good

Posted: May 20, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Above Par, Watercolour | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps | 2 Comments

To colour this little golfer I stamped first in Memento Desert Sand ink to give myself a pale outline I could easily paint over. I then picked up colour from my watercolour pencils with a waterbrush and painted the golfer, the greens and the sky. I added a few little details with a 0.05mm fine line marker before I matted the panel in green and added a sentiment.

There will be inspiration for masculine cards all week on the Penny Black blog. (Make sure you check yesterday’s post; Cathy’s Potting Shed card is superb) If you are like me you probably don’t make enough masculine cards; I really need to build up my supply. This one won’t work for me as my Dad does not play golf; my husband doesn’t either so my children won’t be needing to grab it. They can get creative themselves for Father’s Day in Canada; I have until September to create something for Father’s Day in Australia.

Supplies:

Stamps: Above Par, …Lost Without You (PB)
Inks: Memento Desert Sand,(Tsukineko) Black Soot Distress ink ( Ranger) Prismacolour Fine Line Marker
Pencils: Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils (Faber Castell)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb smooth, PB Mix & Match Spring Meadow Paper

Ten Tulips

Posted: May 18, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Promise Me, Triple Banner, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, May Arts ribbon, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 8 Comments

The Tulip Festival finishes tomorrow so I am glad I can slip one more tulip card in before the end. I worked on this one latish last night and all did not go according to plan. I stamped the tulips first on watercolour paper and they were fine. It was in the finishing off that I had problems. But I will go back to the beginning and explain my process.

I began by inking just the flower heads in Memento Dandelion and Cantaloupe using markers. I spritzed before stamping them at the top of the panel. I stamped just the tulip heads twice, one set under the other and the third time inked the stems and leaves as well. I was happy with the whole panel even the bit that is now covered by a large sentiment banner. I matted with Olive card stock and decided to attach the three strips of lace; I am still not sure if I like the lace there but I decided to stick with it. The panel is long and thin as you can see so it was difficult to work out where to put a sentiment on a 4.25×5.5 inch card base. I tried a sideways sentiment or a small sentiment beside the lace but neither looked right. Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter I stamped the sentiment on the tulips, messed it up and had to either cover the mess or crop the panel. I decided to cover it with a die cut banner and make a very narrow card so the points of the banner could go over the edge.

“Over the Edge” just happens to be the current challenge at Addicted to CAS and it’s a birthday card featuring May Flowers so I will join in at Seize the Birthday as well.

This morning we were down town having a coffee before church and I snapped these tulips in the sunshine.

Supplies:

Stamps: Promise Me, Tweet Wishes (PB)
Inks: Memento Dandelion, Cantaloupe, Bamboo Leaves & Olive Grove markers (Tsukineko)
Creative Dies: Triple Banner
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Avon Brilliant White 110lb smooth, Penny Black Olive Grove Mix & Match Papers
Also: Crochet Trim ribbon (May Arts Ribbon)

Four Tulips

Posted: May 14, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Blooming Garden, CAS, Watercolour | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 4 Comments

The tulip festival continues in Ottawa and here on my blog. I pulled out all my PB tulip stamps and have them on my desk waiting for inspiration. I can’t promise I will use them all during the festival but I will have a few more for you.

To create this little scene I stamped the tulips from the transparent set Blooming Garden twice in Memento Angel Pink. I then painted the petals with colour from a couple of watercolour pencils (listed below). I inked some of the detail lines on the stamp with a Memento Rose Bud marker and stamped over the painted petals to finish off the flower heads before painting the stems in green. I used the same green to fill in the lower background and a blue watercolour pencil for the sky. I then dabbed some pink watercolour ‘paint’ into both the green and the blue to suggest more tulips in the background.

The taped edge of the panel framed the picture which I popped up on dimensional tape over a strip of ribbon.

Supplies:

Stamps: Blooming Garden, Special Wishes (PB)
Inks: Memento Angel Pink, Northern Pine , Rose Bud marker (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth
Also: Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils True Blue 148, Pink Madder Lake, 129, Pine Green 267 (Faber-Castell)

Six Tulips

Posted: May 12, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Efflorescence, Watercolour | Tags: CAS, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 9 Comments

I am continuing with my Tulip Festival theme, an idea inspired by a regular visitor to Bits & Pieces. (Thanks, Karen) On this card I have a watery array of tulips stamped with distress stains on watercolour paper. Distress inks are designed to react with water and each other which makes them great for blending on flowers, patterns, backgrounds etc. I inked the tulips on the stamp with Victorian Velvet first then added a touch of Barn Door at the base of each bloom. I inked the buds and stems with Crushed Olive and stamped on watercolour paper. I then used a waterbrush to blend the two colours together. To frame the panel I diluted some Tumbled Glass distress stain and painted around the edges pulling the colour into the centre and diluting it further to fade it out. Finally I flicked red and green inks over the panel, attached it to the card base and added a sentiment.

I haven’t visited any of the tulip beds yet but I did drive by the canal yesterday and saw there were plenty in bloom. Are they blooming where you are?

Supplies:

Stamps: Efflorescence, Amazing (PB)
Inks: Versafine Spanish Moss (Tsukineko) Barn Door, Crushed Olive, Victorian Velvet, Tumbled Glass Distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Avon Brilliant White 110lb smooth, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper

Two Tulips

Posted: May 11, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Dainty | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 8 Comments

When I set out to make this card I had two things in mind. I wanted tulips to mark the beginning of the Tulip Festival here in Ottawa and I wanted to use the current sketch at CAS(E) this sketch. I did not plan to make it one layer at all; the sketch really looks like at least a two layer to me. I made a stencil in masking paper (removable grocery sticker paper) with the new tulip die from Penny Black. It’s called ‘Dainty’ and I can see myself reaching for it often. I stuck the mask down and painted with a waterbrush picking up colour from watercolour pencils. I did not lay down too much ‘paint’ or water; the card base is not watercolour paper so I didn’t want it to warp or soak through to the back.

