One Layer Simplicity: Shades of Summer
Posted: August 1, 2014 Filed under: CAS, Coloured pencil, One-Layer Simplicity challenge, Poppy Time | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Polychromos Colour Pencil, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 14 Comments
Susan is hosting the new One Layer Simplicity Challenge and she has chosen six gorgeous summer colour palettes to inspire us. I chose the one below which was a challenge as I don’t often combine pinks and yellows.
I just did a big clean up and reorganization of my craft area and in doing so found the card base above with the square already masked and the green sponging started. I sponged more of the square in memento peanut brittle. I then removed the mask and stamped the poppy in versafine onyx black. I decided to use my coloured pencils for the poppy because I had the colours in the photo. I blended one colour pencil over another rather than using a blending fluid or blender pencil.
Also entered in Inkspirational Challenge to use markers or pencils
Supplies:
Stamps: Poppy Time, Amazing (Penny Black)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento New Sprout, Peanut Brittle (Tsukineko)
Also: Faber-Castell Artist Polychromos Colour Pencils
Sunflower Library Card
Posted: July 31, 2014 Filed under: A Pocket Full, Life's Journals, Remember This, Sunny Hello | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 1 Comment
I remember when all the library books had cards tucked into a pocket inside the back cover. I don’t remember any of the library cards being particularly pretty though! I am enjoying using the library card stamp and the notebook page also from the set “Life’s Journals”
I created my library card with distress stains, first inking the stamp then spritzing and stamping it on watercolour paper. I used a waterbrush to blend the colours and add any extra colour including blue for the background. I stamped the library card image when the paper was almost dry. The olive notepad page behind was die cut in two steps. Because I wanted the notepad to be wide enough to almost fill the card base I ran the die through the Big Kick half-way then repositioned the die by lining up the little circles at the top and ran it through again. The library card and label are popped up over a piece of faux burlap ribbon.
I haven’t stamped anything inside the card yet but the “For the Record” stamp leaves me plenty of possibilities…
The Penny Black design team have been sharing projects featuring the new Pocket Treasures release all week so check out the blog if you haven’t done so already.
The details post is up on One Layer Simplicity highlighting some great one layer cards and the new challenge will go live tomorrow, August 1st.
Supplies:
Stamps: Sunny Hello, Life’s Journals, Remember This (PB)Creative Dies: A Pocket Full (PB)
Inks: Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Walnut Stain Distress Stains, Broken China stain and ink (Ranger)
Paper: Neenah Natural White 110lb card stock, Olive Grove Mix & Match paper, Fabriano 100% cotton hotpressed watercolour paper
Also: May Arts Faux Burlap Wired Ribbon
Stenciled with text
Posted: July 28, 2014 Filed under: CAS, Footnotes, Verdant | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Penny Black stencils 14 Comments
I have been experimenting with my stencils trying different techniques and one thing I wanted to do was stamp a pattern through the stencil onto the card underneath. I ended up using some modeling paste first to give me a slightly raised image. I taped the stencil to some watercolour paper first then spread modelling paste over it with a palette knife. I removed the stencil to let the paste dry thoroughly then replaced it before stamping. I used the text stamp from “Footnotes” and did not stick it to an acrylic block first, instead I kept it flexible and pressed it onto each leaf and flower space in the stencil. As I had stamped it with Versafine Majestic Blue I lightly sponged the same ink over the stencil to captures the stems and define the design a little more. The panel was taped to my work surface so I used the edge of the tape as a border adding blue with a watercolour pencil and blending the colour into the panel. I finished it off with just a few little splatters and a small sentiment. The panel is popped up over a grosgrain ribbon.
