Magnolia Rhapsody
Posted: February 20, 2017 Filed under: magnolia rhapsody | Tags: Nuvo crystal drops, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 25 Comments
Penny Black has added more lovely brushstroke stamps to their collection including this beauty, Magnolia Rhapsody. I have several techniques I use with my brushstroke stamps; for this card I used memento markers, blending colour both on the stamp and on the paper. Using a stamp positioner I started by stamping the whole image in angel pink memento ink; this gave me a reference image which helped me apply the darker inks in the right places on the stamp. Next I inked all the petals with an angel pink marker then added lilac posies ink to the flower centres and petal tips. I spritzed lightly before stamping so the colour would mix a little then blended further on the paper with a damp brush. After finishing the petals I inked and stamped the leaves, then the branch and twigs.
To give a bit of a bokeh look to the scene I stamped again around the main image without applying more ink. The result was pale pink and green petals and leaves in the background. I tried out the morning dew Nuvo crystal drops on petals and leaves; you might be able to see my little dew drops in the photo below. I added a thin strip of cardstock to the bottom of the card base and balanced it with bit of sponged green at the top.
Thanks for dropping in today.
Supplies
Stamps: magnolia rhapsody, stitched flowers (PB)
Ink: angel pink, lilac posies, pistachio, olive grove, espresso truffle, tuxedo black memento markers & versafine onyx black ink (Tsukineko)
Also: Nuvo ‘morning dew’ crystal drops
Paper: hotpressed 100% cotton watercolour paper, olive textured cardstock
A new poppy to enjoy
Posted: February 16, 2017 Filed under: Dynamic | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders 16 Comments
If you are familiar with Penny Black stamps you will know there are a lot of poppies to choose from. The one on my card above is a lovely new outline stamp called ‘dynamic’. I chose to heat emboss it in clear powder then colour with watercolour pencils. I used only five colours, varying the intensity of the red by adding more in the shadowed areas.(I also added a little sparkle to the petals with wink of stella) I used two greens for the stem and leaves, a black in the centre and a grey around the image.
Once my colour was complete I let it dry then ironed the embossing out of the paper. To do this you place the panel face down on some printer paper and iron with no steam over the panel until the embossing has melted into the paper underneath. It still looks embossed but it is no longer raised or shiny. I ended up giving the panel a wide red frame and a die cut sentiment from the same cardstock as the frame. Don’t forget to check out all the new loveliness in the new Bliss release.
Supplies
Stamps: Dynamic (PB)
Dies: You enjoy(PB)
Ink: versamark (Tsukineko)
Pencils: 174, 199, 233, 225, 155 Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils (Faber Castell)
Paper: hotpressed 100% cotton watercolour paper
Also: WOW clear embossing powder, wink of stella clear marker
Falling florals
Posted: February 15, 2017 Filed under: Brusho, Gladsome | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders 22 Comments
Today’s card features one of the new colouring book style images from Penny Black. I chose to let brusho powders do the colouring for me. I embossed the stamped image off the top of the watercolour paper using versamark and clear embossing powder. I taped down the top and sides of the panel to prevent warping when I added water to it. With brusho you can add water first or powder first. For this panel I started by sprinkling powder over the embossed panel; I was selective in where I sprinkled it so I would get purple flowers and green leaves but I knew there would be soft blending between the colours anyway. I spritzed from above and from the side to spread the colour down beyond the stamping.
I did do a little touching up with a paintbrush where the colour hadn’t completely filled a section but I really didn’t need to alter much.
Once the panel was dry I trimmed it and added a sentiment then attached it to a cardbase. I also added a print of the stamp inside the card in violet ink and on an envelope as well.
The new release from Penny Black is appropriately called Bliss and is now available in the online shop and browsable in the online catalogue. There are so many gorgeous new stamps and dies in this release; drop in again tomorrow when I share some more.
Supplies
Stamps: Gladsome, All great things (PB)
Ink: versamark, versafine imperial purple (Tsukineko)
Paint: purple, ultramarine, emerald green, violet brusho (Colourcraft)
Paper: fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: WOW clear embossing powder
Purple Iris
Posted: February 14, 2017 Filed under: Pure Iris | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 13 Comments
This iris card is a project from last year; it features one of my favourite techniques for brush stroke stamps: inking with memento markers. You could use any water soluble markers I imagine, it is easy to apply colour to the stamp with them and their water solubility makes it possible to get nice colour blends. I stamped on a piece of hot pressed watercolour paper which I had splattered some masking fluid over.
