Skies & dies

Posted: December 4, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Brusho, holiday hello, neighbourhood border, winter trees | Tags: , | 9 Comments

I have three simple cards to show you today, simple that is if you have some watercolour backgrounds sitting around as I often do. Even if you don’t it would not take too long to create a large multicoloured panel with brusho, distress stains or some other watercolour medium then when its dry splatter white paint over it to look like stars or snow.

I trimmed my background panels then added a hand cut snow bank to the card above plus the deer from the Penny Black ‘holiday hello’ set. I know it is very minimal but I rather like the way the deer could be looking up into the vast sky.

On the second card all I added to the star filled sky was the PB ‘neighborhood border’ die. All the die cuts are neenah solar white cardstock. For some I used liquid glue, others I attached using stick it adhesive.

I added the shooting star when I created the watercolour sky with the same white paint.

The background sky for this final card is the last scrap of a large panel I painted very randomly with turquoise and blue brusho. I tore a strip of white cardstock to create the snow bank, die cut a tree to tuck behind it and a sleigh to sit on top. The tree is the smaller one from the PB set, ‘winter trees’   and the sleigh is also from Penny Black.

I’m going to leave these without sentiments for now; they might be handy to use as thank you cards after Christmas.

Supplies

Dies: winter trees, sleigh, neighborhood border, holiday hello (PB)

Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah solar white

Paint: brusho, white gesso

Also: stick it adhesive, on point gule

Sparkle stencil birthday

Posted: December 3, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: mandala | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

I know what you are thinking. What could have inspired me to create a sparkly pink and purple birthday card? A sweet five year old girl! She loves texture so I am hoping the raised glitter embossing, surprisingly silky sparkle ribbon and the raised sentiment will also appeal.

I used a beautiful quarter circle stencil by Alexandra Renke which I am looking forward to using on future projects. I blended four colours of distress oxide inks on neenah solar white cardstock first as I wanted to add the glittery embossing powder over the top. I made sure the ink was totally dry and also used a powder tool before pressing versamark ink through the stencil onto the panel. The embossing powder is WOW fairy dust which is very silvery and sparkly despite what my photos show.

I wrapped the panel with a bit of silky smooth glitter ribbon brought home from France by my partner in craft, embossed the MFT sentiment in silver powder and popped it up over the ribbon. All the product names are linked below. I realize this may not seem like a little girl card, after all there are no princesses, unicorns or cute animals. Since my children became grownups I haven’t really made many child cards. Do you make cards for children? What sets them apart from your other cards?

Supplies

Stencil: mandala (AR)

Stamp: birdie brown greetings galore

Inks: blueprint sketch, picked raspberry, dusty concord, seedless preserves distress oxide inks & versamark

Also: Ranger silver embossing powder, WOW fairy dust embossing powder, silver ribbon

Pine cones

Posted: November 30, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: pine cones, yuletide greetings | Tags: , | 5 Comments

I just cracked open this set from Darkroom Door yesterday and I’m so happy with these lovely images. The set contains three pine cones, two pine needle stamps and six sentiments yet to be inked. I worked on cold pressed watercolour paper and used distress inks to stamp and paint.

I splattered masking fluid over this panel first then, when it was dry used my MISTI for the stamping. I stamped the pine cone first with vintage photo and ground espresso distress inks (not oxides). I stamped several impressions because of the texture of the paper then stamped the pine needle stamp around the pine cone in forest moss and pine needles ink. I didn’t use careful masking but did position a post it note over the pine cone while I stamped the needles that appear to be behind the cone. With all the stamping done I blended some of the pine cone with water and spritzed over the pine needles.

To fill the background I painted shabby shutters and pine needles ink with plenty of water to dilute and move it around. After removing the masking fluid I added a sentiment from the Yuletide greetings set in shady lane versafine ink.

