Stencilled Tendrils

Posted: November 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, twirling tendrils stencil | Tags: , | 3 Comments

I would call this a watercolour/inkblending/stencil mashup which is probably not the catchiest name! Regardless of the name, I like the result. I used blending brushes to blend three distress inks through the beautiful ‘twirling tendrils’ stencil from AALL & Create.

Salty ocean, chipped sapphire and seedless preserves will always be up there with my all time faves so I blended them onto hot press watercolour paper through the delicate stencil. After blending I gently spritzed water over the panel so come of the ink would move into the surrounding area. In places it reminds me of the crackled lines you get with batik.

I chose the layered sentiment because it mimicked the curls of the stencilling but was bold enough to stand out over the busy pattern.

The Tulip Mix

Posted: May 12, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, Echidna Studios, tulip background, Watercolour | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

The tulip festival officially started here in Ottawa on Saturday but definitely not in my yard. There are potential blooms on a few lonely tulips but nothing looking showy or colourful yet. It doesn’t matter how many I plant, most do not shown up the following year! The tulips on today’s card are from Echidna Studios, the ‘tulip background digital stamp‘ printed on hot pressed watercolour paper.

I used a limited palette of Sennelier watercolour paints, creating a pink, an orange and a yellow from a mix of opera pink and gold ochre. The green stems and leaves were mix of greenish umber and prussian blue. I’ve been painting patterns and experiments in one of my handmade art journals so the paints were already on the table and in the palette.

To finish the design I splattered black paint, stamped an Aall & Create sentiment and ruled very fine black lines around the border with the a .01 micron pen. I hope you do have a beautiful day!

Frames in frames

Posted: March 24, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: A2 layers, AALL & Create, Additional A2 layers, Echidna Studios, gel press, grafix, snowflake digital stamp set, Waffle Flower | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

As I write this post I realise that these cards feature snowflakes when probably all you want to see is flowers! Nevertheless I see snow falling outside this morning; it’s not over yet where I live. I used snowflake masks cut from Grafix matte duralar using my cricut and the digital snowflake set from Echidna Studios.

In my mind this post is more about the layouts than the images. I have featured the frame in frames idea before as a way to feature a large patterned panel but add some extra interest as you do so. I used the Waffle Flower A2 layer dies to cut my frames and cut all three rectangles at one time taping dies to panel to plate to keep everything in place.

On one card I kept the frames parallel to each other but on the one above I offset the two centre dies for a wonky look. The print is a gel print created with a white snowflake layer then lifted with a mixed layer of blue, turquoise and red paint. I expected the mixed layer to be much bolder but I’m happy the paints blended into a muted mix. The sentiments are from the AALL & Create ‘everyday sentiments’ set.

Rustic Snowflakes

Posted: January 20, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, Echidna Studios, gel press, snowflake digital stamp set | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Another snowflake print for you because, of course I didn’t stop at one or two! There are six different snowflakes in the Echidna Studios ‘snowflake digital stamp set‘ so the gel printing possibilities are definitely endless. I created snowflake masks using the Cricut and Grafix matte duralar.

I hope to soon make a video showing my process but to put it briefly, I cover the gel plate in a layer of white paint, lay the masks on top and then remove paint using some tissue paper which lifts paint all around and within the patterned mask. I remove the masks, let the paint dry then pull the print on kraft paper with dark blue paint. The combination of white, blue and kraft is rustic and beautiful in my opinion. The quirky sentiment is another from the AALL & Create ‘everyday sentiments’ set.

I have some Australian family visiting this week so I plan to be playing with real snow not gel printed snow! Have a great week.

Totally Dotty

Posted: July 15, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, Foiled Fox store, nesting squares, Penny Black, The Foiled Fox, totally dotty stencil, Waffle Flower | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Yes, the stencil used for this card is called ‘Totally Dotty’! I mean what else would you call it? It is a large stencil from AALL & Create sent to me by the Foiled Fox so I could do totally dotty things with it. I blended inks through it for this card but I have also blended paint through it on gel prints and will no doubt use it with alcohol inks and art journals as well.

