The distress oxide trials – Overstamping

Posted: May 8, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Feathery | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

Today’s misty muted scene is brought to you by ‘The Distress Oxide Trials’. This one was one of my early experiments involving stamping over stamping. The effect might be a bit messy for some but I like the way lighter colours over darker colours give something of a skeletal look. I used the ‘feathery’ stamp and inked it with peeled paint first, spritzed then stamped, did the same with vintage photo, and finished with broken china.

You can see the blue over the brown shows up as a x-ray type image. On the right hand side there was an area without much brown so I decided to soften it even more with water to create the look of light coming through.

To finish the card I matted with both brown and  blue cardstock then added a sentiment in brown.

Supplies:

Stamps: Feathery,  snippets (Penny Black)
Inks: vintage photo, peeled paint, broken china distress oxide inks (Ranger) versafine vintage sepia (Tsukineko)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, blue cardstock, brown cardstock

Distress Oxide Trials – one or two colours

Posted: May 5, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Blips, Felicity, Shades, Triple Banner | Tags: , , , | 15 Comments

As I’ve been reading your comments about distress oxide inks I have noticed some of you are not sure you want them so have held off or only bought one or two to try. I decided to see what I could do with just one or two colours. I’ve been having so much fun with about half the colours I haven’t even opened them all yet and sadly spiced marmalade is currently hiding somewhere in my messy busy and productive workroom. All that to say, if you only have one or two colours, do some experimenting with them anyway; you might be surprised.

This green themed card is inked with only peeled paint distress oxide ink and yet there is a light and dark teal green, and dark and light olive tones as well. I was pretty impressed. I think the key to this effect is in the layering of colour. I pressed my ink pad on my craft mat, spritzed the ink then swiped my embossed panel through the ink. Colour only partially filled the panel; I dried it then repeated the process over and over. Each layer of ink reacts with the ink already on the paper and the un-inked areas on the paper. I also did some splattering of ink and water and some dabbing of water with a paper towel to lift a bit of colour. Because my panel was embossed I had to be careful not to reheat the embossing too much so I kept the heat tool moving. I love the effect around this ‘blips’ background stamp. A friend of mine used this stamp with great results recently by sprinkling brusho over the embossed image. Seeing her lovely card reminded me I had this stamp tucked away.

My second card uses only two distress oxide inks, worn lipstick and fired brick. I was hoping to do cards in just one colour but I wasn’t getting the same variety of colours from worn lipstick. My guess is that I spoiled my chances by covering the whole panel with my first layer of diluted ink rather than just part of the panel. I did manage to build up some different pinks over the top of the first layer but the differences were not as dramatic as shown on the green above. I will try again and use the same partial inking technique over and over and see what happens.

I did still manage to get some nice colour trapped inside the embossing creating light and dark petals and leaves. To provide just a bit more contrast I swiped it through some fired brick diluted ink a few times. When I press my ink on my craft mat then spritz it lightly it forms little beads of ink. Swiping through them spreads colour across the panel but pressing the paper down on top picks up little dots of ink, another cool effect I think.

I finished both cards with embossed sentiment banners and a few embellishments.

I have a growing list of suggestions from readers to try next week. Thanks for all your encouragement, tips and questions.

Supplies

Stamps: Felicity, Blips, Amazing!, Special Thoughts (PB)
Dies: Triple Banner, Shades
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah natural white and epic black cardstock
Inks: versamark (Tsukineko) Distress oxide peeled paint, worn lipstick, fired brick (Ranger)
Also:  WOW clear embossing powder, Studio Katia sparkling crystals, Simple stories enamel dots

Distress oxide trials – Desaturation

Posted: May 3, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Effulgent, Feathery, full of glee, Tagged | Tags: , , | 15 Comments

Can you tell I like the way ‘distress oxide trials’ sounds like an significant chemical experiment? That’s why I called today’s post ‘desaturation’ rather than just ‘stamping with water! The effect does come, however, from stamping with water. I think it is my favourite technique so far. I began by blending the inks onto hot pressed watercolour paper. They do blend nicely on neenah classic crest paper but they blend even better on watercolour paper. By blending I mean sponging ink onto the paper, also called inking by some crafters.

For the these three cards I sponged three colours onto the paper and overlapped them to get nice soft blended colours. The sponging doesn’t take long, it doesn’t leave marks shaped like the edge of your applicator and it creates intense colour.

After sponging my colours over the whole panel I put the panel into my MISTI, positioned my stamp then spritzed it with water. All the stamps used for these cards are red rubber; (slapstick cling from Penny Black, names listed below) I haven’t tried with clear stamps yet. The stamp just has to hold onto the water for the technique to work.

After stamping a water print onto the blended colour, I lifted the stamp and dabbed a paper towel over the print. It left a pale image on the coloured panel.

It’s not a really sharp image but it is definitely recognisable and I love the look.

The trials are not over but if you are looking for a technique to start with try some sponging; the finish is so rich and creamy. Then if you are feeling scientific try some desaturation as well. If you have thought of a technique you’d like me to try please leave me a comment below.

