Golden Woods
Posted: September 7, 2015 Filed under: Bister, Snowy Grove | Tags: Bister, Canson watercolour paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 14 Comments
Snowy Grove (used on the card above) is one of my favourite stamps from the new PB release. I have already used it for a fall and a winter look and plan to include it in one of my upcoming Christmas card classes. To create this scene I created the soft gradation of colour behind the trees first by brayering memento dandelion ink over the bottom half of the panel and memento cantaloupe ink over the top half. I then inked the stamp with forest moss, gathered twigs and dried marigold distress inks and stamped. For the more watery blended look I inked the stamp again with vintage photo and spiced marmalade distress stains and stamped a second time (with the help of the misti). Because the stains sit on the paper for a while without soaking in I was able to grab a paintbrush and paint over the large trunks to fill in the empty circles that suggest snow. I pulled some of the stain down into the ‘ground’ area and, with some extra stain, filled the forest floor with brown stain then sprinkled some brown bister powder over the panel for extra texture.
By the way I have been enjoying watching a few amazingly artistic stampers create pretty things live or on replay using Periscope. I hope to film my first ‘scope’ some time this week. Maybe I’ll see you there. (If you haven’t heard of Periscope click on the link for a little overview)
Supplies:
Stamps: Snowy Grove (PB)
Inks: Memento Cantaloupe & Dandelion (Tsukineko ) Forest Moss, Gathered Twigs, Dried Marigold, Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade distress stains and/or inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstocks
Also: Brown Bister
Full Bloom
Posted: September 4, 2015 Filed under: Full Bloom | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 7 Comments
‘Full Bloom’, the stamp featured on this card, will be a great stamp to use year round. The hanging blooms could be flowers or berries just by varying the ink colour or details added. I chose to make it in fall colours with a contrasting background. I inked the stamp with distress stains, spritzed it, then stamped on watercolour paper. I inked the ‘ever useful letter background stamp’ with purple stain, spritzed with water, stamped then painted over the script to spread the colour and blur the letters. The masking tape holding the panel left a white border when removed; I added a purple mat and die cut sentiment.
Supplies:
Stamps: Full Bloom, Letter Background (PB)
Creative Die: For You (PB)
Inks: Spiced marmalade, Dried Marigold, Pine needles, Crushed Olive, Seedless preserves distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper & purple card
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
Pumpkin Patch
Posted: September 2, 2015 Filed under: Pumpkin Patch | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 3 Comments
On the Penny Black blog this week you can find new fall and halloween stamps including the pumpkin patch cling stamp featured above. Before stamping the image I created a loose blue and yellow background by painting wet on wet with distress stains. When that was dry I inked the stamp with distress stains, spritzed it and stamped the image. I stamped the leaves a couple more times to fill the foreground. Once the stamping was dry I added some dimension and splatters with watercolour pencils then finished the card with mats and a die cut sentiment. I have noticed a few coloured leaves have fallen here and there but there are not yet pumpkins everywhere!
Supplies:
Stamps: Pumpkin Patch (PB)
Creative Dies: Deco Frame (PB)
Inks: Tumbled Glass, Crushed Olive, Dried Marigold, Vintage Photo distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper, brown & green cardstocks
Also: Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils, masking fluid
Friendship
Posted: September 1, 2015 Filed under: Demure, Swaying | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 9 Comments
Today’s card, completed back in February for a ‘Friendship’ themed challenge was stamped onto wet watercolour paper with stain making a ‘wet on wet’ image. I added colour with a paint brush and when the flowers dried a bit, painted the background colour as well. I also stamped a background stamp over the whole panel in pale brown for a vintage patterned paper look. Only when the panel was dry did I add splatter and shading with watercolour pencils. As I have mentioned before I don’t always think about the sentiment until the end. Stamping my sentiment on vellum meant that it could cover some of the panel without losing the bigger picture.
Supplies:
Stamps: Demure, Swaying, Special Wishes (PB)
Inks: Versamark (Tsukineko) Tumbled Glass, Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick, Victorian Velvet, Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint Distress stains(Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano hot press watercolour,Vellum, Neenah Natural White, burgandy cardstock
Also: Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils, Copper embossing powder
Hidden Lane
Posted: August 31, 2015 Filed under: Hidden Lane, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Bister, Canson watercolour paper, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Penny Black stamps 6 Comments
Hidden Lane is a new scenic stamp which easily will transition from season to season. I chose autumn for my first stamping with it but I know I will reach for it when creating wintry and perhaps spring scenes also. I did the colouring for this little scene with several different mediums; the sky and grass were painted with watercolour paints, the trees and foreground were a combination of distress stains and bister and final details were added with watercolour pencils. The watercolour paper had been splattered with some masking fluid which gives the whole scene a slightly aged look. I think the sentiment which was probably intended for Christmas works equally well for Autumn which is a wonderful time of year and very beautiful where I live. Not that I’m wishing for it; as I’ve said before summer can stay as long as it likes!