For the second card I switched pine needle stamps but kept the same pine cone. I stamped the needles first in mowed lawn and pine needles distress ink. Again I didn’t want to cut some fiddly masks so I did partial inking instead to position the pine cones in amongst the needles. I blended them with a fine tip paint brush then splattered some green and brown inks over the panel. I wanted a splash of gold so I embossed a sentiment from Yuletide greetings in ultra high gold embossing powder which is chunkier than some.

I also splattered some embossing fluid on the panel and tipped the same powder on to the splatter and heated it. Some of my blobs of embossing fluid were a bit big so I ended up with squishy gold dots on the panel. (definitely one for hand delivery!)

Supplies

Stamps: pine cones, yuletide greetings (DD)

Inks: pine needles, forest moss, vintage photo, mowed lawn, shabby shutters & shady lane versafine clair ink

Markers:  gathered twigs, ground espresso

Paper: cold pressed watercolour paper

Also: masking fluid, embossing fluid, WOW metallic gold rich ultra high powder

Tree Trio

Posted: November 29, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Christmas background, trio of trees | Tags: , | 14 Comments

Today’s cards are made with a cute set from My Favorite Things and some oxide inks. I didn’t set out to make watercolour cards but it seems I just can’t help it! I stamped the little tree skeleton stamp in versamark then embossed in clear powder. Next I inked the triangle tree stamp in peeled paint and peacock feathers oxide inks and stamped over the top of the skeletons. Then, not willing to leave the trees,  I gave them a watercolour look by blending the two colours within the triangle with water.

I used the same two inks to create a blended sky over the embossed MFT Christmas background stamp. I painted the snow banks in amongst the trees by picking up ink off my glass mat.

I followed a similar process to create this blue card. I inked the triangles with blue print sketch and stormy sky distress oxide inks, blended them and stamped the tree skeleton over the top with blueprint sketch. The background is once again embossed then swiped through some diluted blue print sketch and stormy sky distress oxide ink on my glass mat.

The final card is a very simple design but again I started with two tone blended trees (a different tree stamp). This time my colours were bundled sage and lucky clover oxide inks. Once the trees were dry I stamped the dot stamp over the top with candied apple oxide ink and added a sentiment in the same ink.

I decided to make the sentiment shiny by embossing in clear powder, then restamped all the dots so I could emboss them too.

These cards are a bit different from my usual style but reminded me how much fun can be had with the oxide inks.

Supplies

Stamps:  Christmas background, trio of trees (MFT)

Inks: versamark & peeled paint, peacock feathers, stormy sky, blueprint sketch, bundled sage, lucky clover, candied apple distress oxide inks

Papers: hot pressed watercolour paper, red cardstock, olive cardstock, blue cardstock

Also: clear embossing powder, glass mat

Winter Tree

Posted: November 28, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: xmas poinsettia cut out | Tags: , , , | 15 Comments

It is hard to believe I haven’t shared this beautiful tree stamp already. It is a large rubber cling stamp called winter tree and it looks snow laden when stamped. It is a very detailed tree but my treatment has it looking a little more impressionistic. To create the card above I lay the tree stamp on my cold pressed watercolour paper and positioned masking paper around the edges of the stamp. When I lifted the stamp there was a tree shaped space exposed.

I splattered masking fluid over the panel so there were lots of drops in the shape of a tree. When I removed the masking paper I splattered a few more drops of masking fluid around the tree. I placed the panel and stamp in my stamp positioner and dotted distress stain on the stamp. For this tree I used mustard seed, mermaid lagoon, pine needles and blueprint sketch. I stamped a couple of colours at a time until the tree was completely stamped albeit in a loose and watery way. To fill in the background I wanted the same colours but more diluted so I put stain on my glass mat so I could pick it up with a paint brush.

I painted around the tree with water touching the edges of the tree with the paintbrush so the colour would bleed into the sky. To fill the sky I picked up extra colour from my glass mat. When all the paint was dry I removed the masking fluid and added a die cut sentiment and a matching mat.

I followed the same process for the second card but used hot pressed watercolour paper and more colours of distress stain. I also stamped a few trees in the background using a tree from the ‘prancers‘ set and peacock feathers distress ink.

