An orange experiment
Posted: March 30, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Gossamer, Penny Black 23 Comments
When working on a card for the One Layer Wednesday challenge to use pinks and orange I came up with this. It was meant to be pink and orange but ended up all orange with, what I think looks a bit like the texture of a painting. Don’t ask how I did it because I am not sure that I could recreate it. I did emboss the flowers in clear first and after that there were markers and sponges involved! It was destined for scrap but my daughter said she liked it so I evened out the colour of some of the petals and added a sentiment. It is what it is: an orange experiment. I do like the little Gossamer stamp from Penny Black; so expect to see more of it soon.
Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies:
Stamps: Gossamer, Wishes(PB)
Inks: Regal Rose,Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie(SU), Versamark
Cardstock: MFP white
Also: clear e.p.
OLW 84 Pink and Orange
Posted: March 27, 2012 Filed under: All You Need, CAS, Penny Black 21 Comments
Susan’s One Layer Wednesday challenge this week is to use Pink and Orange, as many pinks as you like but only one orange. I know my photo makes it look like my card is all orange but it is actually sponged in pinks, really! I would rarely choose to put pink and orange together but that is the beauty of challenges; they take us out of our comfort zones.
I masked, embossed the orange heart branches in clear and then sponged in a light and a dark pink and added a few more orange branches.
Supplies:
Stamps: All You Need, Gratitude (PB)
Inks: Regal Rose,Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie(SU), Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: MFP white
Also: clear e.p.
Favourites
Posted: March 25, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Penny Black, Queen Anne's Lace, Tutorial 44 Comments
The designers at Penny Black are showcasing favourites from the new 2012 catalog at present but what I have posted today is an older Penny Black stamp, Queen Anne’s Lace which has become a new favourite of mine. I love the delicacy of Queen Anne’s Lace which this stamp captures beautifully. Picking a favourite stamp also worked for the Less is More challenge this week which asks us to choose and combine three previous challenges. I chose#15 One layer embossing, #22 Shades of Blue and #59 Masking.
Several people have left questions in the comments section lately about products and techniques; I have a draft in progress to answer those soon but a couple may be answered in the following tutorial. Brenda asked how I mask; the first three photos show how I make use of the lines on my mat to help me line up the edges of the card before positioning the post-it notes. The large post-it notes are worth the extra cost because they do the whole length of the card and the width of the sticky section is good.
After using the grid on the mat I put scrap paper underneath and start my design. For this card I stamped the image twice in versamark, then embossed in clear.
I use round craft sponges cut into quarters to sponge and for this card I used Memento Summer Sky and Danube Blue ink.
Building up colour by sponging takes a while. I start by dabbing the colour on and then blend with a swirly motion to make sure I have good coverage.
For this card I wanted a bit of white space so didn’t sponge the panel completely.
When I was happy with the sponging I stamped the image several times with Summer Sky ink.
I removed the masks and added one more image in Danube Blue and finished with a sentiment, from the transparent set, Gratitude.
Here’s the finished product using a favourite stamp, my favourite colour and a favourite technique.
Thanks for dropping by, I hope you get a chance to work with your favourites this week.
Posies
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: Penny Black, Posies 12 Comments
The designers at Penny Black are featuring their favourite stamp sets from the new catalogue this week and next week. I chose the slapstick/cling stamp, Posies and worked in three different colour schemes.
I created the floral panel for the one above on white cardstock by inking the stamp with markers, spritzing it with water, stamping it and then repeatedly stamping the sentiment from the transparent set …wishes. I then sliced up the panel and sponged each section. The card base is Penny Black’s Mix & Match Summer Sun cardstock.
I used markers again to ink the Posies stamp for the card above, stamped and then punched three squares out of the panel. I lined the squares up and stamped the letter background before adding a little sponging and mattes to define the edges. The sentiment is again from the …wishes set.
I sponged a panel on white cardstock, sponged it in three colours and then stamped the Posies in black before matting and adding it to the cardbase also stamped with the Posies stamp. The sentiment is …to you. The card base is Penny Black’s Mix & Match Olive Grove cardstock.
Thanks for dropping in; make sure you keep checking the Penny Black blog to see all the designers’ favourites.
More masking
Posted: March 19, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Darkroom Door, Penny Black, Wildflowers Vol 2 17 Comments
Surprised? That I would do more masking, that is? I should set myself a challenge one day to make a card that doesn’t involve sponging or masking!
