Watercolour Dance
Posted: August 3, 2016 Filed under: Brusho, CAS, shall we dance, Watercolour | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 21 Comments
It’s really quite hot here at present and this card some how makes me feel a little cooler. It’s either the watery splatter or the cool blues and greens. I used up another abstract watercolour panel to make this card; there is quite a pile of painted or stamped panels sitting on my desk waiting to be turned into something. As you can probably guess this panel was mainly green but had a bit of purply pink on it. I am pretty sure it was done with brusho because there are little bits of other colours mixed in which is one of the nice features of brusho paint – the colours are not purely one pigment.
I used the new ‘shall we dance’ die from Penny Black to cut as many flowers as I could. I didn’t need them all to be complete die cuts as I wanted some tall and some short. Before I cut them I put ‘stick it’ adhesive on the back of the whole panel to make things easier later. Once I had all the flowers I could squeeze out of the panel I played around with positioning until I was happy. I did it all on a plain white panel assuming that I would keep the background blank and let the colours in the flowers pop. It would have been ok that way but I decided to use my watercolour pencils to try a little splatter in similar colours to the flowers. It may not be strictly white space any longer but it is pretty.
I am going to let this card play along with not one, but two challenges.
The CASology cue card is
and the CAS Mix Up challenge is
I read the fine print and discovered that if you didn’t have sprays then splatter is just fine so we’re in!
Supplies:
Stamps: Words of Kindness (PB)
Die: Shall we dance
Paints: Brusho powders (Colourcraft)
Inks: Cottage Ivy Memento ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: stick it adhesive sheet
Strange things are happening
Posted: August 1, 2016 Filed under: Field of Dreams, Zigs & zags | Tags: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stencils 9 Comments
Strange indeed to see me enter a challenge, follow a sketch, use a chevron pattern and texture paste! I would not be surprised if you thought someone else had taken over my blog. There are two signs, however that this is my card, those watercoloured poppies might look familiar and the placement of that little sentiment is pretty standard for me also.
How did this happen? Well, I have been meaning to try adding texture to cards for a while so I picked up some molding paste and applied it through a couple of stencils. In this experiment I mixed liquid metal into the paste before spreading it through the ‘Zigs and Zags’ stencil from Penny Black. It didn’t end up with a metallic look but it took on the green of the ‘verdi gris’ liquid metal. It has been a while since I did a challenge other than One Layer Simplicity (new one is up today) so I checked a couple of my favourites and found the sketch on “Case this Sketch“.
The die-cut poppies were sitting on my desk along with some other left over watercolour painted panels. (I will share projects featuring the other panels later this week.) This card really is an exercise in contrasts, the soft blends of the paint against the sharp corners of the zigzag, the pops of red over the stripes of green and the tiny black letters in the midst of a large expanse of white space.
As Joan Bardee would say:
MOOD WHEN DONE: Surprised but satisfied!
Supplies:
Stamps: Snippets (PB)
Dies: Field of Dreams (PB)
Stencil: Zigs & Zags (PB)
Inks: Versafine onyx black (Tsukineko)
Mediums: Molding paste (Golden) Verdi gris liquid metal (Ken Oliver) Watercolour paint (Kuretake Gansai Tambi)
Cardstock: Hot pressed Fabriano watercolour paper, Neenah solar white cardstock
Stamping with alcohol inks
Posted: June 4, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Autumn Jewels, Pinwheel | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink 11 Comments
A few months ago I tried all sorts of fun techniques with alcohol inks and I am keen to get them back off the shelf to try some more. Today’s cards are all examples of stamping with alcohol inks, using die-cut felt as the ‘stamp’.
I did all the stamping on glossy photo paper which allows the inks to move and blend a little but nowhere near as much as the on yupo paper. Yupo paper is a synthetic paper which is totally waterproof so the ink does not soak into it at all but spreads across it as it dries. The photo paper does absorb ink even as the glossy surface lets it spread and blend a little.
By varying the amount of ink you drop on the felt die-cut you can get a lacy effect or a full print. By adding a little blending solution to the felt you can dilute the colour and get a blurry effect within the shape. The possibilities are extensive with this technique.
Supplies:
Stamp: Words of Kindness, Sentiment Collection, Happy Snippets (PB)
Die: Autumn Jewels , Pinwheel (PB)
Ink: Alcohol inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Glossy photo paper, coloured cardstock, Neenah solar white & natural white
Sun and sea
Posted: May 24, 2016 Filed under: Brusho, Out to sea, Serenity | Tags: Brusho, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 4 Comments
Over on the Penny Black blog this week ‘Father’s Day’ cards are the feature. My card could definitely be used for Father’s Day (if I remember to post it!) but it could be just as easily used for any friend or family member. The colour scheme and the lack of floral images does make it a good choice for a masculine card.
Four different painted panels were cut up then layered to create my sunny seascape. The background blue panel is one piece of cold pressed watercolour paper; I taped masking tape across the horizon about 2/3 of the way up then painted some masking fluid in lines to suggest waves and light on the sea. Once the masking fluid was dry I painted the sea with cobalt blue and turquoise brusho. Once that dried I repositioned the tape to mask the edge of the sea so I could paint the sky with turquoise brusho.
