At the Garden Gate

Posted: March 24, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Echidna Studios, garden fence, Inktense pencils | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Inktense, Penny Black stamps | 3 Comments

This little front fence is a new digital stamp from Echidna Studios. It’s a set of five images that you can arrange yourself. Each image is opaque (or stackable) which means when you arrange them before printing you can put the plants in front of the fence and in front of each other. The five stamps are the fence, the triple topiary, the flowers in the grass, the flowers in the pot and another pot not featured on this card.

I had great fun arranging these images to create this little scene. After finalising the scene I printed it on hot pressed watercolour paper and coloured the images with Derwent inktense pencils. I use inktense pencils it two ways; sometimes I colour directly on the paper then blend with a wet paintbrush, other times I pick up ink from the sharpened tip of the pencil with a paintbrush and then paint.

After colouring the pots and the plants I had to decide how to colour the fence and gate because it wasn’t going to stand out if I left it white. The problem was that I wanted a white picket fence. I ended up colouring the fence and gate with an embossing pen then embossed with Ranger weathered white embossing powder which is textured and creamy coloured. It’s subtle but it does make the fence stand out a little. I coloured the hinges with a gold gel pen.

To add some sky I blended speckled egg distress ink here and there, then splattered some over the scene. The sentiment is from Penny Black’s ‘only you’ set and all the links can be found below.

Thank you to all of you who have left such kind messages about my daughter’s digital design etsy store. Thank you to those who have popped over to purchase some of her digital stamps. We would both love to see what you have done with the images. You can attach an image when you comment in the store or even use the contact button to send her a message.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Bud & Bloom

Posted: March 16, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: bud & bloom, Echidna Studios, Karin brushmarkers | Tags: Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Karin brushmarkers, Penny Black stamps | 7 Comments

More flowers on the blog as we get more snow on the ground! The trio of flowers on the card above and the single bloom on the card further down the page are both digital stamps from the ‘bud and bloom‘ set available from Echidna Studios. I printed them on hot pressed watercolour paper then used Karin brushmarkers to add colour.

I haven’t used my Karin markers in a while but there are still as juicy as ever so a little ink goes a long way. I have seen the Karin markers used direct to paper, then blended with water and also scribbled onto a glass mat or palette then picked up with a brush. In the past I have tended to apply directly to my watercolour paper or directly on a stamp. This time I scribbled the markers onto my glass mat and blended colours before painting the flowers. I think this gave me more control over the blends. I worked with a yellow, a couple of oranges and a red to come up with the three mixes you see in the card above.

To add a green background to the card above I blended northern pine memento ink (the magic green ink) around the flowers then splattered water droplets over it and dabbed them up with a paper towel.

On the second card with the single bloom I added orange to the soft peach marker, once again picking up ink from a glass mat rather than applying it directly to the paper. While the ink was still wet on the paper I did touch the tip of the orange marker to the areas where I wanted deeper colour and shadow then immediately blended it out towards the ends of the petals. I added a little extra shading on both panels with coloured pencils, a trick I learnt from Kathy Racoosin a colouring wizard!

I used a warm grey marker from my set of 26 colours to add a background with a few spots of very diluted orange here and there. There are three greys in the set, a warm, a cool and a neutral grey. I tried each one on a scrap of watercolour paper before settling on the warm grey. I painted water onto the background then applied the grey ink onto the wet cardstock. I also added texture to this panel with the ‘subtle’ embossing folder which creates a canvas look.

The sentiments on both cards are from the new Penny Black set, ‘delightful day’. I’ve mentioned before one of the bonuses of a digital stamp is that you can print it out whatever size you like. I’ve already printed the trio of flowers image larger on watercolour paper so the flowers will fill the whole panel. I hope to have that one finished to share with you soon.

Hope you have a delightful day whether you are surrounded by snow or flowers!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp & Ecstasy Crafts)

Seedlings

Posted: March 2, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Echidna Studios, seedlings, sennelier watercolours, Simply Graphic | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, sennelier watercolours, Simply Graphic | 7 Comments

If you are a plan ahead – plant ahead person then you might have some seedlings growing somewhere in your house or green house. These are the only seedlings I have at this point but I must say they are looking quite healthy.

This is a digital stamp designed by my daughter and available in her etsy store Echidna Studios. I printed it so that it just fitted on an A2 card front but I think it might be nice to print it larger and feature only one or two pots on a card front with the shoots and leaves coming off the edge of the panel.

I printed on hot pressed watercolour paper and used my Sennelier pan paints for all the colouring. I used a mix of greens for the greenery and a mix of blue and brown for the pots. I really like blue and brown combos these days, something that I wouldn’t have imagined a few years back.