This one is masked but not sponged. I added the colour to the masked panel with a brayer, first the cranberry then the teal. I then stamped a few flowers in teal and cranberry before removing the masks and adding flowers in black. The sentiment does look a wee bit lost on the coloured panel but in real life it is easier to read.
Supplies:
Stamps: Wildflowers Vol 2 (Darkroom Door), …smiling (PB)
Inks: Cranberry Crisp, Taken with Teal(SU), Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic Ivory
Less is More Masking
Posted: March 18, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Darkroom Door, Penny Black, Wildflowers Vol 2 33 Comments
The challenge at the Less is More blog this week is to use masking. Well that is not a challenge at all; it is more of a challenge not to!
I masked the rectangular panel first and then positioned a second mask across the panel to make the hilly horizon. Above the horizon I sponged sunrise colours and below the grassy colours. After removing the hill mask I added the flowers from Darkroom Door, removed all the masks and finally added the sentiment from Penny Black. I like the way this sentiment looks like a hastily handwritten note.
Have a great day; I hope the sun is shining where you are!
Supplies:
Stamps: Wildflowers Vol 2 (Darkroom Door), Thinking of You (PB)
Inks: Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, True Thyme, Old Olive, Buckaroo Blue (SU), Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic Ivory
London
Posted: March 16, 2012 Filed under: CAS, London, Penny Black 18 Comments
The Penny Black blog is featuring the new “Cities” stamps today. Paris, New York, London!
Although I have never been to London it does have a bit of a reputation so I sponged in the colours of rain. I masked first, sponged the top half in a grey blue, the bottom half in blue and then positioned the London stamp in the middle. The one bright spot on this dreary day was coloured with marker.
Make sure you check out the New York and Paris.
Supplies:
Stamps:London (Penny Black)
Inks: Bordering Blue, Marina Mist, Real Red, Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: MFP white
OLW 82 Swirly
Posted: March 11, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Penny Black, Posies 16 Comments
I find swirls and flourishes wonderful to work with so it wasn’t hard to pick a stamp to use for Susan’s one layer challenge this week.
I used water colour paper to maximize any spritzing or blending I did. I stamped the text stamp first; you might have noticed I keep using this stamp from Penny Black; it makes a lovely background. Next I inked the Posies stamp with markers, spritzed it and stamped it adding a little more water here and there with a sponge after stamping. After adding a little pink sponging there just happened to be a gap in the amongst the stems for a cute little sentiment.
Supplies:
Stamps: Letter Background, Posies, …to you (Penny Black)
Inks: Pirouette Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Always Artichoke (SU)
Cardstock: MFP Watercolour card stock
Script & more
Posted: March 10, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Lace Flower, Penny Black, Resplendent 26 Comments
Here is my card for this week’s Less is More challenge to use script on a one layer card. I masked and then stamped the Letter Background stamp and the Lace Flower stamp from Penny Black as my background. I sponged in several colours and then stamped Resplendent from Penny Black as the feature image.
I didn’t set out to create this colour scheme, it just happened to fall together. It’s nice when it works like that.
Supplies:
Stamps: Letter Background, Resplendent, Lace Flower (Penny Black), Hugs & Wishes (SU)
Inks: Choc Chip, Crumb Cake, Not quite Navy (SU)
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic Ivory
Fly away with me
Posted: March 4, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Penny Black, Stamped Landscapes, Winter Sky 17 Comments
It is tempting to fly away somewhere warmer when snow and ice covers everything outside. The birds are returning and making themselves heard so spring might be round the corner.
This card started its life as a one layer card but a smudged sentiment just before it was completed meant that it became a two layer. I was not willing for the stamped and sponged panel to go to waste so I sliced it off the ruined card and popped it up on a new card base.
When making the scene I masked the sides first, then the moon and the top hill. Then I sponged the sky, before moving the mask down to create a snow bank. Before making the last snow bank I stamped the Winter Sky stamp from Penny Black making sure my bird flew in front of the moon. I added a final snow bank and stamped a bit more brush to finish it off.
Several people have asked me about masking fluid. You can find it in an art store with the watercolour paints. I use the Winsor and Newton brand but I think they are all similar.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the encouragement you leave me in the comments.
Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Sky (Penny Black), Birds in Vines(Flourishes)
Inks: Buckaroo Blue & Pretty in Pink (SU), Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: MFP 100lb white
Heather Telford 