Stamped wreath & swag
Posted: December 6, 2015 Filed under: Nature's Gifts, Winter moments | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Sakura Koi watercolour paints 15 Comments 
Last Sunday afternoon while sitting at the walk-in clinic waiting for my son to be seen I sketched a wreath and practised some lettering in a sketchbook. (He is fine, the doctor got him sorted and he was well enough to play basketball on Monday which of course was the real concern!) Once I returned home I was inspired to stamp a wreath and a swag using stamps from a couple of sets. I do own wreath stamps but wanted to see what I could come up with myself. For the wreath all the stamps came from the Nature’s Gifts set. To stamp the swag below I substituted smaller pinecones from the Winter Moments set.
I began by splattering masking fluid on one large panel still in my cold pressed watercolour block. Next I painted the background blue for both designs (plus 2 more) using the Sakura Koi watercolor travel set. I just wanted soft edges on the blue so I added plenty of water and also removed some colour with a brush or paper towel. While the background was still wet I stamped some pine needles and let them bleed into the damp paper to create a very soft look. Then I walked away while it dried. Once it was almost dry I stamped the rest of the elements adding a little water here and there with a paintbrush to blend colours and soften the images. I added little red dots on the swag as berries then let it all dry before rubbing off the masking fluid. I decided against any sentiment but added red ribbon and mats to bring out the colour of the berries.
After finishing these two stamped panels I created another swag and wreath which I will share tomorrow. My method was similar but I painted them instead of stamping.
Thank you so much for your kind and enthusiastic response to my ‘Stamping the Stories’ collection. I really enjoyed creating each card and was thrilled to see you enjoyed them too.
Supplies:
Stamps: Nature’s Gifts, Winter Moments (PB)
Inks: Memento Espresso Truffle, Love letter, Rhubarb Stalk, Lady Bug, Northern Pine, Potter’s Clay, Northern Pine, Tuxedo Black ink pads and markers (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper,
Also: Sakura Koi watercolours, Winsor & Newton masking fluid, red ribbon
Silver wreath
Posted: November 6, 2015 Filed under: Winter moments 7 Comments
On the PB blog this week the designers have been sharing favourite colour schemes. I mix up the Christmas decorating at our place by choosing a different colour scheme each year. I have a collection of silver baubles and gold baubles so I usually pick one or the other then add a colour. We have had red and gold, red and silver, green and silver, etc. One of my favourite combinations is blue and silver. I love the way blue sets off the silver accents. It is like the night sky.
My card features a silver embossed wreath and greeting on a blue watercoloured background. I used three blues from my gansai tambi watercolour set, layering and blending them over the embossing.
By letting the paint dry a little between applications I was able to build up more colour in some places to accentuate the edges of the pretty silver wreath.
Supplies:
Stamps: Peace & Harmony, Winter Moments (PB)
Inks: Versamark ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah patriot blue cardstock
Also: silver embossing powder
Snowy Stamping
Posted: October 26, 2015 Filed under: Snow time, Winter moments | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 8 Comments
Last week Penny Black released ‘Winter Romance’, a sweet new collection of snowy stamps and dies. I have featured both a new stamp and a fresh die sets on today’s card. I chose to use a technique I haven’t done in a while to make a crisp wintry scene. If you look closely you can see a dusting of snow on top of the hedge. To create this look you need a stamp positioning tool. I used the MISTI (of course) but when I first dreamed up this technique I used a stamp-a-ma-jig.
I stamped the hedge first in versamark on white cardstock then, with the help of the MISTI I stamped the hedge again ever-so-slightly lower in green ink. Next I embossed the hedge with clear powder. I brayered the sky with two blue inks, first the lighter ‘Summer Sky’ then the darker ‘Nautical Blue’. The embossed hedge resisted the ink revealing the fine snowy edge. I splattered white wink of stella over the sky to look like snow or stars then added the four snowflakes cut with the new ‘snow time’ set.
Supplies:
Stamps: Winter moments (PB)
Dies: Snow Time (PB)
Inks: Versamark, Memento Northern Pine, Summer Sky, Nautical Blue (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Markers: White Wink of Stella (Kuretake)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White 110lb
Also: clear embossing powder
Heather Telford 