The sentiment is from Simply Graphic’s ‘English Sentiments’ set; I like the handwritten look and the size of the words. I know I could be handwriting a few sentiments myself here and there but I always add the sentiment last and by that time I don’t want to mess up a otherwise completed card with a crooked or uneven sentiment. That being said I think I should try a few handwritten sentiments on upcoming cards…

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Snowflake Cards

Posted: February 23, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: crystalline, Dies, Echidna Studios, grafix, Penny Black, snowflake digital stamp set | Tags: Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, grafix, Penny Black creative dies | 9 Comments

Apparently we are getting 10-20cm of snow tonight. So these cards are appropriate for late February! I teamed up with Grafix to complete these projects. I love using liquid frisket to create a scattering or a storm of snowflakes or stars across a watercolour background.

I splattered the liquid frisket on hot pressed watercolour, let the droplets dry then used dye inks to colour the panels. You can see the process in the video below.

I cut intricate snowflakes from lightweight white linen cardstock to add to the watercolour panels. All but the die-cut snowflakes on the final card are designs from Echidna Studios. I used snowflakes from the Snowflake Digital Stamp set. I have used them as stamps on previous cards but this time I cut them on a cricut.

Because the snowflakes are quite intricate gluing them on with artist tac was very straightforward. I also use artist tac when I am attaching individual letters to create a word or sentiment.

I used a few of the cards as thankyous and left a few blank.

I used smooshed distress inks to create the watercolour backgrounds but you could use watercolour paints or powders to make soft blended backgrounds.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Old Stone Doorway

Posted: February 3, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Echidna Studios, old stone doorway, sennelier watercolours, Simply Graphic, Watercolour | Tags: Echidna Studios, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Ranger archival inks, sennelier watercolours, Simply Graphic | 12 Comments

Isn’t this a sweet front path and door? It makes me want to head inside or wander around the garden. This digital stamp is another design by my daughter which is available in her etsy store, Echidna Studios. I printed it on Arches cold press watercolour paper. You know I generally use Fabriano hot press watercolour paper but I am trying to ‘use what I have’ so I pulled out the Arches for a change. I like how the texture of the paper adds texture to the front of the house.

Using my Sennelier watercolour paints I painted a wash of brown over the brickwork, blue over the door and grey for the stonework. I also mixed a bluey green for the hedges. Next I switched to watercolour pencils and added shading to the bricks and stones, coloured the leaves and painted from the tip of my pencils to make the window and door frames grey and the reflections light blue. The sentiment is from Simply Graphic and is stamped in prize ribbon sketch archival ink

I almost stopped a couple of times as I wasn’t happy with the colours I had chosen and the lack of detail in the washes. I did keep going though and it pulled together. One thing that helps is that I didn’t use too many colours and I like the way the watercolour fades away at the edges. There are little white patches where I didn’t touch up the painting and I think they work too in adding a highlight here and there. I have printed another one out because a red brick house might also be fun to do.

The designer of this stamp is coming over for dinner tonight so I will ask where this door is in real life…

(Compensated affiliate links used when purchasing from Foiled Fox)

Cosy Cup of Cocoa

Posted: January 6, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, cocoa and cookies, framed flowers stencil, gel press, Penny Black, The Crafter's Workshop | Tags: Echidna Studios, gel press, gel printing, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Ranger archival inks | 5 Comments

‘Tis the season for sitting by the fire, drinking hot chocolate and staying cosy. Since I last posted we have had snow, rain, ice and more snow! To create today’s card I paired a watercoloured Echidna Studios image with a alcohol ink gel print. I printed the cup from the ‘cocoa and cookies‘ digital stamp set on hot pressed watercolour paper then painted it with Sennelier watercolour paints.

I added a Penny Black sentiment then framed it with a gel printed panel. It may seem like an odd combo of images but I like the way the colours worked together and it looked a little like a floral tablecloth underneath my cup image. I have only recently started using alcohol inks on my gel plate and discovered how the highly pigmented alcohol inks sometimes give me three or four prints from the one design. This pale one was either the second or third print pulled with paint after creating a colourful design on the plate with a stencil.

Hope you are staying cosy in the northern hemisphere or refreshed in the south. It is a strange thing to now celebrate my wedding anniversary and birthday in the bleak mid winter even though I was born and married in the height of summer! This weekend my husband and I are celebrating 33 years!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Mini Tree

Posted: December 21, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: decorated holiday mini tree, Echidna Studios, Finetec paints, sennelier watercolours | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, sennelier watercolours | 2 Comments

Another festive (digital) beauty from my daughter’s etsy store, Echidna Studios. Do you recognise the inspiration for this little tree? You probably see them in the grocery store; it’s a little pot of rosemary, shaped like a tree. The design is available already decorated or in a set with separate tree and decorations. It is only a few days before Christmas so of course I am featuring the already decorated one!

