Wishing you comfort

Posted: August 3, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Branch 9 die, gel press, Moda Scrap, Penny Black, whisper | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

I’m always looking for ways to use my gel prints because I have many and want to make more! I found this two panel idea on Victoria Wilding’s instagram. I chose not to stamp on my prints but instead added the Penny Black ‘whisper’ die-cut over the top, a strip of cardstock along the edge and a sentiment from the PB set ‘strength‘.

If you don’t have gel prints you could use any kind of patterned paper but I would encourage you to check out my online course ‘Gel Print Journey‘ if you are interested in learning or trying new techniques.

I thought the muted tones of the gel prints lent themselves to a sympathy card as did the dark brown cardstock rather than bold black.

These gel prints are not very bulky as I printed on paper not cardstock. I added double sided adhesive to the back then attached the strips to the card base and trimmed off any overhanging paper.

You might recognise the same greeny brown print on this second card but this time paired with a print featuring the PB background stamp, ‘bed of roses’.

I cut both the Moda Scrap ‘branch 9‘ die and the edge strip from dark green cardstock and used a similar coloured ink for the sentiment. I know the cardstock looks black in the photo but it is truly dark green in real life.

I liked the clean but pretty effect of two gel printed strips together and was able to make several cards using bits of 6″x6″ prints. I kept all the left over scraps too; you will see them in an upcoming journal page.

Village Stroll

Posted: July 28, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Stamped Landscapes, Stroll | Tags: , | 8 Comments

This lovely scenic stamp from Penny Black is called ‘stroll’ and it gives you a hint about why it has been so quiet on the blog lately. No I haven’t been in Europe strolling down pretty cobblestone streets but I have been on a break doing a little strolling with family while visiting several pretty places in Ontario and Quebec.

When I searched for a reference photo to guide my choice of colours my first search gave me a very similar English street, lovely but rather monochrome. I will try that approach next. Once I put Danish village street in the search I found something more colourful which ended up being the inspiration for this panel. As usual I worked on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper.

My approach was to use a stamp positioner and stamp first the cobblestone path, the trees, the lamp-post and then each house, all in distress inks. I then used a paintbrush and water to blend the colour in each stamped area. When the blended ink dried I stamped over the road and path with archival and amalgam inks to provide outlines. I was aiming for a sketched look so I used a permanent black marker to add outlines to all the houses as well. I fiddled back and forth between blending more distress inks and adding more outlines until I was happy with the image. To add sky I blended whatever blue ink was already in my blending brush! (looks like it could have been faded jeans but who knows?)

My recent strolls took me through the very pretty town of Perth, Ontario as well as L’Anse St Jean, Tadoussac, Quebec City and Mont Tremblant in Quebec. Where have you been strolling lately?

The L’Anse St Jean marina at 8:30 in the morning just before we took a boat tour of the Saguenay Fjord.

Seaside

Posted: June 23, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Penny Black, seaside, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

This image brings back so many memories for me. I love the ocean and beach so approaching the water down a sand covered path makes me very happy. I spent my first ten years in Tasmania and we had beach holidays at St Helens. After we moved to Canberra our family would go to Bateman’s Bay then in later years Bateau Bay and Port Macquarie. When I visit my Dad on the Central Coast we will sometimes walk along Soldiers Beach or just drive there to watch it during a storm.

To create a sandy background I swiped a piece of hot pressed watercolour paper through some smooshed yellow inks. It gave an uneven coverage which I left to dry before stamping. Using a stamp positioner I stamped first the fence posts in grey and brown then inked and stamped the grasses with a couple of green markers. I stamped the sea in uncharted mariner(of course) then the shadows in the sand with fossilized amber.

