The Tulip Mix

Posted: May 12, 2025 | Author: Heather | Filed under: AALL & Create, Echidna Studios, tulip background, Watercolour | Tags: AALL & Create, Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, sennelier watercolours | 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: Heather | Filed under: A2 layers, AALL & Create, Additional A2 layers, Echidna Studios, gel press, grafix, snowflake digital stamp set, Waffle Flower | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, gel press, Waffle Flower dies | 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: Heather | Filed under: AALL & Create, Echidna Studios, gel press, snowflake digital stamp set | Tags: AALL & Create, Echidna Studios, gel press, gel printing | 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.

Snow on snow on snow

Posted: January 13, 2025 | Author: Heather | Filed under: cricut, Echidna Studios, gel press, grafix, My Favorite Things, snowflake digital stamp set | Tags: cricut, Echidna Studios, gel press, gel printing, grafix | 6 Comments

Today’s cards were gel printed using snowflake masks I cut on the cricut using the Snowflake Digital Stamp Set from Echidna Studios. I love how detailed these snowflakes are; there are six in the set and I have printed them, foiled them, cut them and now gel printed with them.

I remember when I first saw the six pointed detail of a snowflake that had landed on me. It is not always possible but occasionally the flakes are very distinct and separate instead of in clumps and I am always amazed by their beauty.

I cut my stencils from Grafix matte dura-lar as it is semi-transparent and light weight. On the panel above I made a pale print with blue and white then, after it had dried created a dark print on the plate which I pulled on the same paper but with a transparent medium (either transparent white paint or more likely matte medium). The little sentiment is from AALL & Create ‘everyday sentiments’ set.

On this second card I used a pale blue paint which didn’t give me a very bold print but pulling it with gold paint created a soft shimmery effect.

Always looking for the matchy-matchy, I found a scrap of cardstock in the same blue tone and cut a mat and sentiment using MFT little lowercase letter dies.

Black Christmas Tags

Posted: December 12, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Baubles, Christmas filigree, Christmas stockings digital stamp set, Echidna Studios, grafix, mittens | Tags: Echidna Studios, grafix, grafix craft plastic | 2 Comments

Last year I decorated some black glass balls for Christmas using a selection of paint pens and metallic brush pens. The opaque colours really pop on black so I decided to do something similar on black craft plastic from Grafix. You can see my process in the video below.

I cut the four different shapes on the cricut using digital cutting files from Echidna Studios (bell, mitten, stocking and bauble) The paint pens were all Posca and the metallic brush pens a brand I found on Amazon.

The dura-bright black (black craft plastic) from Grafix is a good surface for paint pens. It is very smooth and I found writing and drawing on it is very relaxing.

You might not think of black as a Christmas colour but the shine of the metallics and the chalkboard pop of the white is quite fun.

Gingerbread Set

Posted: December 10, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: cricut, Echidna Studios, gingerbread set | Tags: cricut, Echidna Studios, Ranger Distress inks | 3 Comments

So far I have baked two batches of gingerbread for eating and cut one cardstock batch for card-making! The gingerbread set is a digital stamp and cut-file set from Echidna Studios and I have had a delightful time baking/making these samples.

I used the cricut to cut all the gingerbread shapes from a light brown cardstock which wasn’t gingerbread coloured. It was just for a test run. As it turned out when I blended rusty hinge distress ink over most of the cookies and vintage photo over just the edges the colour was very much like my real gingerbread!

I cut all the ‘icing bits’ on the cricut from white cardstock. I added double sided adhesive to the back before cutting so I wouldn’t have to use liquid glue for all that icing!

I don’t need nine gingerbread themed cards right now so I arranged eight of the cookies on cute check patterned paper for a photo and made the gingerbread man into a card.

I glued two more gingerbread men to the back of the decorated one for more dimension and added him to my card. The festive striped paper is from Simple Stories ‘Simple Vintage Yuletide’ paper pad. To tone down the vibrancy a bit I layered a piece of vellum on top cut with scallop scissors which I still have from long ago. The sentiment is from the PB ‘holiday snippets’ set.

I might make a few more cards or perhaps use some of the ‘cookies’ as gift tags. For now I just think they look very cute on that check paper.

Bethlehem Mask

Posted: December 4, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Bethlehem skyline, Echidna Studios, Finetec paints, gel press, gelli plate | Tags: Echidna Studios, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, gel press, gel printing | 4 Comments

It’s been quite a while since the gel plates have been out of their tins but I was able to do a few prints recently to turn into Christmas cards. I cut a stencil using the Bethlehem Skyline digital cut file from Echidna Studios. To create the scene above I gel printed a blended grey, copper and blue panel. Next I brayered black onto the plate then lay the Bethlehem mask (cut on the Cricut) on the black before pressing the three coloured panel down on the plate. Once I had put the card together I splattered bronze watercolour paint in the sky as stars.