All the remaining pieces were painted on hot pressed watercolour paper. For the tree and grass I used three greens (listed below) and dark brown brusho. I used a large piece of watercolour paper adding brown just in the area where I would die cut the tree. After die cutting the tree I used a craft knife to cut a hill from the rest of the green area. To keep the tree sitting flat on the background I used the bottom of the tree die to cut into the green hill then inserted the tree in the space when assembling the scene.
I used the ‘Out to Sea’ die to cut a yacht from a yellow brusho panel then painted red over the hull of the boat. The only other piece to cut was the sun which came out of a piece I painted with yellow and a sprinkle of red.
To make assembly a bit easier I applied ‘stick it’ adhesive to the tree panel before cutting it out. I embossed the little sentiment in white before putting it all together. My husband just walked past and was surprised that this was one of my cards; it is a bit of a departure from my usual.
Supplies
Stamps: Happy Snippets
Dies: Out to sea, Serenity
Paints: leaf green, sea green, emerald green, cobalt blue, turquoise, yellow, ost. red, dark brown brusho
Ink: Versamark ink
Paper: hot & cold pressed Fabriano watercolour paper
Also: white embossing powder, masking fluid
Folk Flower
Posted: May 17, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, CAS, folk flower | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink 7 Comments
Having so many alcohol ink experiments on hand is helping with my resolve to try new layouts and sketches. The colours and patterns that appear almost magically when working with alcohol inks need little or no adornment. This panel was mainly aqua with some splotches of coral pink here and there until I added silver and scraped it across the panel with the coffee stirrer. I ended up with the rock formation style patterns which were kind of cool but the silver had taken over.
I played around with several ideas for using the panel including tossing it but finally settled on a layout inspired by this card on JJ Bolton’s blog. I chose the coral coloured cardstock for the die cut to bring out the few patches on the panel. The assembly of this layout did not go smoothly for me, (there is more than one reason I stick to the portrait gallery layout!) I cut a piece of light weight cardstock to stick behind the circle to keep everything together. When I ran my finger over the edge of the circle to press it firmly onto the backing, the silver ink smudged onto my clean white card base. I managed to transfer silver ink via my die cutting plates also. The metallic alcohol inks sit on the surface and therefore need some sort of fixative; (I have watched a tutorial about this just haven’t looked into whether I have the right fixative) Rather than make the same mistake three times I decided to polish the patterned circle with a paper towel as someone had done successfully in class to see how much silver would come off. I removed quite a bit which revealed more aqua and left the panel less smudgy. The rest of the assembly was more straight forward; I used ‘stick it’ adhesive on the back of the folk flower die cut and embossed the sentiment on black cardstock for contrast.
When I visited JJ Bolton’s blog to look at her card layout I read about the clever wax crayon technique she used on her card…something to try another day.
Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Snippets (PB)
Dies: Folk Flower (PB)
Ink: Alcohol inks, Versafine ink (Ranger)
Paper: glossy photo paper, Neenah Epic Black 100lb cardstock, Neenah solar white cardstock, coral cardstock
Also: stick it adhesive, white embossing powder
Alcohol ink backgrounds
Posted: May 14, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, In the Garden, Love Art, Serenity | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink 2 Comments
Yesterday I shared some alcohol ink abstract panels; today I have more abstract panels but these ones have become backgrounds for dies or stamps. The one above looked so forest-like I had to pair it with trees. It is a fairly dark mix of colour so I think it must be dusk or dawn. The ‘in the garden’ die was perfect for turning the blue-green panel into a scene and the new ‘serenity’ tree die just added to the woodland feel.
Supplies:
Dies: Serenity, In the Garden (PB)
Ink: Alcohol inks (Ranger)
Paper: glossy photo paper, Neenah Epic Black 100lb cardstock, blue cardstock
The colours in this panel again determined what I would add. Orange, yellow and green patterns seem an appropriate background for a daisy. I used archival ink which gave a crisp fast drying print. There was another card made from this background but I made the mistake of laying a stamp on top of the panel for positioning before inking the stamp. The natural stickiness of the stamp on the glossy paper lifted the surface off the paper removing the alcohol ink (not in a cool resist type way!). It didn’t happen on the daisy card because I just inked, stamped and hoped for the best.
Supplies:
Stamps: Love Art, Special Thoughts (PB)
Ink: Alcohol inks, Jet black archival ink (Ranger)
Paper: glossy photo paper, Neenah Epic Black 100lb cardstock, Neenah solar white cardstock
Layouts and sketches
Posted: May 6, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, CAS, Dies | Tags: CAS, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink 7 Comments
Recently I noticed how often my card designs involve a simple square or rectangle. Sometimes the panel is matted in black or a co-ordinating colour; other times it is popped up on the card base which creates a type of shadow mat. A matted panel with little embellishment is my most used layout. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with the matted panel approach; I often try to create a mini painting so framing it seems like an appropriate way to turn it into a card. However, there are many clever card makers who never default to the square or rectangular layout; each new card features angles, diagonal lines, curves, cutouts and all manner of creative designs. I’ve decided I need to mix things up a little in the sketch and layout area. Take the card above for example, the alcohol ink design reminded me of the ocean from beneath the surface with light above and bubbles all around. I really didn’t want to loose much of the blue pattern so I cut the sentiment out of the blue panel and popped it up. I like how it turned out but it was very much my usual style.
