Bulb Basket

Posted: September 13, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: bulb basket, Finetec paints, Penny Black, sennelier watercolours | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

This sweet basket of Christmas balls not only makes a pretty card, it’s inspiration for a decorative arrangement in a few months time. The stamp is ‘bulb basket’ from Penny Black. I stamped it on hot pressed watercolour paper first in soft stone papertrey ink and then section by section with distress inks.

It is not clear in the photos but I used pearlescent paints to colour the balls so each one has a shimmer to it. The rest of the design is painted with a mix of distress inks and Sennelier watercolour paints. Once the painting was dry I added metallic tops to the Christmas balls with a gold gel pen. If you have this stamp or are planning to get it you might notice that there is a ribbon on the basket handle but no bow. The stamp features a bow but for the size of card I decided it was better to leave the bow loops unstamped.

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Snowy Settlements – one blue

Posted: August 29, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Penny Black, snowy settlement | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

You can find me and this study in blue on the Foiled Fox blog today. Recently I received the new uncharted mariner distress ink from the Foiled Fox and, as expected, I love the new blue. I decided to work with only the new ink for this card and see what tones I could get as I diluted the ink. You will probably see different depths of blue depending on the device with which you view this post but in real life the blues range from pale sky blue to deep teal blue.

This stamp is a lovely winter scene from Penny Black called ‘snowy settlement’. I stamped on hot pressed watercolour paper and painted the sky first with diluted uncharted mariner ink. While the ink was wet I sprinkled salt over the area which resulted in patterns once dry. When the sky was dry I painted over some of the village images with water so I could spread the ink a little and add variation to the trees and buildings. I finished the card with a sentiment from the PB ‘jolly snippets’ set also stamped in the same blue.

Make sure you pop over to the Foiled Fox to browse their inspiring blog and lovely store.

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Winter Gem

Posted: August 22, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Dies, Penny Black, winter gem | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

This lovely pinecone stamp is a new one from Penny Black called ‘winter gem’. The stamp has one pinecone plus groups of needles but I stamped it several times to fill my card front. The way I oriented the pine cones makes it look a little breezy with all the needles pointing to the left. I have a large and not very attractive pine tree in my front yard. It drops things all. year. round! There are always needles on the lawn, driveway and flower beds and most of the year there are pinecones too. It isn’t a tidy tree.

The one time the pine tree looks beautiful is after a fresh snowfall when all the snow is balancing on pinecones, needles and branches. For this panel I worked on hot pressed watercolour paper with masking fluid splattered over it before starting. I worked in a stamp positioner and inked the pinecone with three browns. I spritzed the stamp with water before stamping and spritzed again after before stamping a second generation image. I decided to stamp the pinecone a couple more times on the edges of the panel. I used a slightly wet paintbrush to blend the browns on the pinecones and touched up some of the pine needles also with a fine tip paintbrush.

Once the panel dried I blended speckled egg ink around the pinecones. Because there was masking fluid spots all over the panel little white dots of snow appeared after the masking fluid was removed.

Penny Black has come out with a few clever sentiment dies which pair a large word with a one sided outline. I cut the outline from the stamped panel but it looks fresh and snowy if you cut the outline from white cardstock and place it at the base of the your panel. My word is cut from dark green cardstock but looks black; it’s always the way with dark colours in my photos.

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It’s all about the sky

Posted: August 18, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Darkroom Door, Wildflowers Vol 1 | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

I recently returned to a favourite technique for a couple of card classes. We made a bunch of watercolour backgrounds ready to be turned into cards. This background is one of my favourites. I love the blends and the hint of a sun-kissed hill which just happened as I swiped my watercolour paper panel through smooshed ink.

The pale splats are from splattering water onto a distress ink background then dabbing it up with paper towels. The silhouette flowers are once again from the beautiful darkroom door set, wildflowers vol 1. Often I would use a larger panel or even cover the whole card front. I created this background on a larger panel but trimmed it down to use the best part. That’s why I usually work on watercolour panels larger than I need. By the way we have seen some beautiful skies lately, hope you are catching some too.

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Amaryllis Bundle

Posted: August 10, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: amaryllis bundle, Penny Black | Tags: , | 3 Comments

This sweet amaryllis bundle is another new stamp from Penny Black. I kept things simple using the same technique used on the pinecone poetry card.

Keeping the stamp and watercolour panel in the stamp positioner I inked the stamp with a mix of distress inks and distress markers to colour the petals, stems and twigs. I worked one colour at a time so I could wipe ink off the stamp where I didn’t want it before stamping. The petals and bow are stamped and painted with saltwater taffy ink. The stems are a mix of mowed lawn and pine needles and the twigs are vintage photo and gathered twigs.

