Mooneys Trees
Posted: October 6, 2023 Filed under: baby blue leaf embossing folder, Echidna Studios, Mooneys Trees, Paper Rose, Taylored Expressions, weathered | Tags: Echidna Studios, gel press, gel printing, Paper Rose, Taylored Expressions 6 Comments
If you live in the same city as me you might have walked past these trees, sat under them or perhaps photographed them. My daughter worked from her own photo to create some digital stamps in different forms. Check out the sketch style, outline, silhouette and simplified version in the Echidna Studios etsy store. The set is named Mooneys Trees because they are growing in Mooneys Bay park.
I used the simplified version to cut several pieces to gel print on. As you can see the trees fit on a 5.5″x4.25″ card base so I was able to print patterns on them on a 5×7 gel plate. If you are on IG you can watch a very short video of me printing the one above.
All the trees featured in this blog post were made by printing three layers of paint on top of each other, letting the paint dry in between layers. I varied the paint colours and texture on each layer. On the card above you might be able to pick out bubble wrap and textured cardboard patterns.
On the card directly above and below I used hessian (burlap) to add one texture as well as cardboard packaging on another layer. I also had plastic trays featuring criss-cross patterns to press on the gel plate.
Each printed tree cutout is attached to an embossed panel of cardstock. Only one of the tree cutouts is popped up because that task had too much of a fiddliness factor! The embossed background below is called ‘weathered’ from Taylored Expressions. The embossing folder used on the card at the top of the page is ‘baby blue’ from Paper Rose Studio and the embossing folder on the second card is from Close to my Heart but I don’t know the name; it creates the look of a wooden fence.
The two sentiments are from Taylored Expressions ‘simple strips background stamp‘ which stamps 18 sentiments to be cut out with the co-ordinating die. I really enjoyed making cards featuring local trees which are changing colour right now and of course I loved gel printing the cutouts to look autumnal.
My blogpost today features affiliate links to Scrap’n’Stamp. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Gelprinted Phlox
Posted: October 5, 2023 Filed under: gel press, Taylored Expressions | Tags: gel press, gel printing, Taylored Expressions 2 Comments
Yes, it’s another floral print from the gel plate. For this one I used phlox from my garden. I found that the phlox came apart quite easily so what I ended up doing was grabbing the little flowers that make up a whole flower head and stamping them individually. It took a little more time to press the flowers onto the plate one by one but the resulting print was very pretty.
When you look closely you will see the flower prints are two different colours, tan and blue. I brayered dark blue paint on the plate then pressed the little phlox flowers into the paint. As I pressed a flower onto the plate it removed paint leaving an empty flower shaped space. If I immediately pressed the flower onto the plate again it left a blue print because the petals were already covered in paint and wouldn’t remove much more until I ‘stamped’ the paint off on scrap paper. I picked up the print with shimmery pale gold paint which shows through where the flowers removed more paint.
To see my technique for gel printing with flowers check out my recent youtube video.
I used the print to make an anniversary card for a lovely couple celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary. Once again the sentiment from Taylored Expression stamped in versafine clair twilight ink said it all.
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More Alcohol Inks on the Gel Plate
Posted: September 25, 2023 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Dies, Flutters, gel press, Lavinia, Penny Black, pods stencil, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Alcohol Ink, gel press, gel printing, Lavinia, Penny Black creative dies, Taylored Expressions 1 Comment
Using alcohol inks and stencils on the gel plate is a bit of an addiction for me right now so I filmed another one to show you. A friend let me know that if you receive my blog posts by email the video doesn’t show up in the email. To see the video just click on the title of the blog post and it will take you to my blog. If you would like to subscribe to my youtube channel too that would be delightful.
I started this print with the Lavinia pods stencil already covered in ink and then added more ink and isopropyl alcohol when it was on the gel plate. Take a look at the video below to see the process.
I would love to hear if you try this technique. As I mentioned last week I like pulling the prints with paper or cardstock because they are surfaces that I wouldn’t normally use with alcohol inks.
The finished card does include most of the print; it is a larger size than my usual A2 cards. I decided to add the Penny Black dragonflies in the wine colour which matches the alcohol ink I added very sparingly. In retrospect you will probably agree I could have added more. The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions ‘In and Out Birthday’ stamped in Chianti versafine clair ink.
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Ecstasy Crafts (Ecstasy Crafts offers a discount code heathertecs10 you can use for a 10% discount at checkout)
Happy Day Roses
Posted: September 5, 2023 Filed under: Brusho, My Favorite Things, Roses all over, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Brusho, My Favorite Things, Taylored Expressions 7 Comments
I made this large square card recently to give to a friend of ours on her wedding day. Our whole family was able to attend and celebrate with the bride and her family and it was indeed a happy day.
