Three northern scenes
Posted: December 13, 2016 Filed under: Classes, Stamped Landscapes, Woodland Beauty | Tags: Classes, Penny Black stamps 15 Comments
I recently taught a card class where we created Christmas cards featuring the northern lights over snowy landscapes. Everyone’s scenes looked different as there was a variety of inks to choose from. Back in the planning stage for the class I created a few different scenes as I worked out what would work in a class setting. (I have to make sure I can reproduce my own techniques if I am going to have any chance of teaching them to others.)
The top card and the bottom card were experiments that didn’t become class samples and the middle one was a variation I did during class. They all happen to use the blue and plum colour scheme. The two above have masking fluid snow flakes and the one below a bit more definition in the mountains. Sometimes my experiments end up as class projects, sometimes they become recycling and, sometimes as the case was with these three they join my stash of cards to use as needed. These ones really should have been sent already to arrive at their destination by Christmas.
Have you sent all your cards yet? I’m not even half way there.
Supplies
Stamps: woodland beauty, yuletide wishes, joy filled
Inks: versafine onyx black (Tsukineko), chipped sapphire and seedless preserves distress stain (Ranger)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour papers (Fabriano), blue and plum shimmer cardstock
Also: masking fluid
Birch in snow
Posted: December 6, 2016 Filed under: Nature's Silhouettes, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black stamps 13 Comments
I wish I could tell you the beauty of yesterday’s snowfall inspired this little snowscape but the reality is having this photo edited and ready inspired this little post! I made this card months back but misplaced it somewhere in my spotless workroom!
The ‘nature’s silhouettes’ transparent set includes two long birch trunk stamps. One is a little slimmer than the other so when stamping them you can shape them, turn them upside down, ink them partially and add branches to get a range of different ‘birchy’ looks. I also discovered a little trick you might like. The wider of the two trees just happens to be the same width as narrow painter’s tape which makes masking a snap.
I inked the birch trunks in versafine onyx black for this panel as I didn’t want the watercolour painting to blur the trees at all. Before stamping I splattered some masking fluid and positioned some hill shaped post-it masks at the base of the panel. I stamped the trunks so the base overlapped the post-its. I used the narrow masking tape to mask two of the trunks and cut a narrower mask for the other trunk. I removed the masks from the base of the trees but kept the trunks masked while I painted snow banks and sky with a couple of blue brusho paints. To get the shadow of the snow banks I paint a curved line then soften it with water above but keep it fairly sharp and unblended below. Once the paint was complete I removed the masks from the trunks and add a line of grey down one side of the trunks with a marker.
Even though this particular card wasn’t inspired by my backyard, the beauty of a fresh snowfall is what keeps me creating these snowy scenes.
Supplies:
Stamps: Nature’s Silhouettes, Hello Winter, Into the sky (PB)
Paints: Brusho powders (Colourcraft)
Inks: Versafine onyx black ink, London fog memento marker (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: masking fluid
Poinsettia gift set
Posted: December 2, 2016 Filed under: Winter Joy | Tags: Artline Stix brush markers, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Peerless Transparent Watercolors, Penny Black stamps, Tombow fudenosuke brush pen 20 Comments
Although I had posts popping up on the blog while I was away for a month all the projects had been created and photographed before I left for Australia. I did take some art materials with me and spent a little bit of time creating this gift set for my sister-in-law. I was able to catch up with her a couple of times, once for dinner and a concert where she lives and again for my last day in Australia, a girls day out in Sydney. We had a great time together and I was happy to have finished this little set as a thank you gift.
I only took two stamp sets with me, one stayed uninked but the poinsettia from ‘winter joy’ was perfect for this set of cards. I stamped it on some label paper and cut it out so I would have a mask to enable me to layer the images and stamped all but one design in vintage photo ink. The one pale card was stamped in antique linen so I could create ‘white’ poinsettias.