The panel below is less distinct as I pressed the mask into a layer of Paynes grey paint on the gel plate, removed all paint around the mask then lifted it to reveal a shadowy Bethlehem. Once it was dry I brayered blue and gold paints over the top before pulling the print. Once again I added metallic paint splatter to sky, this time lunar silver.

In a similar style to the carol and stencil cards I shared last week I used the Bethlehem mask cut from Matte Dura-lar to blend a scene on two carol panels cut from vintage carol books.

I blended pale peony over the top edge of the mask then switched to seedless preserves, then to chipped sapphire at the top of the panel. To add depth to the buildings I lifted the mask and positioned it below the first silhouette blended with either pink or grey ink

Once again no need for sentiments on the front but I will stamp a message inside.

To see more cards made with this digital set click here. The set includes two versions of the silhouette plus a outline image for printing. Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Red Vintage Truck

Posted: November 29, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Coloured pencil, Vintage Truck | Tags: Echidna Studios, Faber-Castell Polychromos Colour Pencil | 7 Comments

I’m just a wee bit excited about this lovely truck. As you might have guessed, it is one of my daughter’s digital designs and is available as a digital stamp from Echidna Studios to print any size you like. She took a photo of a vintage truck one day and this design is inspired by that truck. It wasn’t in winter and it didn’t have a tree in the back but she added the tree as an optional addition! The digital stamp is called Vintage Truck + Bonus Christmas Tree!

I haven’t done any pencil colouring but I thought it would pop on kraft paper so I printed it on my laser printer. I used Polychromos pencils to colour it and added the snow at the end with a white gel pen

The kraft paper is a thick paper which I bought on Amazon; I like the warmth of the colour. Some kraft papers are a bit more grey. The card is 7″x5″ which is unusual for me but I found an envelope that works. I think I might do more of a burgandy coloured truck next. My daughter did blue on her samples so check them out on the Echidna Studios instagram account. (We’d love you to follow us there and on Pinterest if you’d like to.)

Vintage Stockings

Posted: November 26, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Christmas stockings digital stamp set, cricut, Echidna Studios, Gina K, holiday flora embossing folder, mittens | Tags: christmas, crafting, crafts, cricut, diy, Echidna Studios, Penny Black creative dies | 4 Comments

I have more vintage papers on display in today’s cards. These stockings are examples from my recent Bookish Christmas card class where we used book pages from carol books, dictionaries, recipe books and more to add a vintage charm to our cards.

I collaged the vintage papers together then cut stockings from the collaged panels using my Cricut and the Christmas Stocking digital cutting file from Echidna Studios. I love the shape of this stocking my daughter designed; I think I mentioned last year, it makes me think of Narnia with that curly toe!

The cutting file includes a cuff for the stocking so I cut them from shimmer cardstock then added all sorts of foliage cut with Penny Black dies.

I hope you’re not tired of the mittens that I bombarded you with last week but as you see I also cut some from the collaged vintage papers and added some foliage, gold buttons and bakers twine.

I’ve been using a lot of embossed backgrounds in my Christmas cards this year. There are so many pretty ones including the Gina K ‘holiday flora’ one shown below and the Stampin up ‘exposed brick’ and ‘timber’ shown behind the stockings at the beginning of this post.

Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Cozy Knitted Mittens

Posted: November 22, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: cricut, Echidna Studios, mittens, my designs | Tags: cricut, Echidna Studios, Penny Black stamps | 1 Comment

More mittens! To see mini mittens click over to yesterday’s post. I cut the mittens for today’s cards using the ‘Mittens’ digital stamp & cut-file set I designed for Echidna Studios etsy store. It’s the same set I featured yesterday but with a digital file I can cut whatever size I like. The large mitt is 4″ long and the two green mitts are 3″ long.

I cut them all from Neenah natural white cardstock along with some buttons. I cut the cuff and Charlie Brown style zig-zag from burgandy cardstock.

To get the knitted look I stamped the mitts in antique linen distress ink using the Darkroom Door ‘knitting’ background stamp and the cuff and zig-zag in aged mahogany ink. For some depth I blended ink around the edges.

The little buttons continue to delight me so I embossed them with clear embossing powder then coloured some thread with distress markers and threaded it through the little holes.

I found Christmas patterned paper from a Graphic45 pad and cut frames using the Waffle flower A2 layer dies. For the green cuffs and snowflakes on the pair of mitts below I used some textured polka dotted cardstock along with an embossed dotted background.