Watercolour pencil cacti

Posted: August 30, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Happy together, Watercolour | Tags: , , | 12 Comments

I’ve worked with this stamp before, last time with bister powder to colour it. It took longer with watercolour pencils but the process was quite relaxing. I used my tried and true Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils from Faber Castell and limited my choices to light green, dark green, light blue, purple and brown.

I stamped the image from the PB ‘happy together’ set in crushed olive distress ink then used a paint brush with my watercolour pencils to add colour. I painted shadows in a mix of brown and purple then matted with some purple cardstock.

Now, help me out here, what is the right occasion for sending a cacti card??

Supplies

Stamps: happy together


Paper: hot pressed watercolour, neenah natural white, purple

Inks: crushed olive distress ink
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Also: Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils

Peaceful village

Posted: August 23, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: peaceful village | Tags: , , | 10 Comments

This is the last of my vintage style watercolours (for now) and I think this one might be my favourite. I don’t have step by step photos for this one but the process is exactly the same as shown in the tranquil hamlet video I posted earlier this week.

I worked on hot pressed watercolour paper but stamped with walnut stain ink instead of vintage photo. The walnut stain ink is a darker brown so the whole scene is a little darker but still has the vintage sepia look to it. I stamped in a stamp positioner because there is a lot of detail in the stamp.

As with my previous vintage style scenes I blended the stamping with water which pulled colour into the interior of the buildings, trees and bridge. As I blended the walnut stain ink I also added colour from watercolour pencils, including blue, green, black, yellow and red. I was careful to blend colour right up to the edges of snowy areas so it would contrast with the bright white of the snow on roofs and hills.

Supplies

Stamp: peaceful village

Ink: walnut stain distress ink

Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper

Pencils: Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolour pencils
Tools: stamping platform

Tranquil Hamlet Video

Posted: August 20, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Stamped Landscapes, tranquil hamlet, Watercolour | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

You’ve probably heard by now there is a new Penny Black release in town! Two actually, a big beautiful Christmas release and a fun fall release. The catalogues can be viewed here. I’ll be featuring vintage style snowy scenes all week here on the blog even though the sun is shining and the grass is green outside!

This lovely stamp called ‘Tranquil Hamlet’ is stamped in vintage photo ink and coloured with Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils on hot pressed watercolour paper. Watch the video to see how
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wineNaEVDzM

Thanks for dropping by; I’ll be back tomorrow with another snowy scene.

Supplies

Stamps: Tranquil Hamlet

Ink: vintage photo distress ink

Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper

Pencils: Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolour pencils (199, 159, 154, 151, 126)
Tools: stamping platform
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Flower perch

Posted: May 9, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: flower perch | Tags: , , | 15 Comments

I have a tried and true colouring method for you today. I know I have shared this technique before but it’s a favourite of mine so here it is again! I even have a video where I demonstrate this technique with a different stamp.

I stamped the ‘flower perch’ image in vintage photo and did all the painting with watercolour pencils. I used a damp brush to pick up colour from the pencil leads. When I paint onto the stamped image the colour from the pencils mixes with the vintage photo ink giving everything a brown tinge.

After I had completed the bird and branch I decided to add the script stamp to the back ground. I avoided the bird by placing post it notes here and there and by only pressing part of the stamp onto the panel each time. I can’t remember if I had taped the panel down at the beginning or whether I did it just before adding the script. Either way I had tape around the edges which enabled me to mask a plain frame around the panel when I sponged the border and splattered vintage photo ink here and there. I even remembered to stamp an envelope to match!

Supplies

Stamps: flower perch 40-593, script 40-470

Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper

Ink: vintage photo distress ink, vintage sepia versafine ink

Pencils: Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils (178, 190, 191, 195, 131, 187, 174, 141, 233)

Poppy blessing

Posted: March 21, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Parade of flowers | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

This is the second card I’ve posted featuring the ‘parade of flowers’ stamp from Penny Black. To create this one I used just a section of the stamped image and worked with the emboss resist method. I stamped in versamark and embossed in clear powder on hot pressed watercolour paper.

The painting is all done with watercolour pencils. I use a waterbrush or wet paintbrush to pick up colour from the pencils. I used 2-3 pinks to fill the flowers, a green for the stems, a brown for the seed pod and black for the poppy centre. I painted the background with a grey watercolour pencil, added a sentiment in versafine smokey gray ink, a pink mat and a little twist of twine.

Happy Spring!

 

Supplies

Stamps: parade of flowers, choose happy

Inks: versamark, versafine smokey gray

Pencils: Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils

Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, pink cardstock

Also: clear embossing powder, twine

Floral medley

Posted: February 16, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: floral medley | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

Sweet Spring has arrived, on the Penny Black blog that is! Sweet Spring is Penny Black’s brand new release and as you can imagine it’s full of flowers. I’ve been having fun using some of my favourite techniques to colour those flowers so let’s take a look at today’s blooms. This big stamp is called ‘flower medley’ and I’ve paired it with a new sentiment from the ‘grateful heart’ set. (list and links below)

I embossed the flower medley stamp on hot pressed watercolour paper with white powder then used my watercolour pencils to paint in and around all the leaves and flowers. The embossing keeps everything contained so I was able to pick up colour from my pencils with a waterbrush, paint a petal or leaf then drop in more of the same colour for some depth or a different colour to create some blended areas. Once all the flowers and leaves were coloured I painted around them all with a grey watercolour pencil.