When snow completely covers our Christmas lights the colour does look a bit blurry shining through the snow. That’s what these cards remind me of.

Not that there are any Christmas trees or lights up around here yet. There are members of this family with strong feelings about Christmas decorations!

Supplies

Stamps: winter tree, prancers

Stains: mustard seed, blue print sketch, peacock feathers, pine needles

Die: merry Christmas (PB)

Paper: cold pressed watercolour paper, deep blue cardstock

Tools: MISTI, T ruler, stick-it adhesive, glass mat

Holly & Mistletoe

Posted: November 23, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: a berry branch | Tags: | 6 Comments

This festive foliage features ‘berry branch’ from Penny Black. I chose a soft muted colour palette and after looking up the colour of mistletoe I kept my mistletoe berries looking white rather than make them red and popping!


First I inked all the mistletoe leaves with distress markers, half iced spruce and half forest moss. I spritzed the stamp lightly and stamped on cold pressed watercolour paper. I blended the leaves with water then inked the holly leaves with a peeled paint distress marker and stamped. To add some blue tones to the holly I pressed the pine needles ink pad on my glass mat, diluted the ink then blended the holly leaves with diluted pine needles ink.

To create my ‘white’ berries I inked them with an old paper distress marker, then diluted the ink with water. While the berry was wet I added a little more old paper ink to make a shadow. I tucked a sentiment into a space that looked like I planned it (unlikely) and added some hemp twine to one side of the panel. I gave the panel two mats, one a simple kraft layer, the other a fancy shmancy textured shimmery green layer. This is quite a big card, 6″x 6″.

I decided to try one with red berries too, so used  ‘candied apple’ distress marker instead of ‘old paper’. I had a wee bit of red gingham ribbon and a red mat to tie it all together. I know the red pops but the white berries are my favourite this time.

Supplies

Stamps: a berry branch, peaceful season, sweetest moments

Inks:  iced spruce, peeled paint, forest moss,  pine needles, old paper, candied apple distress markers, nocturne & shady lane versafine clair inks


Paper: cold pressed watercolour paper, neenah desert storm, tonic emerald hessian, red cardstock

Also: twine, ribbon

Nativity

Posted: November 21, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: nativity | Tags: , | 6 Comments

This little scene was very straightforward to complete. I’ll probably do a few more in slightly different colour schemes. I stamped the Penny Black ‘nativity’ stamp in versafine clair nocturne ink then embossed it in clear powder on hot pressed watercolour paper.

I had leftover brusho paint mixed and in a palette sitting on my table so I used the blue and the purple to paint the scene. I blended from the centre out, blue then purple and did some diluting in the centre with a thirsty brush to keep it pale blue.

Once the panel was dry I coloured in the stars with a silver gel pen and dotted extra stars in the sky with the same pen. I framed the panel in shimmer silver cardstock to finish it off.

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating this week.

Supplies:

Stamp: nativity

Paper:hot pressed watercolour, shimmer silver, neenah solar white

Paint: brusho

Ink: nocturne versafine clair

Also: clear embossing powder, silver gel pen

Snow trails

Posted: November 20, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: snow trails, Tagged | Tags: , | 7 Comments

We’ve had some beautiful skies lately, the heavens declaring the glory of the Lord. I decided to add bold colour to this beautiful ‘snow trails’ stamp from Penny Black for a similarly dramatic sky. To begin I embossed the stamp on hot pressed watercolour paper then splattered masking fluid over the panel.

I painted the sky from yellow up adding a colour at a time and blending each into the next. I used my peerless watercolours for all the painting and they blended beautifully. I decided to paint the tree trunks that were not already black in brown, that way I did not have to preserved white ‘birch’ trunks as I painted in the sky. I used the same colours but more diluted to paint colour on the snow and create shadows along the path and in the foreground. Once dry I removed the masking fluid to reveal the falling snow.

