Lovely Lilacs video
Posted: April 3, 2020 Filed under: lovely lilacs, Penny Black, Tutorial, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tutorial, video 25 Comments
I am so happy to have a video for you today especially as so many of us are staying home to stay healthy. I hope this simple technique and pretty card featuring Penny Black’s ‘lovely lilacs’ set will inspire you in your creating. Check out the video below and then read further for the different colour combinations I came up with. They all require a light and a dark colour in the same ‘family’ for the flowers and a green for the stems. That’s it; so simple and so pretty!
The inks are listed in the video and linked below but just for reference while you are reading, on the card above I used milled lavender distress ink, seedless preserves & peeled paint distress markers and shady lane versafine clair ink for the sentiment. All the cards are stamped on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper. The sentiments are from two different PB sets, ‘carefree wishes’ and ‘magical friendship’.
As I have been home a lot more than usual I have been spending quite a bit of time making videos. I’ve said before they take me a long time and that is still true but I am feeling more confident with the editing software since I’ve spent days sitting in front of it! Other than the mammoth grocery runs ( I did one today that I am hoping will feed the four of us for two weeks) and some outdoor exercise, I haven’t been out and about at all. I am sure it is the same for many of you.
The card above is the first one I did with this technique and it was stamped with shaded lilac distress ink, blueprint sketch & forest moss distress markers. I think this might be my favourite colour combo.
This red and pink one ended up with splatter and was stamped with worn lipstick distress ink and aged mahogany & forest moss distress markers.
I’m not sure that lilacs come in all these colours but when has that ever stopped me. The colour pairs are spun sugar + worn lipstick, tumbled glass + salty ocean and milled lavender + dusty concord.
I hope you find this technique appealing; please let me know if you try it and if you come up with new colour combinations.
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The Ride
Posted: April 1, 2020 Filed under: Arteza, Penny Black, the ride, watercolour real brush pens | Tags: Arteza, Penny Black stamps 10 Comments
I have another card featuring colouring with Arteza real brush pens today. I completed several cards weeks ago as I tried out the pens but waited until now to feature them on the blog because I wanted to group them with the product review I did with the Arteza pens. The review shows me trying some of my favourite techniques with the pens. Even if you haven’t watched the review video you probably won’t be surprised to hear I was happy with the results on this scooter. You know I don’t tend to branch out much from the ‘nature themed’ projects; it’s trees and flowers, flowers and trees 80% of the time round here. This cute scooter did grab me though, so I made it part of my brush pen trials.
The scooter is stamped in versafine clair nocturne. When it came to the colouring I did not take the time to make sure all the highlights and shadows were in the right place; I just made sure there were some highlights and shadows! I stuck with three main colours, the ‘blush red’ I used for the splendiferous tulips, elephant gray and noir, then added in a pink, an orange and a green for the little flower arrangement on the front.
I coloured one section at a time blending with water then letting it dry while moving on to a non-adjacent section. The shadow was done with a few swipes of grey pen, diluted and then a touch of blush red dropped in. Those flowers were a bit high on the fiddliness factor scale for me but I persevered. I know they’re only little but when the flowers get too small my eyesight and my patience doesn’t like it. The cute sentiment is from ‘carefree wishes’.
If you do get inspired to try the Arteza real brush pens (or anything else Arteza for that matter) here is a discount code for you HeatherTelford1 and here are affiliate links for the Arteza US store and EU store. Using these links means at no extra cost to you I receive a small commission. Arteza has a giveaway happening right now too so you could win a little spending spree (and by little I mean $100!) Check it out here
At the risk of experiencing your utter disbelief I want you to know I have another video for you on Friday! Stay home, stay healthy and stay hopeful everyone.
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Splendiferous
Posted: March 31, 2020 Filed under: Arteza, Penny Black, splendiferous, watercolour real brush pens | Tags: Arteza, Penny Black stamps 7 Comments
This bunch of tulips is called ‘splendiferous’ which sums up their elegance well I think. ‘Splendiferous’ does sound a little bit like a made up word so I had to look it up and check. It is in fact a real word a bit like fantabulous, also a real word. I stamped these splendiferous tulips in nocturne versafine clair ink then coloured them with Arteza real brush pens. I posted a video a few days ago about the real brush pens, here’s the link if you’d like to see me trying them out on my favourite watercolour techniques.