You can’t see the modeling paste in my photo but the effect on the card is a subtle raised image. I have more experimenting with stencils to share in the days to come. Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies:
Stamps: Footnotes, Treemendous (PB)
Stencil: Verdant (PB)
Inks: Versafine Majestic Blue (Tsukineko)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer Indianthrene Watercolour pencil 247 (Faber Castell)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth
Texture: Modelling paste
Vintage Birthday
Posted: July 26, 2014 Filed under: Delicate Florals, Footnotes | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 18 Comments
This is one of those designs that grew out of a vague idea not a definite plan. The popped up panel is watercolour paper which I taped down to my work surface. I spritzed water onto it before I stamped. I inked the stamp from “Delicate Florals” with Memento Dandelion, Tangelo and Olive Grove markers then spritzed generously before stamping. I restamped without re-inking a couple of times. Next I inked just the flower heads with the markers and stamped them a couple of times. Finally I stamped a little extra foliage. To highlight the flowers a little more I added more colour with the Potter’s Clay marker and the Venetian red watercolour pencil. The background colour is a combination of watercolour pencil splatter and Memento ink mixed with water. While the panel was still taped down I ran an olive watercolour pencil around the edge of the tape then blended it into the panel with a waterbrush. I added a little extra texture and pattern with the text stamp from the new “Footnotes” transparent set. Once I removed the tape the panel reminded me a little of old postcards so I chose the sentiment from “Sentimental set” because of the vintage style font.
Supplies:
Stamps: Delicate Florals, Sentimental, Footnotes (PB)
Inks: Memento Dandelion, Tangelo, Potter’s Clay, Olive Grove Markers, Olive Grove & Pistachio ink (Tsukineko)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils Olive Green 173, Venetian Red 190 (Faber Castell)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock
To Treasure
Posted: July 16, 2014 Filed under: A Pocket Full, By the numbers, Dazzlers, Footnotes, Gelatos, Let's Chat, Life's Journals, Mixed Media, Remember This, Rose, Scrapbook Page, Textures | Tags: Faber Castell gelatos, Faber Castell Textural Accents, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks, Tsukineko Radiant Neon inks 13 Comments
The new Pocket Treasures release from Penny Black inspired me to do something I haven’t done in years; I created a scrapbook page! I designed my page around one of my daughter’s prom photos. As the dress was finished the day before prom I still had all the fabric scraps lying around so I incorporated some of them into the page along with watercolouring, die cuts, stenciling and stamping. I used three new background panels from the Pocket Treasures release, text and music from “Footnotes” as well as canvas from “Textures”. I also used several intricate circle designs from the transparent set “Dazzlers”. The cute little notebook pages are cut with a die from ” A Pocket Full” set.
The 12 x 12 panel is watercolour paper. I have a large block of hot-pressed paper so I did all the work on the page while it was still attached to the block then peeled it off at the end and trimmed it to size. Three of the roses are die cut from watercolour paper and coloured with gelatos. The two paler roses were painted onto the page through a die cut stencil with gesso; I then added colour with gelatos.
I used two dies from the “Leaves” set, one to die cut leaves out of tulle (the dress had four layers of tulle in the skirt), the other to create a stencil to paint through.
Supplies:
Stamps: Dazzlers, Footnotes, Life’s Journals, Textures (PB)
Creative Dies: A Pocket Full , Rose, (PB)
Gelatos: Metallic Melon, Green Tea, Guava (Faber Castell)
Watercolour Pencils: Medium Flesh 131, Pompeian Red, Pine Greren 267 (Faber Castell)
Inks: Memento London Fog, Cottage Ivy & Olive Grove Memento markers (Imagine Crafts Tsukineko), Worn Lipstick distress stains and ink (Ranger)
Textural Accents: Gesso, Gel Medium (Faber Castell)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, PB Mix & Match Coral Reef Paper
Also: Tulle, Satin, Staple
and now for something completely different…
The stamps and dies in the Pocket Treasures release are not just for scrapbooking. I went in a very different direction when using some of the new products on a card. I can hardly bear to keep my soft romantic rosy scrapbook page and my neon grunge style card in the same post they are so contrasting. To create my card I used a brayer to apply blue and pink ink onto white cardstock then cut out a piece with the “By the Numbers” die. I used the same Radiant Neon inks to apply pale blue and pink to a white card base with the brayer. I featured yet another background stamp to add arrows along with canvas in grey ink. I then wiped the grey ink pad along the edges of card base for a distressed look. I stamped arrows from “Let’s Chat” in black and the sentiment from “Remember This” also in black. Finally I cut a speech balloon from “A Pocket Full” set out of brayered pink cardstock and stamped words in black ink.
