Blooming boots!
Posted: February 20, 2019 Filed under: blooming boots, square frames | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 6 Comments
Penny Black has a new release; you probably saw some sneak peeks on the PB social media or maybe you saw this card as a peek on my instagram. The new release is called ‘Timeless‘ and it is full of spring and summer loveliness. To celebrate Penny Black is hosting a giveaway.
Isn’t this a cute stamp? Blooming boots! I guess boots could work as a vase if they were waterproof. I used distress stains to stamp this happy colour scheme but you could use any water soluble ink that blends well after stamping. I inked the tulips with mustard seed and spiced marmalade distress stains. Now that the daubers are discontinued I paint stain onto the stamp with a brush. After stamping the tulips I wiped the stamp and inked the leaves with mowed lawn stain. While the stamped stain was still damp I blended it with a brush and water then dried the panel.
I painted black soot stain onto the boot part of the stamp then stamped and blended to fill the boots. By drying the rest of the stamping first I prevented the black stain from bleeding into the flowers and leaves. I used the new die set ‘square frames’ to cut a green frame. As my dies are not divided up they cut not only the decorative frames but also plain rectangles and that is what I used here. I finished the card with a sentiment from the super-useful new set ‘grateful sentiments’ in black versafine ink.
I am currently enjoying not tulips but a giant amaryllis; it is 80cm tall and each one of the five flowers measures 20cm across. It is huge and beautiful!
Supplies
Blissful blossoms
Posted: January 18, 2019 Filed under: blissful blossoms, royal swirl | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 14 Comments
It is hard to believe I haven’t inked this pretty stamp before now. I made up for it by repeat stamping on a large panel to make into a set of cards. I put the 10″x 7″ hot pressed watercolour panel in my stamp positioning tool and ended up stamping PB ‘blissful blossoms’ four times.
Each time I stamped I followed the same order. First I inked the whole stamp in scattered straw distress ink and dabbed some wild honey and abandoned coral ink here and there on the flowers, spritzed it with water. After stamping I cleaned the stamp, then inked all the stems and leaves in peeled paint ink, spritzed and stamped again. I kept partially inking with markers, spritzing and stamping until the flowers were well coloured. Before moving the panel and stamp to do another print I blended over the stamping with a paint brush and water.
I repeated the process three more times to fill the panel. I was able to orient the stamp so the stems and flowers filled the space and looked like one big patterned panel.
Once the panel was done I had to decide how to divide it for different designs. I could have done four of the same card but no, I wanted to come up with a few options. I pulled out a pretty PB die, a PB sentiment set and some green cardstock to create a set of five cards.
The decorative die does not cut right across, it cuts out the scroll work but scores either side for folding. On several of the cards I cut on the score line for a border instead of a fold.
By double matting and popping up the panel even the last scrap became a card. All the sentiments are from the handy dandy ‘happy snippets’ set.
Supplies
Stamps: blissful blossoms, happy snippets (PB)
Dies: pop on a fold -royal swirl (PB)
Inks: scattered straw, dried marigold, abandoned coral, peeled paint, versamark, shady line versafine clair
Markers: peeled paint, dried marigold, abandoned coral, ground espresso
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour, neenah cream, olive green
Also: Stamp positioner, white embossing powder, linen twine
Alcohol ink trio
Posted: January 15, 2019 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Dragonfly Frame, Serenity | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Yupo Paper 11 Comments
I created these alcohol ink panels months ago! They were the result of a primary colours experiment with pool (blue), raspberry (red) and honeycomb (yellow) alcohol inks and both heavy and light weight yupo paper. I restricted myself to the three colours to see what I could come up with and how they reacted with each other.
I was able to get very soft blends by adding rubbing alcohol and tilting the yupo around. This panel was done on light weight yupo which is translucent. When I held it up to the light the colours softened and looked like stained glass. I decided I had to cut the cardstock out behind the dragonfly ‘window’ so a light could be placed under the card to show off its soft blended colour. Not a real tealight mind you, remember this is paper crafting! I took a photo to give you an idea of the pretty stained glass effect you see with a soft light underneath.
The same colours appeared but with more lines by working the inks for longer. By that I mean that I kept adding and tilting and blending so there are more secondary and tertiary colours in the mix.
When it came to making the panels into cards I decided die cuts over the top was all I wanted to add. I used three Penny Black dies, dragonfly frame, serenity and heartfelt thanks. For all the cards I put double sided adhesive on the back of the green cardstock before die cutting the images and words.