The panel was very clean and bright when I finished it so I decided to balance the amaryllis blooms with a strip of matching cardstock on the other side and stamp the sentiment to match the twigs.

Have you ever grown amaryllis? I have received them as Christmas presents twice and I could not believe how beautiful and big they were when fully open. One appeared to have shimmery petals. One also became too top heavy to hold itself up which was a sad discovery one morning.

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Aromatic

Posted: June 13, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: aromatic, Footnotes, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 12 Comments

Today’s card is a companion in style to my two previous Penny Black floral cards. All three feature PB cling stamps and some sort of background filler. For this one I used a text stamp from the PB clear set, ‘footnotes’.

I used both distress ink pads and markers to ink the ‘Aromatic’ stamp while in the stamp positioner. To fit the image on my panel of hot pressed watercolour paper I masked at the base to make the vase a little shorter. The foliage and little flowers are so delicate I did not add any water blending after stamping but I did blend the red flowers and the vase with a paintbrush and water.

The text is stamped in weathered wood distress ink, a nice bluey-grey and splattered with the same ink. The text is actually from Pride and Prejudice which I am re-reading at the moment. While we had no power I noticed I had a copy on my e-reader so I started reading it; no bedside lamp required! Even though I know it well I am enjoying the conversations. After all who can resist hearing, ‘I am all astonishment!’ Are you a re-reader?

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Thoughts and Prayers

Posted: June 6, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: letter background, Penny Black, purity | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

These pretty orchids are another new stamp from Penny Black. This one is called ‘purity’ and it is tall and thin featuring three flowers and a bud. I stamped one flower a second time to fill and balance the left hand side of the panel.

I used the same method I described for a recent floral card inking the flowers with distress inks and markers, spritzing, then stamping on hot pressed watercolour paper. Instead of spritzing water over the stamped image I added dabs of gold paint then pressed the stamp down again to spread the gold into the petals.

To complete the panel I stamped a partial print of the letter background stamp in antique linen distress ink and added some splatter with the same ink. I switched to archival ink for the sentiment to get a bold sharp impression with words from the new PB ‘thoughts and prayers’ set. One of my favourite ways to complete a card or an art journal page is to ‘fill’ with a bit of text. Sometimes I add it at the beginning and stamp over it, other times I added it at the end. To you have some favourite finishing touches?

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Fleeting Moment

Posted: June 2, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: fleeting moment, Music Background, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

This orchid is from the new Penny Black release. It’s a large cling stamp called ‘fleeting moment. I think it is an orchid or perhaps a lily.

I used distress inks, worn lipstick, festive berries, to ink the petals while in a stamp positioner. I inked the stems and leaves with forest moss and peeled paint. Once stamped on hot press watercolour paper I lightly spritzed the flowers.

I dried the panel before adding details to the petals with markers. To fill in the panel I inked part of the music background stamp with weathered wood distress ink. After stamping I added splatters of water and ink.

The new ‘Blooming’ release is full of flowers, as the name suggests so there will be blooms aplenty over the next few weeks.

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Fresh Spring

Posted: May 10, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: fresh spring | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Now that May has arrived I feel it is the right time to post tulip cards. My one tulip is blooming and the tulip festival is a week away. I have used the Penny Black ‘fresh spring’ stamp on hot press watercolour paper with distress inks.

Sometimes I stamp then blend with a paintbrush after stamping. This time the blends from a spritz of water on the inked stamp were almost enough without adding anything. I did a little blending on a few tulips and a few leaves but some of the blends just happened so I let them be.

I inked the tulips with wild honey distress ink and added festive berries over the base of the petals with a marker. Same with the leaves but using rustic wilderness with added forest moss for depth and variation. I know the distress markers are discontinued but they are so useful for adding ink selectively I will keep using them ’til they give up! The sentiment is from the PB set ‘special sentiments’.

My friend Jan recently sent me some more floral inspiration pics so I have added the inspiration for today’s card below. Thank you Jan.

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Watercoloured Ink Bottles

Posted: April 21, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Darkroom Door, pen & ink | Tags: , , | 8 Comments

I’m sure the new ‘pen & ink’ stamp set from Darkroom Door will be a new favourite of mine. There are five different bottles, two pens, four nibs and some labels. You will see it on my cards, in my journals and on my gel prints.

I wanted to end up with a loose watercolour sketch of ink bottles. I worked on hot pressed watercolour paper with distress inks as my ‘paints’. I did not really plan my process at all and realised a few things about the stamps a little late but it turned out fine in the end. Next time I play with these stamps I might try putting the pens in the inks, and creating different colours of ink in the bottles. Ahh, so many possibilities.

By the way there are a couple of new dates for upcoming classes; the details are on my Classes page

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