Supplies:
Stamps: Textures , Let’s Chat, Remember This (PB)
Creative Dies: A Pocket Full , By the Numbers (PB)
Inks: Memento London Fog ink, Radiant Neon Electric Blue, Electric Pink, Versafine Onyx Black(Imagine Crafts Tsukineko)
Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb card stock.
Music and Blooms
Posted: July 15, 2014 Filed under: Footnotes, Petal Power, Textures | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Memento inks 3 Comments
The new Pocket Treasures release from Penny Black features some wonderful new background panels. The music and canvas stamps on this card are two of my favourites. There are several more patterns you can see in tomorrow’s post.
This card is lot busier than my usual creations with none of my usual white space. I stamped the flower panel first on watercolour paper using distress inks. I inked the solid flower stamp from Petal Power and spritzed it with water before stamping to make a very loose blended image. I added some more colour with a waterbrush and continued adding colour with both the solid stamp and the co-ordinating outline stamp until I was happy with the result. I stamped the music over the top. I inked the canvas stamp with distress stain and spritzed it before stamping on the card base and added several large drops of water.
I did a little stamp surgery to create the sentiment. The original stamp from Edge to Edge says “you make my heart smile” but I found that I never used the whole phrase; it was often too big for my designs. So instead of avoiding the stamp I removed the ‘heart’! I also had to change the ‘my’ to ‘me’ which involved cutting off the tail of the ‘y’ and adding a loop with a marker. I don’t often slice up my stamps but I think I might use this one more often now.
Supplies:
Stamps: Petal Power, Edge to Edge, Footnotes, Textures (PB)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko) Walnut Stain, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Peeled Paint Distress inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Avon Brilliant White 110lb smooth , Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, black cardstock
Birthday Lanterns
Posted: July 14, 2014 Filed under: After Glow | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 8 Comments
We celebrated my younger daughter’s birthday and the World Cup final yesterday. German friends of ours hosted a party which was a lot of fun. My daughter was very happy to watch the final on her birthday with friends, family and great food.
To create her card I used a technique I have seen on Karen’s blog many times; she is a master at it and I have been inspired to try it. I inked one side of an embossing folder with distress stains, spritzed with water then pressed a piece of watercolour paper onto the embossing folder and closed it. I didn’t run it through the die cut machine this time; I’ll try that another day. I used blue, yellow and green stains which blended with each other and varied in intensity. I trimmed the panel and matted it with Sea Breeze paper from Penny Black and added the die cut lanterns and branch. I trimmed the flowers off the branch for this card and added little bows with a fine tip marker.
Supplies:
Stamps: To You (PB)
Dies: After Glow, Dancing Blooms (PB)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko) Mustard Seeds, Evergreen Bough and Broken China Distress stains (Ranger)
Markers: Pitt Artist Pen (Faber Castell)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Avon Brilliant White 110lb smooth , Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Three Trees
Posted: July 8, 2014 Filed under: CAS, Splendor | Tags: CAS, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 14 Comments
When I was strolling past a homewares store in a trendy part of town the other night I saw lampshades featuring tree silhouettes with branches connecting around the cylindrical shade. I don’t have a picture but I did translate the idea into two different cards. The one above features a brayered background which I did in Memento Dandelion and Tangelo first and black trees stamped in Versafine Onyx Black over the top. I drew the borders with a black marker then trimmed the panel.