In the final sample I was able to keep some of each ink colour distinct as well as each secondary colour (blue+yellow=green) (yellow+red=orange) (red+blue=purple). There is also a bit of brown which is is a tertiary colour made when a primary and a secondary mix.
I created this panel by dropping the inks onto the yupo panel and letting them move and fill the space. When there was a good mix of colour patterning the whole area I switched to placing tiny drops of ink or rubbing alcohol onto the panel to create the bubble patterns. Each tiny drop expanded into a little circle or blob shape. The pattern looked very busy all on its own so I just added a small die cut word.
Supplies
Dies: serenity, dragonfly frame, heartfelt thanks (Penny Black)
Inks: pool, raspberry, honeycomb Ranger alcohol inks
Paper: yupo both light and heavy weight, neenah cream cardstock, green textured cardstock
Also: double sided adhesive, rubbing alcohol
Snow forest
Posted: January 4, 2019 Filed under: A Pocket Full, snow forest | Tags: Catherine Pooler inks, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 6 Comments
Snowy scenes and thank you cards will keep on popping up on the blog. This one made with the PB stamp, ‘snow forest’, was very simple to make. I put the stamp in the stamp positioner then inked part of it in Catherine Poolers ‘icing on the cake’ ink, stamped then randomly inked in ‘over coffee’, stamped and finally the same with ‘eucalyptus’ ink. With the whole image stamped I blended the larger distinct tree trunks with water to get the watercolour effect.
I ended up painting over some areas, not all, with water also which softened the contrasts but still left light and dark areas. I pressed the three inks onto my glass mat so I could pick up ink to paint the snowy forest floor.
To complete the card I matted in dark green cardstock and die cut a banner for the sentiment. I embossed the sentiment with weathered white powder which gives an antique, and I think, snowy effect.
Supplies
Stamps: snow forest, banner sentiments
Dies: a pocketfull
Inks: eucalyptus, icing on the cake, over coffee (Catherine Pooler), versamark
Paper: hot pressed watercolour, green cardstock
Also: MISTI, weathered white embossing powder, glass mat
A little more paint pouring
Posted: December 11, 2018 Filed under: Dies, paint pouring | Tags: paint pouring, Penny Black creative dies, Yupo Paper 9 Comments
Yes, I have more from my paint pouring adventure to share! This one was done with metallic paints as you can see. When you pour or in this case ‘drag’ them onto the base colour the metallics don’t look very shiny but as they dry, well, you can see how lovely they are. To turn this one into a card I searched through my gold cardstock to find a match with the gold paint. I am a bit fussy with gold cardstock, some is too coppery, some too brown, too yellow, too light, too dark; you get the idea. The one that matched the best this time is a textured gold made by Tonic and it has a white back so I turned it into the card base. I also die-cut a ‘thank you’ from the same cardstock.
As I mentioned yesterday I won’t go into the how-to of paint pouring this time around but if I keep doing it I will definitely share what I learn. For those of you who have done some paint pouring this one was done by dipping some crochet thread in coloured paint, laying it on a base of black paint and gently pulling it through the black paint and off the panel.
I’m not sure of the brand of paints as I don’t own any (yet) but the matte colours came from a dollar store and the metallics from an art store. I was pleasantly surprised to find how many of the supplies could be bought from a dollar store or hardware store.
I have another paint pourer to recommend today and as I said yesterday be prepared to disappear into youtube land for quite some time! Mixed Media girl’s paintings are also mesmerising.
Supplies
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https://linkdeli.com/widget.js?1549439153802
Paper: heavy weight yupo (legion), gold satin cardstock (tonic)
Die: many thanks (PB)
Also: stick it adhesive sheets (for the little die-cut)
More skies & dies
Posted: December 6, 2018 Filed under: berry flourish, Brusho, deer in tree, holly flourish, winter berry branch | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 4 Comments
I have a few more simple Christmassy cards to share; these ones are kind of the opposite to the ones in the previous post. I had a large watercolour galaxy panel with white splatter (aka ‘stars’) all over it. I die cut three branches from the panel to pop up on three white card bases.
I realise now it would have been a good idea to take a photo of the panel before I cut it up. It was a panel I painted with brusho a while ago, a mix of blues and pinks, light in the centre and dark around the edges with white paint splattered over the whole thing. The holly is a PB die called ‘holly flourish’, the mistletoe is ‘berry flourish’.