To make this card I used an old favourite technique with brusho and embossing. You might be surprised to know that I only used one colour of brusho, the crimson. I embossed the MFT ‘roses all over background stamp’ with gold powder on hot pressed watercolour paper. This stamp seems to be retired which is a travesty as it is lovely and also perfect for this technique. After a little research I discovered MFT have come out with a similar stamp which should also work. I could call the technique ‘sprinkle, spritz, trap, wait, wait, spritz and blend technique’ because that just about covers it. Sometimes with repeats.
I sprinkle brusho powder over the embossed panel, not too generously, but hopefully some powder lands in most of the roses if not all the little sections. I spritz from above with water and then watch the brusho magic happen. You have to be patient and see how much colour spreads from that first spritz before you add more water. I want variation of colour trapped in the little sections so I don’t flood the panel with water. After the spritzing activates most of the brusho powder I use a paint brusho to fill the petals(sections) with colour. As you can see some areas are quite dark and others are pale. I pick up paint from the darkest areas with the paintbrush if I need to add paint to a bare section.
The sentiment is from a Taylored Expressions set called ‘in & out birthday’.
Here is another example of this technique but done with two colours of brusho.
Botanical Dream
Posted: August 30, 2023 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, botanical dream stencil, gel press, gelli plate, Taylored Expressions, The Crafter's Workshop, The Crafters Workshop | Tags: gel press, gel printing, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Taylored Expressions, The Crafter's Workshop 7 Comments
I think you’ve noticed my love of gel printing. Let me assure you it hasn’t diminished at all. Today’s card features an alcohol ink and stencil print completed on the gel plate then lifted with a layer of acrylic paint.
I’m not sure which alcohol inks I used but I am pretty sure there was a cloudy blue and a brown involved. I’ve learned to like blue and brown combos over recent years which has surprised me a bit. Often we use alcohol inks only on plastic surfaces such as yupo or craft plastic. What I like about using alcohol inks on the gel plate is the way I can lift the print with any paper at all. I plan to make a video showing this technique so stay tuned.
The lovely stencil featured here is called botanical dream from The Crafters Workshop. All the little spaces trap alcohol really well making it a great choice for this technique. I let the stencil sit on the alcohol ink pattern for a while so it dries then lift the print with acrylic paint. I finished the card with a cute greeting from the Taylored Expressions set ‘In & Out Birthday. The set is full of pretty fonts.
My blog features affiliate links to the following companies. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Ecstasy Crafts (Ecstasy Crafts offers a discount code heathertecs10 you can use for a 10% discount at checkout)
Lattice Blooms
Posted: May 1, 2023 Filed under: Brusho, Echidna Studios, lattice blooms, Paper Rose, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Brusho, distress oxide inks, Echidna Studios, Paper Rose, Taylored Expressions 3 Comments
If you have used them you will have recognised at once that this is a brusho background and so is the next card with yellow, orange and red. To create a background like this with brusho you have to be patient and watch the brusho powder slowly react with spritzed water from above. If you don’t spritz enough water the powder stays dry; if you spritz too much water the diluted powders all run together giving you a blended background but not a confetti one like you see here. I worked on a panel of hot pressed watercolour paper and sprinkled brusho sparingly over it before spritzing with water.
The lattice with blooms cut from black cardstock is another image I designed to be cut or printed. So far I have just used it on the cards featured today but I will also be using it as a stencil on my gel plate. The digital file can be found in the Echidna Studios etsy store.
To complete both brusho cards I used sentiments cut from the Paper Rose Studio ‘so extra’ supporting sentiments panels. There are loads of words and phrases to choose from.
The card below also has a watercolour background but this one was done with oxide sprays. I have only recently dipped my toe in the oxide spray pool (just picture that literally for a minute!) With many oxide inks and many many distress sprays I didn’t think I needed the oxide sprays as well. To be clear I only have seven but with those seven I can get some very pretty backgrounds. Because the oxide formula reacts with water it also reacts with other sprays when you layer them. The pigments make them less transparent so the effect is quite speckly as you can see in the close up.
I cut the lattice blooms bigger for this card so it stretches from edge to edge. The card is finished with a Taylored Expressions sentiment strip embossed with gold. Those sentiment strips are still one of the cleverest ideas I’ve seen in stamp and die design.