In the version below I inked the stamp with peeled paint, mustard seed and vintage photo distress stains, spritzed it with water then stamped on watercolour paper. I ran the distress stain along the top and bottom of the panel to create the border and pulled some colour from the trees and border with a waterbrush into the blank spaces to make them less stark.
It was fun to use the same basic layout and concept but change a few things for a different mood and message. The top one seems formal and the one below a little more relaxed.
Supplies:
Stamps: Splendor, Amazing!, Friendship (PB)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black & Vintage Sepia, Memento Dandelion, Tangelo & Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko) Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed & Vintage Photo Distress Stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock
One-Layer Simplicity Challenge #7: Wave the Flag
Posted: July 1, 2014 Filed under: CAS, Maple Leaf, One-Layer Simplicity challenge | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 6 Comments
I am hosting the July challenge at One Layer Simplicity. In honour of Canada Day (July 1st) and American Independence Day (July 4th) I decided to make the challenge about flags. I want you to take a look at your country’s flag and find some inspiration there. It could be the colours, the layout, the patterns or the images. I created two cards because I have lived my life in two countries. I was born and raised in Australia and lived there for the first 35 years of my life. I married my Australian husband and both my daughters were born there. When they were 4 & 6 our family moved to Canada and seven weeks after we arrived my son was born. We have lived here ever since which will be 14 years next month. The card above is inspired by the Southern Cross on the Australian flag. I miss seeing the Southern Cross when I look up into the sky at night.
I cut a card base from watercolour paper as I planned to make it quite wet with distress stains and water. To frame the stars I tore the edge off some masking tape and taped the card base to a cutting mat. Once taped I stamped stars of different sizes and the sentiment in versamark then embossed with clear powder. I swiped three blue distress stains across the watercolour paper filling the whole space with colour. To blend it I spritzed a generous amount of water mixed with pearl-ex powder. You can see the sparkle of the pearl-ex powder below. After the panel had dried a little I stamped some more stars, this time in blue inks. When dry I removed the tape and ironed the panel embossed side down onto computer paper to melt and remove the embossing.
My second card is inspired by both the colour and the image on the Canadian flag. The beauty of the maple trees in autumn is something I look forward to every year. To create my second card I used the torn off bits of masking tape to make a narrow torn frame around the square front below. I then sponged red ink around the borders and stamped a maple leaf several times over the sponging. I can’t wait to check out your flag inspired cards and see how many countries end up being represented in our challenge
Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Winter , Sweet Wishes, To You, Foliage Fancy, Maple Leaf (PB)
Inks: Versamark (Tsukineko) Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, Broken China Distress Stains and Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean and Fired Brick distress inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: clear embossing powder, Pearl Ex
Tweet Wishes
Posted: June 30, 2014 Filed under: CAS, Tweet Wishes, Watercolour | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps 8 Comments
It has been a while since I pulled out my watercolour pencils so it was fun to colour a simple outline image today. I stamped the branch from ‘Tweet Wishes’ in Versafine Onyx Black ink then painted the image using a waterbrush to pick up colour from my watercolour pencils. I splattered a little colour around and painted a rough border of blue. To finish it off I added some natural cotton lace and a narrow blue ribbon.
Thank you very much for your kind comments about my daughter and her prom dress. We were both very pleased with how it turned out and very touched by your lovely words. It has now turned rather hot here so it was wonderful to spend yesterday relaxing with friends by a lake where there was a breeze and of course the water to keep us cool. I’ll be back tomorrow with a brand new One Layer Simplicity Challenge.
Supplies:
Stamps: Tweet Wishes (PB)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils Apple Green 170, Pine Green 267, Rose Carmine 124, Prussian Blue 151, Gold Ochre 183, Blue Violet 137, Lemon 107, Light Carmine 127, Light Blue 147 (Faber-Castell)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 25% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth
Also: narrow grosgrain ribbon, natural cotton lace
Heather Telford 