The initial stamping on hot pressed watercolour paper is always a bit patchy so I keep the panel in the positioner so I can restamp certain areas to build up depth of colour. I also use a paintbrush or markers to add colour directly to the panel. I painted the sky with broken china ink and finally added white dots to the ocean with a white gel pen. Now if I could just get to the ocean as easily as stamping the ocean…

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Meadow

Posted: June 9, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: meadow, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 8 Comments

I have what I call a pile of possibility in my workroom consisting of panels that could be made into something. The smaller ones are housed in a shoebox; there are watercolour backgrounds, stamped and coloured panels, alcohol ink panels and hand painted experiments. This panel has sat in the box for years unstamped but looking very much like a sunset. I can’t remember whether it was painted with watercolour paints or swiped with watercolour inks. I imagine the pale centre circle was dabbed out with a brush or paper towel but I really can’t be sure.

I stamped the Penny Black ‘meadow’ stamp on the panel with peeled paint archival ink then coloured inside the leaves with zig clean color real brush markers. I added spots and dots to the flowers and sky with gel pens, a white, a gold and a copper.

I stamped a sentiment from the PB ‘enjoy builder’ set on a left over strip. Hope you can take some time to do what makes you happy this weekend. Here are a couple of suggestions. (wink)

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Good Day Bouquet

Posted: June 7, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: good day bouquet, Penny Black, Time | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

Good day bouquet is a pretty vase stamp from Penny Black. I used a strip of hot pressed watercolour paper and kept the deckled edge which is on the large sheets I buy then cut into smaller pieces for card panels and other projects. I smooshed uncharted mariner and lost shadow distress inks on my glass mat, diluted it with water then swiped the watercolour panel through the ink. There was a fine splatter of masking fluid on the panel which is most noticeable on the side of the vase.

I chose to use water-based brush markers to colour the stamp. As the distress markers are being discontinued I have been testing out alternatives for inking stamps. Water-based markers can be helpful in inking small areas on a stamp. For the flowers, leaves and stems I used Staedtler water-based markers; the pack I bought has 36 colours so I was able to use three different pinks for the flowers and a couple of greens for the stems. I used uncharted mariner for the vase and then later for the ‘time’ stamps I added to the background. When I ink my stamps with markers I spritz the stamp before pressing it onto the panel and sometimes blend the stamped image with water also. I inked the centres of the flowers with black, then after stamping used the small tip end of the black marker to add more detail.

To finish I added some water splatter which I dabbed away with a paper towel and some ink splatter because you know I love to splatter! If you are in Ottawa don’t forget you have the opportunity to pick up some crafty bargains this weekend at the Saturday garage sale, details below.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Potted Pretties in Pencil

Posted: May 24, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Coloured pencil, how sweet, Penny Black, potted pretties | Tags: , | 5 Comments

This is the new ‘potted pretties’ stamp from Penny Black; it is pretty isn’t it? Although I love the soft blends of loose watercolour I also find pencil colouring very satisfying too, especially on kraft cardstock.

I use Faber Castell Polychromos pencils and chose a dark and a light pink along with white for the petals, two greens for the leaves and a tan with white for the pot. Once I had almost finished I added some more shadow to the centre of some flowers and the shadows of the leaves with a dark burgandy pencil – a trick I learned from Kathy Racoosin, colouring wizard.

If no-line watercolour is more your thing then I am colouring the same image in that style too. I’ll post it on the blog soon.

Don’t forget to check out my new online course if you haven’t already. The discount TEAMBLOG10 is still valid for a 10% discount at checkout. Thank you to those of you who have joined already. I am excited to hear from or see some prints once you’ve had a chance to dive in!

And another event you might be interested in if you are local is the Community Paper Crafting Garage Sale on June 10.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox)

Gel Printing with the Strands stencil

Posted: May 18, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Classes, Dies, Echidna Studios, Flutters, gel press, online class, Penny Black, rustic birdhouse, strands | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

A stencil gel print for you today. I created this distressed print on a large gel plate so I could pick up a card front and an envelope print at the same time. If you don’t have a large plate you could just use the same paint colours and stencil on a second print. Just in case you didn’t catch my news yesterday, my new online course Gel Print Journey is now available! (And there is a discount for blog readers TEAMBLOG10)

The stencil is called ‘strands’ and it is a digital design I created and have made available in the Echidna Studios etsy store. The bold print shown on the card above was made with copper, burgandy and purple paint so I chose a dark burgandy cardstock to cut dragonfly elements and a sentiment strip. Printing directly on the envelope is a easy way to co-ordinate with your card and I placed a sticker on the white envelope before printing to preserve white space for the address. I think I might make a video of this process because it’s quick and effective, a combination I like.

