Shimmery Foliage

Posted: October 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Airy, Dies, Finetec paints, Leaflets, Leaves, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Recently a friend and I got together and worked on wreath style wedding cards. Mine is featured further down in this post. After my friend left I used some of the die-cut foliage leftovers to make her a birthday card. You can see a few matte green leafy branches plus more cut from gold, bronze and reddish shimmer cardstock. I arranged it all either side of a stamped and embossed banner. This sort of a card takes a while to arrange in a balanced way so once I had it looking good I took a photo so I would be able to glue it all down again in the same way.

All the die-cutting was done with Penny Black foliage dies from a variety of sets. The curly twirly birthday sentiment is from the Taylored Expressions set, ‘In & Out Birthday’ embossed in gold powder

To make the wreath card I began by stamping a rough circle using gold watercolour paint on a jar lid. It was the lid of the lentil jar so yes, I had to wash it carefully before it was returned to the jar.

I arranged die-cut foliage around the gold circle not with perfect symmetry but I aimed for balance.

I cut the A, & and L on the cricut using the Linux Libertine Display G font. Both cards were made on cold pressed watercolour paper which has a nice creamy colour and soft texture.

A New Handmade Book

Posted: February 7, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Finetec paints, Hand painted, Handmade book, sennelier watercolours | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

I’ve completed another challenge with Ali Manning in her Handmade Book Club. I have written before about Ali’s wonderful teaching. The most recent class was no exception. It was called ‘Valentine Palooza’ as a nod to the February timing and the cute heart binding on the spine of the book. The Handmade Book Club offers some free classes, some short challenges open to non-members (I have now done four of these) and a monthly or yearly membership ( something I would like to join at some point).

For this most recent challenge I chose to use cold pressed watercolour paper for the cover and hot pressed watercolour paper for the signatures. I watercoloured the cover in a loose abstract style over the top of some masking fluid words and squiggles. As I write this I realise I didn’t take any photos of the inside cover. Both the back and front covers fold over to make the cover more sturdy so my watercolour patterns continue inside.

This cover was inspired by Tiffany Sharpe’s lovely stitched and watercoloured cover. I made my book 7″x7″ which was different to the rectangular examples in the workshop but all the steps are the same once you work out your dimensions. I have now made three 7×7 watercolour journals and like the page size for art journalling.

I’m playing with watercolour techniques a lot at present in preparation for my upcoming in person class on Watercolour Techniques. You will see some of the technique samples turned into cards eventually and some will be the base for future journal pages. You can see the other books I have made here: Mixed Media Journal, Coptic Journal, a second Coptic Journal, and Scrappy Journal.

Bethlehem Mask

Posted: December 4, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Bethlehem skyline, Echidna Studios, Finetec paints, gel press, gelli plate | Tags: , , , | 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.

2 for 1 with Delicate Pines

Posted: November 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: delicate pines, Finetec paints, Penny Black | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Although I don’t tend to make exactly the same card in large numbers I do like a quick and simple way to make a few similar cards at the same time. To create these pine needle cards I started with a watercolour panel larger than an A4 card. It was about 5¾” x 6″ and I placed it in the stamp positioner with the long side tucked right against the long side of the positioner.

Using the two of the three Penny Black ‘delicate pines‘ stamps positioned to stamp along the top edge of the panel I inked them with a few green and blue distress inks. Before stamping I spritzed the stamp lightly so the different greens would blend on the stamp and then on the paper. I then moved the stamps around so I could use the third stamp and get some overlapping branches. Without moving the stamps I turned the watercolour panel 180° and repeated the stamping steps. The panel ended up with a border of pine branches on each side. I cut the panel in half and trimmed the sides so I had two 5½” x 3″ panels to add to card bases.

I finished off both panels with a sentiment from the PB ‘jolly snippets‘ set and some green and gold splatter. Simple yet pretty. 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.

Pink Majesty

Posted: November 4, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Finetec paints, Penny Black, Scarlet Majesty, Stampin Up, subtle | Tags: , , , , , | 10 Comments

Today’s cards feature the beautiful Penny Black stamp, ‘scarlet majesty‘ but as the title suggests, I have chosen pinks over scarlet for the ink colours. I worked on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper in my stamp positioner.