I began with some drips of water on the watercolour paper panel. I inked the stamp with the markers listed below, spritzed the stamp and used the MISTI to stamp on the panel. Wherever the stamp hit the water droplets it bled into the surrounding area. I also blended the ink with a paint brush and water. When the panel was almost dry I stamped again in purple and green to get some extra definition on the leaves and petals. To frame the iris I painted some very diluted northern pine ink around the background then waited for it to dry again before adding some splatter.
I remember when I did made this panel I ended up stamping several at the same time; some ended up darker and more defined, others were pale and looser. It all depended on how much ink and water I applied to the stamp.
Thanks for dropping in; I’ll be back tomorrow with brand new stamps from Penny Black!
Supplies:
Stamps: Pure Iris(PB)
Inks: Memento Cantaloupe, Grape Jelly, Sweet Plum, Olive Grove, Pistachio (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Hot pressed Fabriano watercolour paper, Olive Green cardstock
Also: masking fluid
Floral border
Posted: February 9, 2017 Filed under: Centerpiece, Stitched Edges | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Sakura Koi watercolour paints 18 Comments
Between Christmas and New Year I did some major re-organising in my work room and changed the way I store my stamps. I am still working out a few details and wondering the best way to store my wood block stamps but other than that the new system seems to be working well. One benefit of doing some serious sorting was re-acquainting myself with my supplies. I pulled out a stamp from a few years ago and my Koi watercolour travel set to make this card.
The stamp is a bouquet of flowers in a vase but as you can see I left the vase out of the picture and just worked with the flowers to create a border. With masking I could have positioned the flowers even more closely but I was hoping to finish this card fairly quickly so I just stamped the flower part of the stamp with the MISTI then moved my watercolour panel and stamped again. I used distress ink to stamp so I could blend it while painting. To keep it simple I used two colours of paint on the petals switching back and forth between a pink and a pale orange. I painted olive green into the leaves but then went around the edges and over the stems with a marker. To complete the flowers I painted black dots and yellow centres.
It really was a fairly quick panel to paint, the time consuming part ended up being the way I mounted it between a strip of pink and a die-cut edge of pink. I should have just attached it over the top of a pink panel but I made it less bulky but more fiddly by cutting both the watercolour panel and the pink cardstock with the edge die then aligning them on the card base. The Happy Little Stampers challenge this month is watercolour with an optional twist of die-cutting, so I’m popping over to add this one in.
As I write this I am sitting beside an amaryllis which looks like it might just burst out in bloom today. It is a gift from one of my artsy accomplices and it has been growing very steadily since the new year. It’s nice to have a real flower inside when all outside is snow and ice!
Supplies
Stamps: Centerpiece, words of kindness (PB)
Creative Dies: stitched edges (PB)
Inks: abandoned coral distress ink (Ranger) Olive grove memento marker, versafine Spanish moss (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock, pink cardstock
Also: Koi watercolor field sketch travel kit (Sakura)
Effulgence note
Posted: February 7, 2017 Filed under: Color Burst, Effulgence | Tags: color burst, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders 13 Comments
When I was making my pink and gold love card last week I had two panels on the go. I created both using the emboss resist method along with colorburst powders. I didn’t do too much blending on this one so the patterns the powders made after I’d spritzed them remain, especially on the left hand side of the panel.
I embossed the ‘Effulgence’ stamp on hot pressed watercolour paper in clear powder then sprinkled ultramarine and violet colorburst powders over the panel. I spritzed the panel from above and watched the colour move before adding any more powder or water.
I wanted the area around the flowers to be completely covered in paint so I blended some areas with a paintbrush. Around the edges I left it abstract. The panel was very tall and thin so I ended up with a tall thin card finished with a sentiment popped up over the flower stems.
Supplies:
Stamps: effulgence, sentiment collection (PB)
Paint: violet & ultramarine Colorburst watercolor powder (Ken Oliver)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper
Ink: versamark (tsukineko)
Also: clear embossing powder
Family Tree
Posted: February 6, 2017 Filed under: Hand lettered, Tree heart, Triple Banner | Tags: color burst, Hand lettering, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 16 Comments
This delicate tree stamp is called `tree heart`but it reminded me of a family tree. I tried turning it into my family tree with names along the branches but it did not look that good! Instead I used the emboss resist technique with colorburst powders.