Supplies

Stamps: full of glee, feathery, Effulgent, stitched flowers, happy snippets (PB)
Die: tagged, omg (PB)
Inks: worn lipstick, broken china, fossilized amber, wilted violet, peeled paint distress oxide inks (Ranger) versamark, versafine onyx black & smokey gray (Tsukineko)
Papers: hot pressed watercolour paper, neenah solar white, neenah epic black, violet cardstock
Also: gold & white embossing powder, white ribbon, gold thread

Sweet perfume

Posted: May 2, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Sweet Perfume | Tags: , , | 19 Comments

This panel is another I coloured while away in Toronto. I took my watercolour pencils, some brushes and several stamped panels, some embossed others just stamped in light colours to paint over. I did a ton of walking and exploring while there but also met up with my daughter in coffee shops during the day as she was working on a thesis most of the time. She sat at her laptop, I painted for a while, drunk some tea then headed out exploring again.

I have already posted a card featuring this image stamped on black cardstock. This one was not stamped on black; it was embossed on hot pressed watercolour paper. I did all the painting with my watercolour pencils filling the flowers with pinks and purples and the leaves with a few shades of green. When I had finished there were a few spaces between flowers with no colour at all. I decided to paint them black. It really did not look very good but I packed it away and moved onto something else. When I came home and took some time to turn my panels into cards I trimmed this one back so the flowers were cropped on all sides then tried several coloured mats to frame it. The black card base ended up being the best option. Those few little black sections on the coloured panel tied in with the card base nicely. I also tried a few sentiments but ended up going without. On the inside I have glued a pale pink panel to write on.

Thanks for dropping by; I’ll be back with my next distress oxide trial tomorrow, I think it is my favourite so far.

Supplies:

Stamps: Sweet Perfume (PB)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils (Faber Castell)
Ink: Versamark ink
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Epic black cardstock
Also: gold embossing powders, gold organza ribbon

Distress oxide trials – brushstroke floral

Posted: April 30, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Bejeweled | Tags: , | 14 Comments

The distress oxide trials continue with some brushstroke floral stamps. I generally use distress stains or markers with these stamps because I love to blend the colours either on the paper or the stamp to create the look of a watercolour painting. I was happy with the solid, but blended colour I achieved with the three oxide inks, quite different but muted and pretty.

As with earlier experiments the blending is lovely and smooth. I was able to blend blue into both the red petals and the green leaves by using my MISTI to apply one colour at a time. I inked and stamped the petals first in fired brick, wiping off any stray ink from the leaves with a wet wipe before stamping. I inked and stamped the leaves and stems in peeled paint next.  I wanted some blended accents on the both flowers and leaves so I dabbed the faded jeans ink in a few places, spritzed to soften sharp edges then stamped again.  The chalky look is quite different from the original distress inks but the blending is just as smooth. I used cold pressed watercolour paper so there is some nice texture showing through the solid ink.

I probably could have stamped the sentiment in faded jeans oxide ink but I my ink of choice for sentiments continues to be versafine. The majestic blue co-ordinated beautifully and I was able to find the same colour for my mat also.

Thank you for your responses to my first distress oxide post; I am interested to hear what other people are trying and happy to prove any insights as I experiment. I know some people are wondering whether it is worth getting the distress oxides if you have the original distress inks. I will give some feedback as I post my experiments and then give a wrap up when I’ve tried a range of techniques.

Flower embrace

Posted: April 29, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Flower embrace | Tags: , , , | 13 Comments

 

I embossed this pretty new stamp from Penny Black so I could do some pencil colouring while I was away in Toronto a few weeks ago. The photo below is a little washed out on the gold embossing but I included it so you could see how the shiny gold contrasts with the pencil colouring. I used watercolour pencils as tiny palettes which is my usual method. I hold the pencil in one hand and a water brush in the other to pick up colour from the pencil lead.

My watercolour pencils are Faber Castell’s Albrecht Dürer. I’ve had a set of 36 since art school and recently I bought a bunch of colours I didn’t have.  The floral wreath is embossed in gold powder after stamping in versamark.

The only other detail I added was a shadow of grey around all the embossing. I used a zig cleancolour brush marker then blended it with some water. Enjoy your day.

Supplies

Stamps: flower embrace, sprinkles and smiles (PB)
Pencils: Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils 172, 168, 176, 108, 126, 225, 144
Ink: versamark
Also: WOW gold metallic rich fine embossing powder, gray zig cleancolor brush pen

 

The distress oxide trials

Posted: April 28, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Flower Frolic, Penny Black, stitched flowers, Tagged | Tags: , , , | 14 Comments

The trials have begun. Shauna at The Foiled Fox sent me some distress oxide inks to try. I have been intrigued by the videos and projects I’ve seen around the place so was keen to play with them myself. I started by mixing some diluted ink on a craft mat then swiped different papers through it. I chose bristol cardstock, hot pressed watercolour paper and neenah solar white 110lb cardstock.

The card above features the bristol cardstock. It picked up the colour well, the inks blended and the watermarks from splattering made nice light patches with dark edges. I used two main colours, a pink and a blue (what a surprise!) then I splattered a little yellow at the end of my experimenting.