I printed the tree on hot pressed watercolour paper and painted the paper wrapping and tree with Sennelier watercolour paints. Several people asked me about printing on watercolour paper. Up until recently I had no success; I would manually feed it into the printer but the ink would smudge off. A friend told me about the preferences settings when clicking to print and now I choose ‘manual feed’ and ‘heavyweight paper’ and no more smudging!

I switched to Finetec pearlescent paints and a gold gel pen to do the decorations so they have a little shimmer and shine to them. I reached into my little box of pre-stamped, pre-cut sentiments and pulled out one to suit the colours and the recipient. It’s a tall skinny tree (a bit like our family) so the card isn’t my usual size. It’s a 6¼” x 4″ olive green card base.

My life size tree is also decorated in red and gold this year. I always pick a slightly different colour scheme so this year all the red baubles came out, the tartan ribbon and the individual decorations in red, gold or wood. Do you change your colours from year to year?

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Winter tree

Posted: December 19, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Echidna Studios, winter tree & bench | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, sennelier watercolours | 15 Comments

This sweet scene is based on a real tree and a real bench. It’s another design by my daughter and available as a digital stamp in her etsy store, Echidna Studios. I printed it twice on hot pressed watercolour paper. One image almost fills a 4¼” x 5½” card and the other is smaller leaving room to be framed by the snowfall embossed panel.

One of the nice things about digital stamps is the way they can be printed any size you want. I used Sennelier watercolour paints to paint the blue sky across the panel working my way around the bench but painting over the top of the tree. Once the sky was dry I painted the bench with brown and grey paint then the tree with black. Some of the branches are quite thin especially on the smaller version so I used a fine tip Pitt pen to colour them.

When the painting was all dry I coloured over the lights with a gold gel pen. Now that I have tried the image a couple of times I want to go more slowly and see if I can get those lights to glow a bit more. It is a calm pretty image but if I was trying to reflect the last few days of weather here in Ottawa both tree and bench would be covered in snow!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Stockings from Narnia

Posted: December 16, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Christmas stockings digital stamp set, Echidna Studios, sennelier watercolours | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, sennelier watercolours | 7 Comments

This set is simply called Christmas Stockings, but I definitely think you might see one of these hanging over Mr Tumnus’ fire place or maybe in the Beaver’s lodge. I have watercoloured two of the stockings from the set of three digital stamp my daughter designed and uploaded to her etsy store, Echidna Studios.

I printed the image on watercolour paper then used Sennelier watercolours paints and a gold gel pen to fill in the design. I took a little more time on the stocking above painting all the curly fronds whereas for the one below I blended a blue and a green paint to fill the patterned stocking.

I attached both stockings to embossing folders, one with pine needles, the other bricks. I am very taken with embossing folders at present both for creating backgrounds and for making my own gel printing texture plates.

The handy dandy sentiments are from Taylored Expressions. At the beginning of my Christmas card making season I stamped the one stamp of 18 sentiments in a range of colours, cut them with the matching die and kept them in a little box which I have been able to reach into over and over. These two are among my last few Christmas cards but there will be more winter themed cards and Christmas thank you cards to come. My contents of my craft room are still spread around the house but I am making progress putting it back together!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Let’s Skate

Posted: November 22, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: birds and banners, Brutus Monroe, Dies, Echidna Studios, Foiling, layered Xmas wreath die set, let's skate, Penny Black, silver sketch deco foil, snowflake digital stamp set, stocking stuffers | Tags: Brutus Monroe, brutus monroe embossing powder, digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Foiling, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 3 Comments

Don’t let that blog post title trick you. I won’t ever be the one saying, “Let’s Skate”! I will happily say, “Let’s make cute cards with skates on them.” My less than stellar skating experience ended when my children became proficient and I realised I didn’t have to get out on the ice and wobble around any more.

These lovely skate dies are from Penny Black and I was thrilled when I saw them. I have been using them in the Christmas card class I’ve been teaching but decided to make a few vintage looking pairs with various pieced layers. Quite unusual for me to piece layers but I do like how they turned out. On card above I filled them with die-cut foliage.

Both pairs of skates are popped up on snowflake backgrounds printed then foiled from my daughter’s snowflake designs available in her Etsy store. I printed the file on kraft paper on my laser printer then foiled in white on the piece above and Brutus Monroe silver foil on the design below.

The vintage style cream colour I used for the boot is a gel print, black cardstock for the heel, silver for the blade and some burgandy for the trim. Fiddly but worth it in the end.