The popped up sentiment in the corner became a necessity when I botched the sentiment directly on the painted panel. I framed the panel in blue and attached it to a natural white card base. Can’t wait to paint another of these panels; it is such a peaceful scene.

Hope you are having a peaceful day.

Supplies

Stamps: snow trails

Die: tagged

Ink: versafine clair nocturne

Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, blue shimmer paper

Paint: peerless transparent watercolours

Also: clear embossing powder

Winter Days

Posted: November 19, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: hometown Christmas, winter days | Tags: , | 4 Comments

It doesn’t look quite like this yet but we have snow and it is staying on the ground… for now. I stamped this pretty scene from Penny Black’s ‘winter days’ transparent set in black versafine clair ink on hot pressed watercolour paper then coloured with watercolour pencils.

I limited my pencil choices to two dark blues, a black, a green, a red and a brown. There are dots of snow in the stamp so after painting the sky I dotted over the stamped snow with a white gel pen and added some over the rest of the scene also. I used Kathy Racoosin’s shadow trick of adding some black pen here and there where there would be shadows. (eg. the edges of the river, under the eaves on the buildings and the trees on the horizon). I am still enjoying colouring as often as possible for The Daily Marker 30 day colouring challenge.

My panel wasn’t a square nor was it my usual 4¼ “x 5½ ” size but I wanted the usual A2 size I matted it with a wide red mat which left room for some organza ribbon. I stamped a partial sentiment from the ‘hometown Christmas’ set and tucked in under the bow.

If you’d like to see a beautiful and quite different take on this stamp pop on over to Susie Lessard’s blog here.

Supplies

Stamps: winter days, hometown Christmas (PB)

Inks: nocturne, chianti versafine clair

Paper: hot pressed watercolour, deep red cardstock

Pencils: Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils
Pens: white gel pen, black micron pen

Also: white organza ribbon with shimmery edges

Pretty Paper Neighbourhood & a Wreath

Posted: November 16, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Alexandra Renke, neighbourhood border, starry night, whirl wreath | Tags: , , , , | 6 Comments

It’s all soft and subtle on the blog today. I have two projects featuring the beautiful Alexandra Renke cardstock the Foiled Fox recently started carrying in their store. The weight of the cardstock is somewhere between a good quality printer paper and a piece of cardstock. There is definitely enough weight to die cut nicely.

I chose the elegant ‘whirl wreath’ by Penny Black and cut one out of ‘pink dots’ cardstock. I attached it around the centre circle with adhesive but left the branches unattached ( so I will be careful putting it in a envelope) The background is ‘rose stripes’ which matches the pink dots perfectly. I cut the bow out of a piece of cardstock from my stash and layered a few together to give it some extra weight. I blended around the edge of the striped panel with tattered rose distress ink and attached everything to a cream cardbase.

I chose to add a natural twine bow to the die cut bow then had to co-ordinate the sentiment with antique linen distress ink.

For my little neighbourhood card I use three patterns of Alexandra Renke cardstock, the rose stripes, gray stripes and medium mud watercolour. I know it is hard to see the details of the die cuts in my photo but in real life the pink striped neighbourhood is clear against two lines of gray striped trees in front of a gray mud starry sky.

I have been wanting to try a white on white layered die cut scene and I probably still will but chose to try it with these pretty papers first. The neighbourhood is layered over two layers of trees cut with the ‘trees and hills’ dies which are layered over a gray piece cut with the starry sky night die attached directly to a white card base.

I featured some of the subtle colours and patterns from Alexandra Renke today but I do have some bold patterns and solids to share another day.

Have a great weekend.

Supplies

Stamps: Christmas sentiments, winter days (PB)

Dies: whirl wreath, neighbourhood border, starry night die, trees & hills die set (PB)

Cardstock: Alexandra Renke medium mud watercolor, gray stripes, rose stripes & Neenah solar white, cream, pink

Inks: tattered rose, antique linen distress ink, smokey gray versafine ink

Also: hemp twine

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