After I had die cut all three branches I chose a shape die a little smaller than each of the branches so some foliage would hang over the edge. I die cut a shape from neenah solar white cardstock and from coloured adhesive backed foam. The foam pieces that pop up the white panels are either burgandy or navy to co-ordinate with the paint colours.
To assemble the cards I first glued the die cut to the white cardstock shape then snipped off and saved any bits hanging over the edge. Next I adhered the white panel to the foam and then all to the white card base. Once the popped up panel was in place I stuck the snipped off bits directly onto the card base lining them up with the rest of the die-cut.
I made all these cards into thank yous. I’m hoping to need many as I am once again participating in Dressember, and will be sending hand made cards to all who donate to the campaign. If you are new to my blog you might not know that I have twice before taken on the challenge of wearing a dress every day in December as part of a worldwide campaign to raise funds for and awareness about the fight to end modern day slavery. If you are interested in donating I have set up a CAMPAIGN PAGE and I am posting photos on pinterest and instagram just so you can check up on me to make sure I’m wearing a dress each day! I have written a little more about Dressember on my other (sadly neglected) blog, Sentient.
This last branch die is called ‘winter berry branch’ also from Penny Black. The sentiment is from the ‘banner sentiments’ set and is stamped in chianti versafine clair ink.
And now a bonus card made with my last watercolour sky piece. I matted it on two sides with burgandy cardstock then cut a snow bank and the ‘deer in tree’ die from neenah solar white cardstock. It is a pretty die but would the deer be standing in a tree? I think not!
Supplies
Stamps: banner sentiments (PB)
Dies: holly flourish, berry flourish, winter berry branch, deer in tree (PB)
Ink: chianti versafine clair ink
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah solar white, burgandy cardstock
Paint: brusho, white gesso
Also: on point gule
Skies & dies
Posted: December 4, 2018 Filed under: Brusho, holiday hello, neighbourhood border, winter trees | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black creative dies 9 Comments
I have three simple cards to show you today, simple that is if you have some watercolour backgrounds sitting around as I often do. Even if you don’t it would not take too long to create a large multicoloured panel with brusho, distress stains or some other watercolour medium then when its dry splatter white paint over it to look like stars or snow.
I trimmed my background panels then added a hand cut snow bank to the card above plus the deer from the Penny Black ‘holiday hello’ set. I know it is very minimal but I rather like the way the deer could be looking up into the vast sky.
On the second card all I added to the star filled sky was the PB ‘neighborhood border’ die. All the die cuts are neenah solar white cardstock. For some I used liquid glue, others I attached using stick it adhesive.
I added the shooting star when I created the watercolour sky with the same white paint.
The background sky for this final card is the last scrap of a large panel I painted very randomly with turquoise and blue brusho. I tore a strip of white cardstock to create the snow bank, die cut a tree to tuck behind it and a sleigh to sit on top. The tree is the smaller one from the PB set, ‘winter trees’ and the sleigh is also from Penny Black.
I’m going to leave these without sentiments for now; they might be handy to use as thank you cards after Christmas.
Supplies
Dies: winter trees, sleigh, neighborhood border, holiday hello (PB)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah solar white
Paint: brusho, white gesso
Also: stick it adhesive, on point gule
Winter Tree
Posted: November 28, 2018 Filed under: xmas poinsettia cut out | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains 15 Comments
It is hard to believe I haven’t shared this beautiful tree stamp already. It is a large rubber cling stamp called winter tree and it looks snow laden when stamped. It is a very detailed tree but my treatment has it looking a little more impressionistic. To create the card above I lay the tree stamp on my cold pressed watercolour paper and positioned masking paper around the edges of the stamp. When I lifted the stamp there was a tree shaped space exposed.
I splattered masking fluid over the panel so there were lots of drops in the shape of a tree. When I removed the masking paper I splattered a few more drops of masking fluid around the tree. I placed the panel and stamp in my stamp positioner and dotted distress stain on the stamp. For this tree I used mustard seed, mermaid lagoon, pine needles and blueprint sketch. I stamped a couple of colours at a time until the tree was completely stamped albeit in a loose and watery way. To fill in the background I wanted the same colours but more diluted so I put stain on my glass mat so I could pick it up with a paint brush.