I inked most of the petals with a pink ink then added darker ink with more of a burgandy such as aged mahogany. I use a mix of small cube ink pads and markers to ink the stamp. The leaves were inked with peeled paint and the berries a purply blue such as chipped sapphire. Before stamping I spritz the stamp so the inks can move a little. I stamp the first impression then decide whether more ink is needed, more water or often some blending with a paintbrush and water.

I don’t remember fiddling much with this panel as I liked the watery blends and the paler veins showing through here and there. I painted the centre of the poinsettia with gold finetec paint and of course added some splatter.

The sentiment is from PB ‘jolly snippets‘ and the texture from the retired SU ‘subtle’ embossing folder.

I used the same technique on this second card but used darker inks for leaves, petals and berries. My guess is aged mahogany, forest moss and a dark brown which was possibly made by mixing the first two. (I don’t always take note of my ink colours)

I think ‘scarlet majesty’ is a stunning stamp; I like the curl at the ends of the petals. Here are a few more cards made with it. I will admit that it is tricky to ink because you can’t always see where to try and define edges. I have another post coming up where I handle this issue by adding lines after stamping. I’ll share that soon. The sentiment this time came from the PB set, ‘promise of hope’.

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.

Window Box

Posted: August 8, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Echidna Studios, Finetec paints, Stampin Up, Window box | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Don’t you just want a window like this? With blooming flowers not wilting in the heat! This digital stamp is called ‘Window Box’ and it is new from Echidna Studios. My daughter designed it and there are three files to play with in the set, the image you see here as well as a separate window image and a separate window box image. I’m looking forward to trying the window box image by itself enlarged to fill a card front.

I printed the image on hot pressed watercolour paper and used Staedtler watercolour brush markers to colour the flowers, leaves, box and window frame. The window panes I painted with Coliro pearlcolors from Finetec. Some pearl or metallic paints are ‘interference’ paints which look very different on black paper as compared to white. The blue pearl paint I used from the ‘Ocean’ set looks very blue on black paper but looked silvery grey on white even with a touch of cream depending on the way the light hits it. This was exactly the effect I wanted so the panes appear like old leadlight windows where each pane reflects the light differently.

I coloured the leaves with two greens, blending them together with water and a paintbrush. I used the same technique for the flowers with a coral and a peach coloured marker. The planter was painted with a terracotta colour and the frame with black, diluted to appear grey in places. I wasn’t planning to cut this image out but it really needed to be attached to an embossed panel of aged brick. I’m sure you understand. The embossing folder is ‘exposed brick’ from Stampin Up. 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.

Greenery Collage Cards

Posted: April 3, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Collage cards, Darkroom Door, Dies, Finetec paints, gift card pocket, global postmarks, Leaves, measuring tape, Mixed Media, paris postcard, Penny Black, Tim Holtz, wild flowers #1 | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Continuing with the collage theme I have three cards featuring greenery from a paper napkin. I know people have been creating with paper napkins for years but I am new to the game. I have a small collection of pretty paper napkins to use on cards, book covers and journal pages. The green ones featured here are large dinner napkins found at Winners, probably in that tempting ‘just before the checkout’ area!

I glued the printed layer of the napkin over book pages to make my main panels and aged the edges with green and brown inks. I created a couple of little vintage postcards with the Paris postcard stamp, a background with the Measuring Tape stamp, sentiments and postmarks all from Darkroom Door.

Once again I used some cute dies from Penny Black to cut tickets, file divider, tag and leaves adding blending around the edges for the vintage look.

The scrap of cheesecloth, the lace and the grosgrain ribbon were all found around here, maybe the ribbon is actually vintage; it looks a bit discoloured from age which meant it co-ordinated well.

The lovely Queen Anne’s lace die is from the Tim Holtz ‘wildflowers #1 set.

I did make my own little postage stamps for the postcards because I’m still in love with faux postage. These ones had to be quite small so I didn’t use a die I just punched tiny holes with a needle to perforate the edges. You can see a bit of splatter here and there with ivory paint and there are touches of gold watercolour paint on the petals of a few flowers too!

This post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox and Scrap’n’Stamp . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Scarlet Majesty

Posted: October 26, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Finetec paints, Penny Black, Scarlet Majesty | Tags: , , , , | 7 Comments

Penny Black has released a lovely selection of poinsettia stamps over the years but this one might just be my favourite (don’t tell the others). The endearing feature on this image is those curly ends on the petals. I just love how whimsical they look. This pretty poinsettia is called ‘scarlet majesty‘ and I have featured it in years gone by.