I blended wild honey, picked raspberry, salty ocean and evergreen bough distress inks through the stencil with blending brushes then, when I lifted it, blended more ink to soften the stark white background. This is a technique I’ve seen the blending wizards use.

Such a colourful background called for a contrasting sentiment so I stamped in black on white then matted in black using Waffle Flower square nesting dies. Nesting dies definitely cut down on the mistakes I make in creating very slim mats for panels. Did you see I added enamel dots; not a common embellishment for me but the water splatter just didn’t make enough impact so shiny black dots to the rescue. Make sure you pop over to the Foiled Fox blog and online store to be inspired and delighted. (Yes, there are affiliate links used in this post, no extra cost for you but a bonus to me!)

Bikes, old & new

Posted: July 11, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, city bike, Echidna Studios | Tags: , , , | 8 Comments

The green bike above is a new digital bike stamp designed by my daughter. As with many of her digital designs, she snapped a photo, then turned it into a ‘storybook style’ outline drawing. It’s called City Bike and is available in the Echidna Studios etsy store as a digital stamp (not cutting file).

I printed the bike in two sizes on hot pressed watercolour paper so I could paint it and turn it into two cards, one landscape orientation and the second, a portrait-oriented close up of the front of the bike.

I did some of the painting with Sennelier watercolour paints but I also used a silver gel pen for the spokes and rims, metallic brush markers for the blue bike and a very fine tip black marker to go over some of the little details.

I just so happen to have a new bike of my own which means bikes are on my mind. I picked it up a few days ago and it’s definitely more modern than the one of the cards. I am pretty excited; it’s been a while since I’ve had a bike of my own and I’ve never had a new one. I have to tell you the colour is ‘sea sparkle’ which made me smile, sounds like an ink pad colour!

Back to the cards – I cut both panels with WaffleFlower A2 layering dies then added an extra panel of thick cardstock underneath to lift the picture panel a bit. I added the Penny Black ‘cool one’ sentiment and the beautiful day sentiment from the AALL & Create set ‘Everyday Sentiments’. You’ll be seeing more of the AALL & Create sentiments as they are a quirky typewriter font which I love.

Are you a bike rider? Let me know what your favourite outdoor activity is. As you may have guessed this post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Click over to the Echidna Studios store to see more delightful designs like this sweet bike.

Cornflowers

Posted: June 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: AALL & Create, cornflower, Foiled Fox store, The Foiled Fox | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

I have cornflowers growing in my garden but they are still quite small seedlings so no signs of flowers at this stage. I am hoping they will bloom some time this summer. Meanwhile I’ve been stamping some, in blue of course. I had blue cornflowers in my wedding bouquet and flower crown so they are quite special to me.

I’ve teamed up with the Foiled Fox to bring you this post and it is wonderful to be collaborating with them again. The stamps featured on today’s cards are from AALL & Create; the set is called ‘Cornflower‘ and includes two flower stamps and two sentiments.

I’ve stamped the solid cornflower stamp repeatedly to create these two cards using a couple of techniques to make the flowers look different. The stem on the stamp is thin and bendable so I was able to make the flowers lean left or right and even have a wiggle in the stem! I inked the petals with both prize ribbon and salty ocean distress inks, spritzing the stamp before pressing it on the hot pressed watercolour panel so the inks blended. I also did some second generation stamping to get paler impressions of the flowers.

You might know that I love typewriter font so I was very happy to see a couple of word stamps in a slightly distressed typewriter font. I added them with versafine clair nocturne ink because it is such a crisp reliable ink. Thanks for dropping in; I hope you will go and check out the wealth of inspiration on the Foiled Fox blog and have a browse around their lovely online store while you’re there. (Naturally this post includes affiliate links, feel free to use them.)