I painted around the tree with water touching the edges of the tree with the paintbrush so the colour would bleed into the sky. To fill the sky I picked up extra colour from my glass mat. When all the paint was dry I removed the masking fluid and added a die cut sentiment and a matching mat.
I followed the same process for the second card but used hot pressed watercolour paper and more colours of distress stain. I also stamped a few trees in the background using a tree from the ‘prancers‘ set and peacock feathers distress ink.
When snow completely covers our Christmas lights the colour does look a bit blurry shining through the snow. That’s what these cards remind me of.
Not that there are any Christmas trees or lights up around here yet. There are members of this family with strong feelings about Christmas decorations!
Supplies
Stamps: winter tree, prancers
Stains: mustard seed, blue print sketch, peacock feathers, pine needles
Die: merry Christmas (PB)
Paper: cold pressed watercolour paper, deep blue cardstock
Tools: MISTI, T ruler, stick-it adhesive, glass mat
Snow trails
Posted: November 20, 2018 Filed under: snow trails, Tagged | Tags: Peerless Transparent Watercolors, Penny Black stamps 7 Comments
We’ve had some beautiful skies lately, the heavens declaring the glory of the Lord. I decided to add bold colour to this beautiful ‘snow trails’ stamp from Penny Black for a similarly dramatic sky. To begin I embossed the stamp on hot pressed watercolour paper then splattered masking fluid over the panel.
I painted the sky from yellow up adding a colour at a time and blending each into the next. I used my peerless watercolours for all the painting and they blended beautifully. I decided to paint the tree trunks that were not already black in brown, that way I did not have to preserved white ‘birch’ trunks as I painted in the sky. I used the same colours but more diluted to paint colour on the snow and create shadows along the path and in the foreground. Once dry I removed the masking fluid to reveal the falling snow.
The popped up sentiment in the corner became a necessity when I botched the sentiment directly on the painted panel. I framed the panel in blue and attached it to a natural white card base. Can’t wait to paint another of these panels; it is such a peaceful scene.
Hope you are having a peaceful day.
Supplies
Stamps: snow trails
Die: tagged
Ink: versafine clair nocturne
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, blue shimmer paper
Paint: peerless transparent watercolours
Also: clear embossing powder
Pretty Paper Neighbourhood & a Wreath
Posted: November 16, 2018 Filed under: Alexandra Renke, neighbourhood border, starry night, whirl wreath | Tags: Alexandra Renke cardstock, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 6 Comments
It’s all soft and subtle on the blog today. I have two projects featuring the beautiful Alexandra Renke cardstock the Foiled Fox recently started carrying in their store. The weight of the cardstock is somewhere between a good quality printer paper and a piece of cardstock. There is definitely enough weight to die cut nicely.
I chose the elegant ‘whirl wreath’ by Penny Black and cut one out of ‘pink dots’ cardstock. I attached it around the centre circle with adhesive but left the branches unattached ( so I will be careful putting it in a envelope) The background is ‘rose stripes’ which matches the pink dots perfectly. I cut the bow out of a piece of cardstock from my stash and layered a few together to give it some extra weight. I blended around the edge of the striped panel with tattered rose distress ink and attached everything to a cream cardbase.
I chose to add a natural twine bow to the die cut bow then had to co-ordinate the sentiment with antique linen distress ink.
For my little neighbourhood card I use three patterns of Alexandra Renke cardstock, the rose stripes, gray stripes and medium mud watercolour. I know it is hard to see the details of the die cuts in my photo but in real life the pink striped neighbourhood is clear against two lines of gray striped trees in front of a gray mud starry sky.
I have been wanting to try a white on white layered die cut scene and I probably still will but chose to try it with these pretty papers first. The neighbourhood is layered over two layers of trees cut with the ‘trees and hills’ dies which are layered over a gray piece cut with the starry sky night die attached directly to a white card base.
I featured some of the subtle colours and patterns from Alexandra Renke today but I do have some bold patterns and solids to share another day.
Have a great weekend.
Supplies
Stamps: Christmas sentiments, winter days (PB)
Dies: whirl wreath, neighbourhood border, starry night die, trees & hills die set (PB)
Cardstock: Alexandra Renke medium mud watercolor, gray stripes, rose stripes & Neenah solar white, cream, pink
Inks: tattered rose, antique linen distress ink, smokey gray versafine ink
Also: hemp twine
Heather Telford 