I blended the colouring with water after stamping them with versafine, a waterproof ink. Even though the petals have quite a variation of pink tones it was all done with one real brush pen, the blush red, from the 96 set. I coloured near the base of the petals or edges in shadow then blended the colour with water to fill the petal. I tried to work one petal at a time so the depth of colour in one section would not spread into an area I wanted lighter.
The leaves are also coloured with only one brush pen, emerald green. Once again I blended with water to get the variation of colour. The sentiment from ‘magical friendship’ is a lovely one and is stamped in versafine crimson red. To finish the card I matted in red and attach to a cream card base. I mentioned the other day that Arteza provided a discount code for my readers to use and then I forgot to provide it!! It is HeatherTelford1 and is worth 10% off. Arteza is also hosting a giveaway right now, you can find out how it works on their youtube channel.
As I mentioned yesterday I am very happy to be connecting with you in the comments. If you would also like to connect through snail mail, please use the ‘CONTACT ME‘ button to send me your name and address. I will put a card in the mail to you.
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Arteza Watercolour Real Brush Pens
Posted: March 27, 2020 Filed under: Arteza, Penny Black, unforgettable, watercolour real brush pens | Tags: Arteza, Penny Black stamps 16 Comments
Today’s blog post is a little different from the usual. The cards in today’s post are coloured with Arteza Watercolour Real Brush pens. Arteza contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing a product review video for them. I’ve seen Arteza products popping up on many blogs and youtube channels so I was interested to try them out. They sent me Watercolour Real Brush Pens, an Expert Watercolour Pad and a set of six Water Brushes Pens.
To see how I used them check out the video below. It is a long one because I put the products through their paces with a bunch of my favourite techniques. I did speed up the footage through out the video so I could show you all that I tried. Believe me you would not have wanted me to leave it at normal speed! If you want to slow something now that is an option on Youtube.
The video isn’t a how-to for today’s cards but there is footage of some of the process included. You may find some other techniques you’d like to try in my review also. Just so you know I have two more videos in process which are more project tutorial style. I’m trying to keep the inspiration coming as we all cope with our quarantine situations.
I was very happy with the results using the brush pens, watercolour pad and waterbrushes, but the real brush pens are the main focus of my review. I was particularly impressed with the results when I did no-line watercolour with the real brush pens. It can be a tricky technique but the pens made it easier in my opinion.
The range of colours in the set of 96 is wonderful and the intensity of the colour means a little goes a long way. I have cards coloured with the real brush pens which will be appearing on my blog in the next few weeks.
Arteza gave me a coupon code to share with you in case you are interested in trying the products and there are affiliate links below. The coupon code is HeatherTelford1. At no extra cost to you I will receive a small commission. (The Arteza products appear on the list twice, top ones are first ones are US, last ones EU)
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Unforgettable
Posted: March 23, 2020 Filed under: Penny Black, unforgettable | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 11 Comments
Today’s card features a large outline stamp from Penny Black called ‘unforgettable’. When I read the stamp name I can’t help but start singing the Nat King Cole song, even if only in my head. I positioned the stamp to cover half the card front but if used on a landscape oriented card it would almost fill the whole front. I used one of my tried and true techniques to watercolour the image with distress inks.
I worked with a panel of hot pressed watercolour paper in the stamp positioner and inked components of the design with distress inks and markers. I ink the outlines as accurately as possible with the ink colour I’m going to paint that section with. I inked some of the flowers with seedless preserves and others with wild honey. The leaves are bundled sage with some forest moss ink. When painting the petals I blended ink from the outline, and when that wasn’t enough picked up some from my glass mat where I smoosh the inkpad.
I enjoy doing no-line watercolour with a pale ink like antique linen distress but I also like this method. It can be fiddly inking each flower and leaf in different colours but if you use a mix of markers and ink cubes you can pretty good coverage. I always have a wipe or sponge on hand to wipe ink off the stamp if it’s gone out of bounds.
The sentiment is from the new ‘million thanks’ set which features two large versions of ‘thank you’ and two of ‘thanks’. The rest of the set is phrases to be paired with ‘thank you’. I have much to be thankful for right now as I am safe at home with most of my family knowing my eldest is safe at home elsewhere. We have what we need and know that isn’t the case for everyone. I hope you are staying healthy, hopeful and home!