The panel below is made from the hot pressed watercolour piece. The results were very similar but the blending was even smoother between the colours.

I chose not to make a card from the sample on  neenah solar white. It worked but the colours did not blend or spread as nicely in my opinion. These are just the beginning of my experiments of course and only three colours but there is more to come. The inks blended just as beautifully as the original distress inks but dry opaque or semi opaque, perfect for a solid background.

Supplies:

Stamps: delicate flowers, stitched flowers, happy snippets
Dies: flower frolic, tagged
Inks: faded jeans, worn lipstick, fossilized amber distress oxide inks (Ranger) versafine majestic blue (Tsukineko)
Papers: hot pressed watercolour paper, bristol paper, stardream blue cardstock, black cardstock

 

Feathers

Posted: April 25, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Brusho, light as a feather, Skyward | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

I’ve been wanting to make a feather card for ages and finally got round to it for today’s guest post on the Foiled Fox blog. I have told you before, but just in case you’re new here, I want you to know what a delightful place The Foiled Fox blog and store is. The blog features all sorts of lovely projects and the online store is full of fabulous art and craft supplies and they are always adding new products.

To create my feather card I worked on hot pressed watercolour paper and did all the painting and stamping before any of the die-cutting. I splattered masking fluid over the panel first then sprinkled three colours of brusho, spritzed that and watched it react and spread over the panel. I wanted the violet to blend into the blue, then the blue into the green so I tilted the panel and let the wet paint move. Once the panel dried I stamped the Penny Black ‘skyward’ stamp in black versafine ink.

The background is also stamped with the skyward stamp and embossed in clear powder to create a subtle pattern. I popped the feathers up on the background panel, added some co-ordinating sequins and a little embossed sentiment.

Thank you, thank you to the crew at the Foiled Fox for having me on their blog again today. You can find links to the products used on today’s project listed below.

Supplies

Stamps: skyward, happy snippets
Dies: light as a feather
Inks: versamark, versafine onyx black
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, white cardstock
Paint: brusho violet, cobalt blue, leaf green
Also: white & clear embossing powder, masking fluid, sequins

Happy Birthday, Dad

Posted: April 24, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: CAS, Homestead | 11 Comments

I waited to hear from my dad before I posted this card on the blog. It was mailed to him a few weeks back but the postal service is an unpredictable animal so I had no idea when it would arrive in Australia. On the same day I mailed a package of cards to my mother for her to use. I intentionally did not put my dad’s birthday card in as I was sure a package would arrive later than a single card. Not so. A birthday present posted in the other direction from my parents to me was sent airmail but arrived almost 2 months later. As my mum would say, ‘You just never know!” A large and precious parcel arrived for my family on Friday sent by my father the previous Tuesday. Three days! So it is possible.

But enough about the postal service. This rustic homestead card is made with a stamp from Darkroom Door. When I was in Australia late last year I visited Rachel Greig and Stewart Yule, founders and owners of Darkroom Door and was treated to a behind the scenes tour of the stamp making process. I spent a wonderful morning talking with Rachel about a range of creative topics including my introduction of classes using Darkroom Door stamps to my teaching schedule. I am so grateful for Rachel’s support of my classes, as are my students!

When my dad came to pick me up he browsed some of the stamps on display in the studio. Two in particular caught his eye, the one in his hand above featuring the Norah Head lighthouse that he and I toured  the following week and the one on this birthday card. This homestead is representative of older farm buildings that dot the Australian country side. The corrugated iron on the roof is something I rarely see in Canada but common in Australia. I chose to stick to a vintage colour scheme stamping in vintage photo distress ink and black elegant writer pen. I blended parts of the stamped image with water to bring out the shadows.

This card seems all the more appropriate this week as the precious parcel I mentioned earlier contained my father’s memoir written over the last few years about his and my mother’s life experiences and organised into chapters by ‘homesteads’.

Supplies

Stamps: Homestead, Happy Birthday (Darkroom Door)
Inks: vintage photo distress(Ranger), elegant writer pen(Speedball)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstock

Classes update

Posted: April 21, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Classes, Darkroom Door, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

I’ve been busy with classes lately including one in Toronto where I had a wonderful time with some delightful artists and crafters making watercolour cards. I’m hoping to head back there to teach before too long.

Here in Ottawa I am in the middle of Brushstroke Blooms classes using some gorgeous Penny Black stamps. There are spaces in tomorrow’s Saturday morning class and Monday’s afternoon class. If you are interested go to my Classes page.

On May 6th, at Aunty Em’s Scrapbooking store in Cornwall I will be teaching the Brushstroke Blooms class pictured above and the Watercolour Resist class shown below. Contact the store for more details.

On May 11th & 12th at Crop A While store in Orleans and May 13th & 15th at Riverside United Church in Ottawa I will be teaching the Floral Festival class pictured below featuring Darkroom Door stamps. Contact Crop A While to sign up there or click over to my Classes page to sign up for a Riverside class.

Thank you to all of you who support my classes, I love meeting you and creating with you. To those who are waiting patiently for online classes, do not give up hope! I want to supply some as soon as I can.

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