When I put this next card together I was working with a similar panel; the alcohol inks had done cool things creating a pattern I wanted to save if possible but not in yet another rectangular layout. By cutting a curve across the patterned yupo panel I was able to add some interest and bend a transparent sentiment stamp to hug the curve.
Once again I wanted to retain most of this warm toned alcohol ink design so I chose a cool new border die with curves that created a contrast with the angles of the stenciled pattern.
I have a board on pinterest where I am saving inspiration for new layouts. The card above was inspired by Paula Dobson’s bright happy card, pinned recently. Sketch challenges are another source of inspiration I hope to make use of more often. You may have noticed all the cards in this post were made from patterned panels, which of course, are easier to adapt to interesting layouts than pictures of real things! I may get adventurous and creative with my scenic or floral panels too, who knows?
Supplies:
Dies: Celebrations, Border Edges (PB)
Stamps: Happy Snippets, Sweet Wishes
Ink: Alcohol inks (Ranger) Versafine inks (Tsukineko)
Paper: Yupo paper, Neenah SolarWhite 110lb cardstock, Neenah Natural white cardstock
More vintage watercolour
Posted: May 5, 2016 Filed under: butterfly charmer, flourish & butterflies | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 19 Comments
Thank you for your encouraging response to yesterday’s technique video. Please let me know if you give it a try. I have another card done in the same style today so if you missed the instructions yesterday, check out the tutorial here. The painting on this one was more straightforward as there was no masking. The butterflies are all on one large stamp, ‘Butterfly Charmer‘, and their botanical look makes them perfect for the vintage treatment.
As with yesterday’s card I stamped in vintage photo distress ink; this provides the sepia tone which I want to carry through the whole image as well as the water solubility necessary to blend the ink with the added colour from the watercolour pencils. I chose a blue, a purple and a pink pencil and switched from one to another as I coloured each butterfly.
The assembly was more time consuming with this card partly because it had fiddly little lace and charm elements. The main reason putting this card together took a while though was because I didn’t know what I wanted. I glued down some lilac ribbon and added a bow to the butterfly charm only to decide I didn’t like it. Thankfully the ribbon pulled off without ruining the watercolour panel. I did want the lace and the charm so I paired them with an embossed sentiment on a tag plus a little flourish die cut . The whole shebang is matted with the same pale brown as the tag and popped up on a natural coloured card base. I know for some of you this constitutes a fairly simple layout but for me this is high on the fussy-fiddly scale!
Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly charmer, Happy Snippets (PB)
Dies: flourish & butterflies, a pocketful
Inks: Vintage Photo distress ink (Ranger) Versamark (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Hot pressed Fabriano watercolour paper, brown cardstock
Also: Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils (Faber-Castell), lace, butterfly charm
You’re Sweet
Posted: May 3, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, CAS, Dies | Tags: CAS, Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink 5 Comments
Earlier today I was admiring yet another fabulous card by Ardyth Percy-Robb, who is not only clever and creative, but also a faithful challenge participant. The card that caught my eye was for the May Pinterest Inspired Challenge featuring the image below:
Even though I love watercolour and the image above is full of lovely soft blends and bleeds I chose to use my recent arty crush, alcohol inks. I dropped sunshine yellow, pool, raspberry and juniper one colour at a time so I could squirt air at each drop before it dried. You can see how some inks create a new colour when they intersect but others cover or push the other colour. I matted in black and attached my panel to the card base askew before adding a die cut sentiment.
Supplies:
Die: You’re Sweet (PB)
Alcohol Ink: sunshine yellow, pool, raspberry, juniper (Ranger)
Paper: Kirkland photo paper, Neenah SolarWhite 110lb cardstock, Neenah epic black cardstock
Out to Sea
Posted: April 27, 2016 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, CAS, Out to sea | Tags: CAS, Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink 15 Comments
Is this not a stunning new die? I thought it was perfect to lay over my bright blue alcohol ink panel. Blue panels are the most challenging for me to photograph accurately. In real life there is more purple and the light blues are lighter. The speckled bits that conveniently look a bit like ocean spray or foam are silver accents. I created the panel by dropping some blue alcohol inks on yupo paper and blending. I added some silver alcohol ink and moved it around with extra blue ink and blending solution; the metallic inks don’t move much until another ink is added to them.
This die is also going to be beautiful over a watercoloured panel. If I am feeling patient and steady I might do the inlaid die technique but it really doesn’t need it; the overlay approach works just fine.
Supplies:
Die: Out to Sea(PB)
Alcohol Ink: denim, indigo, silver, alcohol blending solution (Ranger)
Paper: yupo paper, Neenah SolarWhite 110lb cardstock
Heather Telford 