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Dazzling postcard
Posted: March 20, 2020 Filed under: dazzle, Penny Black, Script, vintage postcard | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 11 Comments
I am sharing these tulip cards over on the Foiled Fox blog today. You know I like it over there, I enjoy the inspiration on their blog, the range of products in their store and the interaction with the Foiled Fox staff and their readers. Make sure you pop over there.
To create a vintage background I smooshed antique linen distress ink on a glass mat then spritzed water over the ink before swiping a hot pressed watercolour panel through the it. I dried the panel before repeating the step. Next I inked the ‘script’ background stamp in antique linen ink, spritzed it then stamped it on one side of the panel. I let everything dry before moving onto the tulips. The stamp is a new one from Penny Black called ‘dazzle’; it is large and features two tulips and two buds. Neither of today’s cards show you the whole stamp; I was after the look of patterned paper rather than a complete image. You will see the whole stamp on another card in the future.
I inked the stamp with scattered straw, wild honey and forest moss distress ink, spritzed it lightly then stamped over the edges of the panels. I also wiped ink off the stamp before pressing it down so the tulips would appear to be floating not anchored to the base of the panel. On the second card I blended over the stamped tulips with water to create a transparent look but on the card above I left them looking ‘lacey’. After the ink dried I splattered both panels with wild honey and forest moss inks.
To finish the card above I stamped part of the new ‘vintage postcard’ stamp in vintage photo archival ink. On the card below I added some hemp twine and a popped up sentiment panel also stamped on ‘aged-looking’ paper.
You have already seen this sentiment once this week; it does seem appropriate for the uncertain circumstances we are experiencing right now. I made both cards before the virus situation escalated in North America but I hope having these cards and those words end up on the blog this week is an encouragement to you.
In the close up above you can see clearly the variation of colour achieved by picking up diluted antique linen ink on my watercolour panel; there seems to be a purply tone in there! I love this kind of background and it is so easy to do. Thank you for dropping by today. I appreciate you all and am encouraged to hear that these posts are providing you with some inspiration during a difficult time.
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Herb garden
Posted: March 18, 2020 Filed under: herb garden, Penny Black | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 7 Comments
Here is another new stamp from Penny Black and definitely one of my faves from the new release ‘Secret Garden’. I’m not much of a gardener, certainly not in the class of my mother and father but I do plant herbs every spring and use them in my cooking during summer and fall. Before the snow came at the beginning of winter my daughter decided to transplant a few into pots and bring them inside. They really didn’t enjoy the transfer but they struggled on. I don’t think they have enjoyed the neglect either we as fail to water them for weeks at a time. Despite our patchy efforts they seem to be hanging in there. I assume I should prune them hard soon then look after them a bit better leading up to their return to the outside world.
I did not have the same issues keeping these three pots looking healthy. I used distress inks pads and markers to do some watercolouring. I knew I wanted the herbs to all be different greens but I didn’t want them to clash with each other so I picked four green inks and used a different pair on each herb for continuity. The parsley was pine needles and mowed lawn, rosemary was iced spruce and peeled paint and basil was mowed lawn and peeled paint. When inking the stamp I dabbed both inks on the leaves, stamped then used a paintbrush to blend the inks with water to fill the leaves.
All the pots were done with barn door, hickory smoke and vintage photo ink. I inked the stamp with the three distress inks but also picked them up from a glass mat so I could paint each pot adding shadows and depth. I also painted shadows below each pot with hickory smoke ink and a little vintage photo. I thought about adding some background but I just love those little pots sitting there looking healthy all by themselves to I left them alone just adding ‘thinking of you’ from the mini set ‘wildflowers’.
I just took another look at our sad stringy herbs; advice is welcome!
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Where flowers bloom
Posted: March 16, 2020 Filed under: exhilaration, Penny Black, Uncategorized | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 6 Comments
The appearance of sunny skies and warmer temperatures over the weekend have been a pleasant change; maybe spring has sprung. Life seems to have changed a little since I was posting on Friday! Events have been cancelled, churches, schools, libraries and recreation centres have closed for the next three weeks at least and store shelves have some significant gaps. Here in Ottawa the number of people infected with the virus is still low but growing each day.