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Alcohol Ink & Trees
Posted: January 13, 2023 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, grafix, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Foiling, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Taylored Expressions 9 Comments
I have another alcohol ink sky to show you today paired with a very sparkly tree. I don’t own the tree die or the sparkly silver paper but this tree was a leftover from a class I attended and it looks so pretty against the blue sky. It is hard to capture on camera but there are lines and dots of silver foil on the alcohol ink background.
When playing with alcohol inks on yupo or craft plastic you sometimes end up with areas of thick sticky ink. You can dilute and move it with isopropyl alcohol or you can press foil on it while it is still a bit tacky. Once again I cut a snowy hill by hand and added a Penny Black sentiment.
On this second card the tree is the coloured instead of the sky. I cut the tree from white craft plastic and added alcohol inks (both original and pearl formula) to another piece of craft plastic so I could then press the tree onto the alcohol inks to make a pattern and pick up the ink.
I attached the tree to an embossed background and added a Taylored Expressions sentiment. There are a few more alcohol ink Christmas cards still coming. I am happy to have inspired a few of you to look at your stash of panels to see what you might be able to turn into backgrounds and skies.
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Alcohol Ink Winter Skies
Posted: January 12, 2023 Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Dies, Penny Black, tall trees, Taylored Expressions | Tags: grafix, grafix craft plastic, Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Taylored Expressions 11 Comments
It is unusual for me to be making Christmas cards in January but the supplies are still handy and I will be happy to see the cards in October! I have a small stash of alcohol ink panels in my pile of possibility so the next few blog posts will feature those backgrounds paired with wintry scenery and Christmas greetings.
I’m sorry I can’t tell you exactly what techniques I used for these panels but it looks like I added blue and green inks to white craft plastic, added a generous amount of isopropyl alcohol then blew the liquids around the panel with a hand held air blower. I love the frilly ribbon look on the sky above.
I chose the wonderful ‘tall trees’ dies from Penny Black and hand cut some snowy hills from white cardstock. The sentiments are once again from Taylored Expression because they are so handy and neat!
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Autumn Harvest Scene
Posted: October 26, 2022 Filed under: autumn harvest scene, chicken wire, Echidna Studios | Tags: Echidna Studios, Faber-Castell Polychromos Colour Pencil, Taylored Expressions 1 Comment
This delightful scene was designed by my daughter and is available as a digital download for cardmaking or other harvest themed crafting or decorating. Her etsy shop is called Digitalis Designs and is launching with a selection of harvest and halloween designs. I have been giving her suggestions for future releases!
This is the first time I have created with a digital stamp so it’s just the beginning. I printed the ‘autumn harvest scene’ on kraft cardstock then coloured with polychromos pencils. I printed the scene to fit on an A2 card but the beauty of digital stamps is you can print them any size on many things!
I have had the cool chicken wire embossing folder from Taylored Expressions for a while waiting for a suitable time to use it. What could be better than a farm scene?
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Die-cut gel print florals
Posted: July 20, 2022 Filed under: gel press, Penny Black, splendid, Taylored Expressions | Tags: gel press, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Taylored Expressions 5 Comments
If you are thinking that’s an unusual choice of colours, patterns and textures, you’re right, but it actually makes me quite happy. This is the only layered flower die cut I have of the this type; I don’t generally do layered die cuts. It’s from Penny Black and it appealed to me because of the little buds rather than the complex flower. I know the idea of these dies is to layer in shades of the same colour going from light to dark in the layers. Instead I grabbed one of my gel printing clean up sheets which was covered in black, blue, green, pink, red and purple sections. The texture is from the brayer which I clean off on a thick sheet of paper when I’m gel printing.
In keeping with the combination of colours and texture I decided to go for an unusual background also and attached the flower and buds to a card-base embossed with the a Taylored Expressions chicken wire pattern. I won’t be surprised if you find it a bit odd but I just can’t help reaching for gel prints and this odd scrappy combo makes me smile. By the way, those little black dots in the centre, I added them myself; they aren’t part of the original die.
This second card has a bit more elegance. I used the PB ‘whisper’ die to cut flowers from a gel printed text transfer. The text is from a recipe page in a magazine so you might be able to pick out the word cinnamon if you look closely. The dark mat looks black but is actually dark blue to co-ordinate with the gel print. I’ve used the same die to cut both blooms but used only a portion on the right hand side.
Do you use layered dies? Do you blend the cardstock with inks or pick co-ordinating cardstock? Or perhaps you go for random colour combos like I did!
By the way, Foiled Fox is having a Penny Black sale, so pop over and have a browse.
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Heather Telford 