Next I used a trick I occasionally employ to flatten my watercoloured panels. I turned on my minc, popped the panel inside a folded piece of computer paper and ran it through the minc on a low heat setting. It ironed my panel nicely but also melted and removed some of the embossing. If I had used an embossing powder with some colour or shine then I wouldn’t have wanted it to disappear but clear or white embossing just masks the white paper underneath so melting it off didn’t change my design at all. The panel ended up very smooth so I was able to overlap the floral design with a sentiment stamped in versafine smokey gray ink. I matted the panel with co-ordinating pink cardstock and then added it to a square cream card base.

Now click on over to the Penny Black blog for the full reveal and a giveaway!

Supplies

Stamps

Inks: versamark, versafine smokey gray

Pencils: Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils

Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, pink cardstock

Also: opaque white embossing powder, minc foil applicator

Glorious Day

Posted: November 18, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Snowy Perch | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

When I posted my first card made with this stamp I mentioned a second I had completed when I knew the image better. In this one I managed to keep the snowy areas white from the beginning rather than dilute them after I realised my mistake! I used fewer inks and left the leaves on right side of the stamp unstamped.

I stamped bird, perch and foliage in antique linen first then went over the perch and leaves as with vintage photo and black soot distress markers. I stamped then blended with water before adding ink to the berries with festive berries and barn door distress markers. To colour the bird I switched over to my watercolour pencils, picking up colour from the lead with a small damp watercolour brush.

I finished off the card with a sentiment stamped in versafine vintage sepia then popped up the panel on craft foam.

Supplies

Stamps: snowy perch, peace & love


Inks: antique linen, vintage photo  distress inks (Ranger), versafine vintage sepia (Tsukineko), black micron pen (Pigma)
Markers: vintage photo, black soot, festive berries, barn door distress markers
Paper: 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper (Fabriano)
Pencils: dark carmine, light orange, black & cold greyIV Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils

Snowy Perch

Posted: November 8, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Snowy Perch | Tags: , , | 14 Comments

This little bird and its snowy perch are all part of one stamp. It took me a bit of playing to work out how I wanted to colour the stamped image. I have another card to share where I took a slightly different approach. I started by stamping the whole stamp with antique linen distress ink. Using a pale ink with a detailed stamp helps me see the whole image so I can add colours one by one using a stamp positioning tool. I coloured with both a mix of inks added to the stamp and watercolour pencils added to the stamped image. I inked the branch and twig sections of the stamp with several brown inks (listed below) and blended the stamping with water.

I used a wet paintbrush to pick up colour from watercolour pencils to apply colour to the bird, berries and leaves. By working wet into wet I was able to paint a lighter colour first then add either a darker colour or more of the same colour to darken a shadowed area. You can see I added a lot more water to the leaves on the right hand side so they appeared less prominent and more suitable as a background for the sentiment.  Once all the colouring was finished I used a fine tip black pen to make sure the eye stood out. I trimmed the panel then popped it up on craft foam.

Thanks for dropping by.

Supplies

Stamps: snowy perch, sweetest moments 

Inks: antique linen, vintage photo  distress inks (Ranger), versafine vintage sepia, espresso truffle memento marker (Tsukineko), black micron pen (Pigma)
Paper: 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper (Fabriano)
Pencils: juniper green, sap green, dark carmine, light orange, black & cold greyIV Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils

Morning glory emboss resist

Posted: June 27, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: flower medley | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Yes, it’s another emboss resist card, this time a delicate, ‘stay inside the lines’ one. I embossed the morning glory stamp from the transparent flower medley set with clear powder over black ink. I coloured with watercolour pencils, a blue and a purple for the flowers and a couple of greens for the leaves.

When I trimmed my panel I decided it need a little something in between the flowers so added some black nuvo crystal drops here and there in different sizes. Within minutes I managed to put something down on top of the panel which smeared some of the black drops! I let it finish drying then trimmed it and separated the two sections on a black card base. Now when I use nuvo crystal drops I take my panel and place it on the other side of the room where I am less likely to dump something on top of it.

Just in case you missed my last few posts I am embossing all the things at present because I have a challenge happening with The Foiled Fox right now and I would love you to get involved. You have three more days to add your emboss resist card to our link up. Hope to see it there soon.

Supplies

Stamps: flower medley, delicate flowers
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper, epic black neenah cardstock
Inks: onyx black versafine, 
Paints: Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils (Faber Castell)
Also: ebony nuvo crystal drops, clear embossing powder

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

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