This simple card is stamped with a new brushstroke stamp from Penny Black called ‘Exhilaration’. It is a spray of flowers which curves in a ‘s’ shape. I stamped it once from the top left corner then just a partial image crossing the bottom left corner.
You probably won’t be surprised by any of the process today as I used the same technique I often for brushstroke stamps. I did the stamping on hot pressed watercolour paper in the stamp positioner using distress markers to ink the stamp. I was pleasantly surprised how well the colours worked and how nice the blends were after minimal inking and spritzing.
The colours I used were festive berries and dusty concord on the flowers and peeled paint, crushed olive and forest moss on the leaves and stems. I did spritz the stamps a little before stamping so the inks would blend. Using three greens worked well giving the simple leaf shapes more interest. The criss-crossing of stems gave me an indent which worked perfectly for a sentiment. I stamped the sentiment from the ‘blooming sentiments’ set in Spanish moss versafine ink.
Take care, I’ll be back with more in a few days.
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Exquisite envelope
Posted: March 11, 2020 Filed under: exquisite envelope, Penny Black | Tags: Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, Penny Black stamps 6 Comments
A few weeks back I stamped leaves and flowers over some loosely painted squares. Ever since I made the card I have wanted to try again with black paper and shimmer paint. The previous card featured ‘banner blooms‘ a clear outline set from Penny Black. Today’s card features a similar set called ‘exquisite envelope’. I’m sure I will use the sets together at some point.
To create today’s card I worked on a panel of cold pressed black watercolour paper with Coliro pearlescent paints from both the ‘ocean’ and ‘earth’ sets. I did not use a stencil to help me paint the shapes this time I freestyled them and tried to keep the edges basically in line with each other. After painting seven shimmery shapes I chose stamps that would fit the shapes. I know it would have made sense to create the shapes to fit the stamps but did I think of that? Ah no. It worked out though with some post-it note masking if a stamp was too big for the shape.
I embossed a sentiment from ‘million thanks’ on neenah black cardstock and popped it up over the painted shapes. I wanted a gold frame around the panel but could not find the exact gold in my stash so instead I painted the same gold paint from the Coliro earth set around the edges of the black card front. Painting your own mats and borders with matching ink or paint is a great way to get a perfect match.
It is a bit tricky to show off the pearlescent paint to advantage in photos but it really does shimmer and shine in real life. If you are interested in creating some shimmery dramatic panels and cards consider joining one of my classes here in Ottawa during March
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Petal Poetry
Posted: March 9, 2020 Filed under: Penny Black, petal poetry | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 12 Comments
Introducing ‘petal poetry’ from Penny Black, another floral beauty from the new release ‘Secret Garden’. This one is a brushstroke stamp which means the image is taken from a painted image. I like to stamp each brushstroke stamp I receive in a single colour, just a medium tone, nothing too light or dark, to see all the detail before I start creating with it. Having a monotone print of the image beside me when I work is very helpful. I always use a stamp positioner for this type of image so I can work on a bit at a time and I don’t feel any pressure to ink every bit in the right colour first go.
To create this panel I started by inking the flowers with shaded lilac distress ink and the leaves with peeled paint distress ink, then stamped without any spritzing. With the pale image of the peonies on my hot pressed watercolour panel I inked the edges of the petals in wilted violet distress ink and added forest moss ink to the leaves with a marker then stamped again. From this point on I added ink to the stamp with distress markers to define the petals, I had shaded lilac and dusty concord markers to help show edges and shadows. I did some spritzing of ink on the stamp but also blended the colour on the panel with a paintbrush. To see the sort of process I used check out a couple of my videos with similar stamps (blossom branch and spontaneous joy)
I kept on adding dabs of colour and blending with water until I was happy with the result. With this one I know I stopped myself from spritzing too much so the petals would still have some definition. And I didn’t even splatter! Such restraint! Once it was dry I added the centre of the flowers with a black soot distress marker and stamped a sentiment from ‘million thanks’ in versafine clair nocturne ink.
I hope you are enjoying the new floral stamps from Penny Black; there are indeed other images in the new release and I will eventually tear myself away from the florals to share some with you.
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Heather Telford 