I did my colouring with a mix of watercolour pencils and peerless watercolours on hot pressed watercolour paper. Because I hadn’t taken any sentiment sets with me I hand lettered all the sentiments, some more neatly than others! I picked up some kraft coloured square cards and envelopes from Eckersleys art store and raided my parents’ stash of coloured cardstock to create some mats. Even though I was working with minimal supplies I still managed to spread myself over half the dining room table at mum and dad’s house!
Supplies
Stamps: winter joy (PB)
Inks: vintage photo, antique linen distress ink (Ranger)
Paints: Peerless watercolours, Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils
Markers: Tombow fudenosuke brush pen, Artline Stix brush pens
Cardstock: fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper, Kaisercraft card & envelope pack
Pink & Green Poinsettia
Posted: November 29, 2016 Filed under: Scarlet Majesty | Tags: Penny Black stamps 21 Comments
I’m not sure that poinsettias ever appear to be quite this pink but I have artist’s licence so here is a bright pink and green poinsettia. I stamped and painted this one way back in September and was pretty careful to note down colours and products with all the projects I was working on before I went to Australia. Somehow though, I can’t find my list for this one.
I used the MISTI so I could ink with pink first (maybe Victorian velvet or worn lipstick dsitress stain) then ink with green (mowed lawn distress stain??) and finally with aged mahogany distress stain. Once the petals were dry I added details with an aged mahogany distress marker.
It is entirely possible that I did not do this with distress stains at all; sorry, I’m just not sure. I did mat the panel with green then with burgandy making it a four-layer card which, for me, is a little unusual just like the colour scheme.
Supplies:
Stamps: Scarlet Majesty, Joy filled(PB)
Inks: not sure but my guesses are listed in the description above.
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, green cardstock, burgandy cardstock
Winter celebration
Posted: November 22, 2016 Filed under: Stamped Landscapes, Woodland Beauty | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 10 Comments
The tree from the ‘woodland beauty’ set has definitely become a favourite of mine. (It features in my next Christmas card class this weekend and one spot just opened up) I started by painting a blue and purple sky over some masking fluid specks. I used the same blues to paint shadows over the mountains.
To create this little winter scene I stamped the tree in a mix of two greens and added water to blend the greens and add the shadow to the snow. To make the snowbank below the trees I partially inked the trees so the trunks weren’t stamped then painted some blue ink around the branches and as a sharp edge below the branches.
I painted some more pale blue snow banks then used part of a sentiment stamp to finish the panel. I’ve been back in Canada for over a week now and the snow has indeed come to Ottawa!
Supplies
Stamps: woodland beauty, festive cheer
Inks: versafine onyx black (Tsukineko), forest moss, pine needles distress markers (Ranger)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour papers (Fabriano), green cardstock
Paint: brusho watercolour crystal paint
Also: masking fluid
Gods blessings
Posted: November 16, 2016 Filed under: Skyline, Woodland Beauty | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 5 Comments
It’s time for a card with a vintage feel; you know they pop up here from time to time. I began with a watercolour panel splattered in a fine spray of masking fluid which results in tiny dots of white to represent snow. As with past cards in this style I used vintage photo distress ink which blends very nicely with water. The smoky black areas were added with black soot distress ink as well as an elegant writer pen. I can’t remember whether I stamped the buildings over a mask or just partially inked the stamp, either way the result made the skyscrapers appear to behind a snowbank. I blended the ink with a paintbrush above the snowbank and later, once the buildings were dry, painted the ice and sky with turquoise brusho.
To frame the scene I ran the vintage photo ink pad around the edges of the panel then attached it to a cream card base.
Supplies:
Stamps: Skyline, Woodland Beauty, Holy Night(PB)
Inks: Versafine vintage sepia ink (Tsukineko) vintage photo, black soot distress inks (Ranger) Elegant Writer (Speedball)
Paint: Turquoise brusho
Cardstock: Fabriano cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Tranquil in watercolour
Posted: November 11, 2016 Filed under: Tranquil | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Speedball elegant writer, Tsukineko Versafine inks 5 Comments
I’ve already posted two cards this week made with the scenic stamp, ‘tranquil’; this is my last one for now in a much looser watercolour style. On the previous two cards I stamped the image in versafine ink and it was sharp against a watercolour sky.