Supplies:
Stamps: Hidden Lane, Season’s Gifts (PB)
Inks: Vintage photo, Spiced Marmalade, Pine needles, Crushed Olive, Dried Marigold distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstocks
Also: Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils, Bister, masking fluid
Watercoloured snowflakes
Posted: August 29, 2015 Filed under: Soft Grace | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks 10 Comments
I just keep switching from winter to summer and back to winter again here on the blog. I might mix it up a bit more next week and throw in some autumn! This card features one of the new transparent sets from Penny Black called ‘Soft Grace’. I used three of the nine stamps in the set and embossed them on watercolour paper, hot pressed works best for intricate patterns like these because it is so smooth. After embossing I taped down my watercolour panel and added water then distress stains to create a blended pattern in a few of my favourite colours. I also sprinkled some salt for further patterning. I let it dry then brushed off most of the salt; some had adhered itself to the paper which gave it a twinkling effect. The sentiment is from the new transparent set, ‘Season’s Gifts’.
When this card was featured on the Penny Black blog someone noted that I had only used six-pointed snowflakes. I am a little fussy about my snowflakes as they are always six-pointed in real life. Since living in Canada I have had the delightful experience of seeing the intricate pattern of snowflakes when they have landed on my gloves and also taken a look with a magnifying glass. They truly are tiny works of art and never two the same! There are several eight sided ‘snowflakes’ in the set too which will make lovely stars and patterns 😉
Supplies:
Stamps: Soft Grace, Season’s Gifts (PB)
Inks: Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean, Seeded Preserves distress stains (Ranger), Versamark, Majestic Blue & Imperial Purple Versafine (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Clear embossing powder
Roses for my Mother
Posted: August 28, 2015 Filed under: Efflorescence, Textures | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 15 Comments
As my mother lives on the other side of the world, the easiest way to send roses is on a card. I stamped and painted these back in February when my garden was under snow but my parents’ was probably looking great.
I worked on each petal and leaf separately, stamping one rose at a time in distress stain, blending and moving the colour with a waterbrush and then doing the same with the leaves. This way I was able to avoid any colour ink running from one petal to another. (I used the technique described in this video tutorial but used finer brushes to work on the small images.) I painted a bud to bridge the gap between the lower roses and the top one. The background is sponged and splattered with pale blue ink. I stamped a texture stamp on the side panel to balance the finished panel.
Enjoy your weekend.
Supplies:
Stamps: Efflorescence, Eloquence, Textures (PB)
Inks: aged mahogany, worn lipstick, scattered straw, peeled paint, forest moss distress stains, memento summer sky & rhubarb stalk (Tsukineko)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, burgandy cardstock
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
La Fleur Rouge
Posted: August 27, 2015 Filed under: La Fleur Rouge, World of Wishes | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 5 Comments
Penny Black seems to come out with at least one pretty new poinsettia stamp every year and this year’s, featured above, is called ‘La Fleur Rouge’. The stamp has three flower heads on it and I have stamped it three times on the panel. You can see from the white speckled effect that I started with masking fluid splattered on my watercolour paper. I stamped with distress stain three times but rather than re-inking the stamp I just spritzed with water between stampings. The result is lighter images the second and third times. I also spritzed the panel to get some of the stain to bleed into the surrounding area and painted pale green between some of the flowers. When all was dry I added some green splatter. To finish the card I matted with red to match the red die cut sentiment. To see how Jill Foster used this stamp check out the PB blog
Thanks for dropping by; I hope you’re having a great day.
Supplies:
Stamps: La Fleur Rouge (PB)
Creative Die: World of Wishes (PB)
Inks: Forest Moss, Festive Berries, Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Peeled Paint distress stains/markers(Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, red cardstock
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
Astral
Posted: August 25, 2015 Filed under: Astral, Bister | Tags: Bister, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 8 Comments
Penny Black has several negative space stamps in the new release which are fun to work with. Working with this one called ‘Astral’, I decided I wanted several colours behind the bright white bird and tree so built them up in several stages. I used the MISTI and stamped in a pale blue ink first. I inked the stamp again, this time with darker blues and purples then spritzed it lightly with a pearl-ex spray so the colours would blend a little and have some shimmer when stamped. I also spritzed the stamped panel so I could drop some mahogany bister in a few places. Finally I added some water droplets and dabbed them up straight away to create pale circles.
The Penny Black blog continues to feature new stamps and projects every day, the catalogue is now available, the new products are in the store and you still have the chance to win some stamps or dies. Fun times, stampers!
Supplies:
Stamps: Astral (PB)
Inks: Dusty Concord, Worn Lipstick, Salty Ocean, Stormy sky distress inks (Ranger), Memento Summer Sky (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Bister watercolour powder, Interference Blue pearl-ex spray
Gild the Lily
Posted: August 24, 2015 Filed under: Bister, Foiling, Sun fire | Tags: Bister, Canson watercolour paper, Minc, Penny Black creative dies 11 Comments
I have something new to share today. There has been something of a Midas situation happening in my craft room. I brought home a Heidi Swapp Minc machine last week and warned my family that anything not nailed down was about to be foiled! It turns out their possessions are safe for now as I am currently experimenting with different ways to use the machine to do the type of foiling I want to do. I will share more over the weeks to come but I will say for starters that the Minc does a beautiful job.
As you know I have recently dived into watercolour powders and all the experimentation with them has resulted in a surplus of watercolour panels just sitting around waiting to be made into things. I pulled out one of those abstract panels and foiled a gold lily onto it using the ‘sun fire’ die from Penny Black. I am still learning and making mistakes so I won’t go into the how-to for today’s card but as I nail down the techniques that work for me I will share them here.
Prepare yourself for a little more shimmer and shine around here!
Supplies:
Stamps: A Sweet Day (PB)
Creative Dies: Sun fire (PB)
Inks: Bister watercolour powders
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hotpressed watercolour paper
Also: gold foil
Heather Telford 