You might have noticed that I don’t have pictures of the products used in my projects at the end of my blog posts anymore. I decided to return to just linking to products in the written text of the post. Many of the links will still be affiliate links and when clicked will take you straight to one of the three stores where I earn affiliate income. Some of the links won’t be affiliate links, they will just be for your convenience.

To create this panel I worked in a stamp positioner so I could work on one or two parts of the stamp at a time rather than try and get it right in one go. I used a couple of red distress inks to stamp the petals but wiped ink off the tips so I could ink them with green ink. I gave the stamp a spritz to get the inks moving and after stamping, blended from red to green with a paint brush. I also used some yellow ink in the centre of the poinsettia and later drew the seeds over the top with a gold gel pen.

To ink those sweet little berries I switched to water-based markers. Once dry I splattered gold paint over the panel and added a little sentiment from the PB ‘holiday snippets’. As is my preference I worked on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper.

Thanks for dropping by today. I appreciate your support and love to read the kind messages you leave in the comments.

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. 

Leafy

Posted: February 15, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Finetec paints, leaf trio, nature's garlands, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

I am sharing this project on the Foiled Fox blog today. It’s a lovely place to visit; make sure you drop in and browse their blog and online store.

I know today’s card is completely unseasonal but occasionally I stamp outside my climate zone! I used a couple of Penny Black transparent sets to create a simple masked and watercoloured birthday card. Most of the leaves stamped were from the PB ‘leaf trio set’ which has three leaf sprays (I used two). The twiggy stamp is from the PB ‘nature’s garlands’ set.

I worked on hot pressed watercolour paper which had some liquid frisket splattered on it. I kept the panel in my stamp positioner but you could easily do this technique without. I placed a strip of washi tape across the panel to mask the centre for a sentiment later. I stamped each leafy spray in one of four greens first with the panel facing one way then again with the panel flipped 180°.

Once I had stamped all the leaves in greens I used a paintbrush and water to blend ink into all the leaves. Once that was dry I stamped the twiggy stamp in uncharted mariner ink. Even though it was a green card uncharted mariner still demanded to be included!

With the washi still in place I blended some shabby shutters ink over the stamping to give a crisp edge to the masked area. I might have been a little impatient and smudged some of the blue ink. I removed the washi to add the gold embossed sentiment but then wanted gold splatter so replaced the washi. I am making these mistakes so you don’t have to! I was happy with the fresh look to the card. It reminded me of an art journal page you can see if you scroll down to the end of another post here. I have said before that sometimes cards inspire art journal pages or vice versa. Today’s card was inspired by an art journal page which was in turn inspired by a card in my ‘Wreaths – Stamped & Painted‘ class.

Are you already creating springy cards? Have you left winter stamping behind?

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox)

Mini Tree

Posted: December 21, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: decorated holiday mini tree, Echidna Studios, Finetec paints, sennelier watercolours | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Another festive (digital) beauty from my daughter’s etsy store, Echidna Studios. Do you recognise the inspiration for this little tree? You probably see them in the grocery store; it’s a little pot of rosemary, shaped like a tree. The design is available already decorated or in a set with separate tree and decorations. It is only a few days before Christmas so of course I am featuring the already decorated one!

I printed the tree on hot pressed watercolour paper and painted the paper wrapping and tree with Sennelier watercolour paints. Several people asked me about printing on watercolour paper. Up until recently I had no success; I would manually feed it into the printer but the ink would smudge off. A friend told me about the preferences settings when clicking to print and now I choose ‘manual feed’ and ‘heavyweight paper’ and no more smudging!

I switched to Finetec pearlescent paints and a gold gel pen to do the decorations so they have a little shimmer and shine to them. I reached into my little box of pre-stamped, pre-cut sentiments and pulled out one to suit the colours and the recipient. It’s a tall skinny tree (a bit like our family) so the card isn’t my usual size. It’s a 6¼” x 4″ olive green card base.

My life size tree is also decorated in red and gold this year. I always pick a slightly different colour scheme so this year all the red baubles came out, the tartan ribbon and the individual decorations in red, gold or wood. Do you change your colours from year to year?

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

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