To create this scene I inked the tree in pine needles distress ink and the fence and ground in vintage photo distress ink and stamped it on cold pressed watercolour paper. I added shadows to the stamping with a black elegant writer pen then spritzed the panel with water to soften the whole image and let colours blend a little. I painted the sky with broken china distress stain to fill the rest of the panel, then added a sentiment in black ink.
Supplies
Stamps: Tranquil, Winter Joy (PB)
Ink: vintage photo, pine needles, broken china distress ink (Ranger) versafine onyx black ink (Tsukineko) elegant writer pen (Speedball)
Paper: cold pressed watercolour paper
Tranquil sky
Posted: November 9, 2016 Filed under: Tranquil | Tags: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolor paints, Peerless Transparent Watercolors, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks 6 Comments
I’m very happy to be guest blogging over on the Foiled Fox blog again today so please pop over there for the details.
Tranquil snowy sky
Posted: November 7, 2016 Filed under: Tranquil | Tags: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolor paints, Peerless Transparent Watercolors, Penny Black stamps 12 Comments
As I post this I am still in Australia but my husband mentioned there could snow this coming weekend – a welcome home present for me! By the time I return to Ottawa I will have been away for just over a month. I don’t get to Australia often so it really isn’t worth the time or money to travel all the way to Australia for a shorter time. I have completed several cards with this stamp each using a slightly different technique. The technique for today’s card is the most straight forward. I painted a graduated wash with Peerless watercolour paint. I began with deep blue at the top and diluted it as I approached the bottom of the panel.
Once the background was dry I stamped the ‘tranquil’ stamp in versafine onyx black then let that dry. To finish it off I splattered white paint over the sky and painted some on the tree and fence posts.
Once again I grabbed some stamps from the new ‘festive snippets’ set to add a sentiment.
Supplies
Stamps: tranquil, festive snippets
Inks: versafine onyx black (Tsukineko)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour papers (Fabriano)
Paint: Dr Ph Martin’s Bleedproof white paint
Stockings were hung
Posted: November 3, 2016 Filed under: Brick wall, Christmas stockings, Diamond pattern, Textures, Winter lantern | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Speedball elegant writer 8 Comments
…by the chimney with care. This is the last of my Winter Warmth series and the one that almost didn’t make the cut because I misjudged the size of the stocking! I created the whole background panel then pulled out the die to add the stocking only to find it was a tad larger than I’d remembered. My children assured me some stockings are so large they cover half the fireplace so I continued with the design.
I created the background by stamping on cold pressed watercolour paper with distress inks. I first masked a space where the fireplace would be and a positioned a post-it across the panel where the mantel would end up. I stamped the brick wall stamp in brown and added darker tones with an elegant writer before blending with water. Above the mantel I stamped ‘diamond pattern and softened it with water. When I removed the post-it from the fireplace I used yellow, orange and black brusho to paint my ‘fire’. The lantern was done in two pieces just like I did on the ‘lakeside card‘ and yellow ink was added on the panel behind to make it glow.
The swag over the mantel is a strip of watercolour paper painted with green brusho then dotted with siren smooches ink. I attached it over a strip of painted brown paper cut to look like a mantelpiece. The stocking was cut with one of the ‘Christmas Stocking’ dies then stamped with a texture stamp so it looked like fabric. This one had a higher fiddliness factor than most of my cards which increased my respect for those of you who create far more intricate die-cut cards on a regular basis.
Thanks for visiting this week as I shared my Winter Warmth cards. I’ll be back next week with some more snowscapes.
Supplies
Stamps: brick wall, textures, diamond pattern, season’s gifts (PB)
Dies: winter lantern, Christmas stockings, little ornaments (PB)
Ink: vintage photo, fired brick, blueprint sketch, scattered straw, spiced marmalade distress inks (Ranger)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, cold pressed watercolour paper, black cardstock
Paint: scarlet, ost blue, yellow, gamboge, black, dark brown, emerald green brusho powder, Finetec Artist Mica watercolour paint
Also: elegant writer pen, siren smooches ink
Heather Telford 