My daughter came along at this point and commented on my ‘floating tulip’. It did need grounding; I just hadn’t worked out a method at that point. Anyway, I left it as I had promised to take my daughter shopping for a dress to wear to her Academic Dinner on Thursday. We arrived at the mall at 4:30 clueless that it was going to close at 5:00! First store, second dress, happy girl, thankful mother.

I came back to my card, masked and sponged a frame around it then looked for a suitable sentiment. My plan was to stamp the sentiment in green so it would double as some grass but none of my green inks matched the leaves. I was about to settle for less than the best green when the it occurred to me that a dark blue might work. It did.

And the card just happens to also work for the One Layer Simplicity challenge, Fabulous Flowers.

Supplies:

Stamps: Sweet Wishes PB)
Dies: Dainty (PB)
Inks: Memento Summer Sky, Danube Blue (Tsukineko)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils Vermillion 117, Sap Green 167 (Faber-Castell)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth

Spring is in the air at Stamp Nation

Posted: May 8, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Background Stamps, Dies | 4 Comments

I am celebrating the arrival of spring over at Stamp Nation today with their inspiration challenge.

Stamp Nation inspiration pic sneak peek

I had fun creating a bright sunny card as did several more designers .

Golden Blooms

Posted: May 6, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, One-Layer Simplicity challenge, Petal Power | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks | 19 Comments

After years of avoiding yellow and orange tones in clothes and fabrics I am really enjoying using their bright warmth in stamping these days. I especially like the combination of yellow, orange and navy. I know leaves are rarely navy but orange and navy are opposite on the colour wheel so they create a contrasting stable colour scheme. I chose three colours to participate in this week’s Less is More challenge and the layout is inspired by the CAS(E) this sketch for the week. I just realized I can link up with our current One Layer Simplicity Challenge also to use flowers on a one layer card.

I cut a curved mask to cover the lower two thirds of the card base then chose three stamps from the transparent set Petal Power. I inked the solid petal stamp with mustard seed distress stain and added spiced marmalade along the petal edges. I then inked the co-ordinating outline stamp with just spiced marmalade on the top edge and stamped over the blooms. I stamped a few leaves in chipped sapphire distress stain and added the sentiment in Memento Paris Dusk.

Supplies:

Stamps: Petal Power, Sweet Wishes (PB)
Inks: Memento Paris Dusk (Tsukineko) Chipped Sapphire, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seeds Distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb smooth

One Layer Poppy

Posted: May 3, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: One-Layer Simplicity challenge, Poppy Time, Sun Catcher | Tags: CAS, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Penny Black stencils, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks | 20 Comments

The new One Layer Simplicity Challenge is to make a card with flowers on it. There is already a gorgeous array of floral inspiration on the blog and you have until May 24th to add yours. The current Mod Squad challenge is to make a one-layer card so my poppy card meets the criteria there also.

To create this watery poppy I positioned the ‘Sun Catcher Stencil’ then painted the flower head in water. While it was very wet I added both Mustard Seed and Victorian Velvet Distress stains to the water and blended them with a paintbrush. I used the co-ordinating ‘Poppy Time’ stamp to stamp the stems, bud and seed head then used a paintbrush to immediately fill them with distress stains. By this stage the poppy head had dried a bit so I inked some of the stamp with ink to add a few veins to define the petals. I added the verses from 1 Corinthians in a mix of Memento ink and distress stain allowing some to blur and some to bleed. The piece of watercolour paper already had two ink drops on it so I carefully added a few more rather than going overboard with the flicking technique I have been using lately.

Thanks for dropping by. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Edited to add: If you are interested in an “Introduction to Stamping” class there are a few spaces left in the class I am teaching at “Crop-A-While” in Orleans on Thursday May 8th. Please click on the store link for more details and contact the store to register.

Supplies:

Stamps: Poppy Time, Love Chapter (PB)
Stencil: Sun Catcher
Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko) Vintage Photo, Mustard Seed, Victorian Velvet, Peeled Paint Distress Stains & Wild Honey, Peeled Paint Distress inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper

Backgrounds in Bloom

Posted: May 2, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Floral Tapestry, Hooray | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 11 Comments

I have made several cards with this pretty background stamp lately and there are more to come. For this one I tried something new, a technique I saw on Jennifer McGuire’s blog and in a few other places too. To begin I stamped the background stamp on watercolour paper with versamark ink then embossed with clear embossing powder. Next I applied several different distress stains taking care to blend them in some places and keep them separate in others. I then spritzed the whole panel with water and let it dry naturally. Finally I placed the panel between two pieces of printer paper and ironed all the embossing off. The effect reminds me of batik, something I did a lot of in high school. I added the “Smile” die cut in the same “Fall festival” cardstock as the mat.

Background stamps have been the feature all week on the Penny Black blog so if you are looking for inspiration pop on over.

Cheryl has set us a new challenge on the One Layer Simplicity blog which will be a delight to try. Go and take a look.

Supplies:

Stamps: Floral Tapestry (PB)
Dies: Hooray (PB)
Inks: Versamark (Tsukineko) Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Mustard Seeds Distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth , Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, PB Fall festival mix & match paper