The pattern on the second card is very muted because it is a ghost print, the leftovers on the plate after I pulled the one above. I cover this technique in my new online class using a range of different stencils and colour combinations.

Even though ghost prints are often patchy I like using them for collage or backgrounds as I have here. The line between cream and grey ended up looking like a path or lawn and I just like the unique grungy texture.

The dies and stamps I used to finish the cards are all Penny Black, those dragonflies on the first card are some of the first dies I ever got and they’re still a favourite.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & ScrapNStamp)

Sun Kissed

Posted: May 15, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Penny Black, sun kissed | Tags: , , | 5 Comments

These breezy flowers are from the new Penny Black release. The stamp is called ‘sun kissed‘ and I have stamped it twice on this card. I used both distress markers and ink pads to ink the stamp; I know the markers are being discontinued but while I have them I will keep using them.

I inked the flowers with barn door and worn lipstick, spritzed the stamp lightly then stamped on hot pressed watercolour. Often I follow this step by blending the ink on the petals with a damp paintbrush. I decided not to do that this time as I liked the soft ‘impressionistic’ look of the uneven coverage. I inked and stamped the stems with mowed lawn then added some fossilized amber to some of the flowers.

I added fine lines and dots to each flower head with a fine black marker then added a sentiment from the PB ‘Enjoy builder set’. The builder sets include one or two large solid stamps then a range of phrases or words to stamp adjacent to the large word. Once again I decided not to add any background blending or shading. I like the simple clean look of the stem and flowers on white and it gives me a chance to get to know the stamp before combining it with other stamps or techniques.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Hollyhock Heaven Indeed!

Posted: May 11, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: hollyhock heaven, how sweet, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

This is the stamp I didn’t know I’d been waiting for until I saw it in the new Penny Black release! Hollyhocks are such beautiful flowers. I don’t have any in my garden so obviously I need some on my cards!

As usual I worked in the stamp positioner with hot pressed watercolour paper. I first inked the centres of the open flowers with a dark red zig clean color brush marker, spritzed with water and stamped. Next I inked the stems and leaves at the top of the image with a green zig marker and stamped. I used saltwater taffy distress ink to ink all the flowers wiping ink off where I could see there were leaves. This is a bit of a tricky step but a bit of green in the wrong place can usually be diluted and dabbed off with paper towel. I blended all the petals with a paintbrush pulling the dark red ink into the paler pink. When stamping the lower leaves with mowed lawn distress ink the fence ended up green so I went over that with some hickory smoke ink and a paintbrush. When I was sure the flower petals were dry I added yellow to the centres just like my reference photo. To finish I splattered some green and taffy ink, added a little greeting from the PB ‘how sweet!’ set and tied some twine to fit in with the little fence.

Isn’t this stamp a stunner? I can’t wait to try other colours and pair it with other florals.

Now back to my gel printing class; it’s not going to publish itself!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Gel Print Mandala Thank You Card

Posted: May 3, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: beaded mandala, Deco Frame, Dies, gel press, Penny Black, The Crafters Workshop | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

Gel printing continues to entice and delight me. This brown and burgandy print was done with a mandala mask from The Crafter’s Workshop; it’s called ‘beaded mandala’.

This print is a good example of the bonuses you pick up when you don’t start with a perfectly clean gel plate. If you look closely you can see some tiny remnants of text from an image transfer as well as the more obvious grey leftovers. I chose burgandy for the stacked PB diecut ‘thank you’ because there are some patches that look more burgandy than brown.

This technique with stencils is one of my favourites and is included in my upcoming online class Gel Print Journey. I am excited to be talking about it again despite the months that have passed since I began. I am back on it and excited to release it soon!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

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