I embossed the tree in clear powders on hot pressed watercolour paper then sprinkled a few different colours of powder over the panel. I kept the colours separate as I sprinkled knowing they would blend anyway as I started adding water. I spritzed first then used a small paintbrush to move and blend the paint.
I love the way the emboss resist technique traps colours in little white borders. My next live class is a Watercolour resist class and, as often happens, I nailed two projects then took much longer to finalise the third. I was so happy to complete the designs I rewarded myself with some lettering playtime and made a bunch of custom black on white sentiments. I pulled out nine different banner, tag and label dies by Penny Black, cut them from black cardstock then used Dr Ph Martins Bleedproof white paint and a nib pen to write a sentiment on each one. The nib holder in the photo is an exclusive handmade holder sent to me by the lovely team at The Foiled Fox. It is delightful to write with. The bleedproof white paint is too thick for the nib straight out of the jar so I mixed some with a bit of water and it worked nicely.
Now I have a few sentiments in reserve ready to add to future cards.
Supplies:
Stamps: Tree-heart(PB)
Dies: Triple banner, Tagged, A Pocketfull (PB)
Paint: Colorburst watercolor powder (Ken Oliver) Bleed proof white (Dr Ph Martin)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Solar White
Ink: versamark (Tsukineko)
Also: clear embossing powder (WOW)
Nib holder: Handmade by The Foiled Fox
Stillness
Posted: February 2, 2017 Filed under: Stamped Landscapes, Winter Ledge | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks, WOW embossing powders 12 Comments
After a week of balmy temperatures hovering around zero, we are back to real winter weather again and bright scenes like this one. Winter here is often prettiest when it’s the coldest.
I stamped and embossed this scene using ‘winter ledge’ and a stamp positioner so I could get the thin layer of snow on the branches. The trick to this is to stamp first in versamark then move the cardstock up ever so slightly then stamp in pigment ink, in this case versafine onyx black. Once the panel is stamped twice you can emboss both images at once. The embossing resists ink once you sponge or paint over the top. I sponged this scene in memento Danube blue ink creating snowy hills behind the branches with post-it note masks.
I hesitate to say that I hope you are all staying warm as I know our family in Australia have been wishing for a little respite from the heat. I hope you are enjoying the weather, whatever the weather, whether you like it or not!
Supplies
Stamps: winter ledge, snippets (PB)
Inks: versamark, versafine onyx black, memento danube blue (Tsukineko)
Papers: Neenah solar white
Also: clear embossing powder
Lovely Neighbourhood
Posted: February 1, 2017 Filed under: Color Burst, Neighborhood love | Tags: color burst, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 2 Comments
These cute little dies are part of a set called Neighborhood love; I love the little house and building dies Penny Black has brought out even though they challenge my fear of the fiddly factor. I started this card by positioning a frisket film circle mask on a piece of watercolour paper. I sprinkled ultramarine blue powder and a tiny bit of merlot over the panel and spritzed it lightly from above. I spritzed only until I could see some patterns appearing but stopped before all the spots of colour started joining together. I used a heat tool to dry it, pointing the tool down at the panel not from the side to reduce the chance of the wet paint moving across the panel. It reminds me of a mosaic.
I painted another small piece of watercolour paper with merlot colorburst powder then die cut the buildings from the piece and attached them across the bottom of the panel.
I removed the mask then wanted to hand letter a sentiment inside the moon; I ended up not being game and chose this sweet sentiment from the ‘forever & always’ set.
Supplies:
Stamps: Forever & Always (PB)
Die: Neighborhood Love (PB)
Paints: Merlot & Ultramarine Blue Colorburst powders (Ken Oliver)
Inks: Versafine onyx black ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah epic black cardstock
Also: Grafix frisket film
Gold love
Posted: January 31, 2017 Filed under: Color Burst, Effulgence, Guest design | Tags: color burst, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders 12 Comments
I’m thrilled to be a guest on The Foiled Fox blog today. If you have never visited The Foiled Fox you absolutely should; their blog is full of delightful projects and their shop is stocked with all the good stuff, paints, inks, stamps, markers, tools…and so much more. To find out more about this card just pop over to The Foiled Fox where there are some more pics and details.
Supplies:
Stamps: effulgence, all about love(PB)
Paint: Merlot & Tangerine Colorburst watercolor powder (Ken Oliver)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, gold shimmer
Ink: versamark (tsukineko)
Also: gold embossing powder
Heather Telford 